{"id":819,"date":"2017-11-29T22:14:13","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T22:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=819"},"modified":"2017-12-01T14:15:16","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T14:15:16","slug":"lucky-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=819","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Find"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say that no good deed goes unpunished.\u00a0 Be that as it may, it\u2019s not always the case and here\u2019s a story to prove it.\u00a0 In the summer of 2000, Steve got into a cab in New York City and there sitting on the back seat was a wallet, full of cash and credit cards.\u00a0 He could have given it to the driver to turn in to the city\u2019s Lost and Found, if there is such a thing, but instead he leafed through the cards and found a driver\u2019s license.\u00a0 Using his cell and Directory Assistance, he called the owner\u2019s home in Windsor, CA.\u00a0 Of course no one was at home \u2013 Steve found the wallet in New York after all \u2013 but he left a message.\u00a0 Minutes later he received a call from the fellow who had lost the wallet.\u00a0 He was amazed that he would get his wallet back, in New York of all places.<\/p>\n

When the handover occurred, the gentleman offered Steve some money, which he turned down.\u00a0 Steve told him to pass the word along in California that the nasty myths about New Yorkers weren\u2019t all true.\u00a0 Steve was asked for his business card and, expecting a thank you note, he gave one and sent the lucky tourist on his way.<\/p>\n

A few weeks passed and Steve found a box on his desk with three wine bottles in it, his reward for returning the wallet.\u00a0 Two of the wineries have become favorites of ours; sadly the third never lived up to its promise.\u00a0 The two were Limerick Lane<\/a> and David Coffaro<\/a>.\u00a0 In keeping with our practice not to speak ill of a winery<\/a>, the third one will go unnamed.\u00a0 They are still there to be visited and we\u2019ll reflect on what they were like then as well as how they have changed since.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As it happened, Lucie and Steve made their first visit together to Napa\/Noma a few weeks after the bottles arrived and we made Limerick Lane, in Russian River, our first stop.\u00a0 Then and now it\u2019s a bit hard to find, although in the ensuing years more wineries have opened on the eponymous road.\u00a0 Lucie had never tasted a proper Zinfandel, nor had she seen or tasted the grape itself. (It is small and very sweet.) So this winery was a revelation.\u00a0 At the time, the tasting room was little more than a garage with a folding table and some bottles, but the wines were eye-openingly good.\u00a0 Back then it was owned by \u00a0Michael Collins, who focused on the Zins and in time added a very good Pinot Noir.\u00a0 We joined the wine club and were quite happy with the wines Limerick Lane sent us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bilbro brothers in today\u2019s Limerick Lane tasting room.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of Limerick Lane Winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2011, the winery was sold to the brothers Jake and Alexis Bilbro.\u00a0 They changed the label (we preferred the old one), dropped the Pinot Noir and somewhat amped up the wines.\u00a0 We were unhappy at the time and dropped out of the club.\u00a0 In retrospect, 2011 was a terrible year across California and the Bilbro brothers picked a lousy time to take over the property.\u00a0 We are happy to report that Limerick Lane no longer has a wine club because their wines have improved to the point that they get huge numbers from the press and many of their wines are allocated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

David Coffaro in his vineyard, in his habitual “suit”.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

As much change as there has been at Limerick Lane, there has been very little at David Coffaro.\u00a0 It is still sitting alongside Dry Creek Road, with Dave very much still in charge.\u00a0 If you like big, fruit-forward wines made from familiar and unfamiliar grapes alike (and often blended together) then you\u2019ll like what come from this winery. For sure, Dave\u2019s wines aren\u2019t for the faint of heart so if you like big, bold California wines, Dave\u2019s your man.\u00a0 See our previous review of David Coffaro Winery for more information.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you just like stories with happy endings?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They say that no good deed goes unpunished.\u00a0 Be that as it may, it\u2019s not always the case and here\u2019s a story to prove it.\u00a0 In the summer of 2000, Steve got into a cab in New York City and there sitting on the back seat was a wallet, full of cash and credit cards.\u00a0 … Continue reading Lucky Find<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=819"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":827,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819\/revisions\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}