The Silk Road of Wine: Bubbly + Sword = What A Holiday Party!

We had the honor of being invited to Russ and Susan's holiday party at Marche restaurant this past weekend, and what a party it was. How could a holiday party quickly devolve into swinging sabers, shattered glass and howling guests (with laughter, that is)? A short question & answer session usually does the trick:

Who was there?
All the usual suspects, present company included.

What was served?
Ramey Chardonnay and Lokoya Cabernet (1997 & 2001). Excellent choices.

How did it get out of control?
Russ (our host) pulled out his scimitar and made the nearest champagne bottle his practice dummy. His aim was perfect, though, leading a few of us to wonder if he spent time as a mercenary in various global hot spots ...

But ... how did Russ wind up with a sword in his hands at a holiday party?
No, Susan didn't tell him one of his clients didn't pay their bill. Rather, chalk it up to the ingenuity (some might say twisted humor) of Paul Conrado, who mentioned to Russ after dinner that he would love a glass of bubbly and there "happened to be" a champagne opener on the gift table. Of course, Paul failed to mention that the champagne opener was in the shape of a four-foot curved sword but who wants to sweat the details at a holiday party? *

Great holiday party, one of the best we have been to. Thanks Russ and Susan!

* Note: this version more or less holds true to the version of events witnessed at our table. Perhaps the author took minor liberties with the actual dialogue but rest assured, gentle reader, it served only to aid in recounting the tale.

Recommended books on wine

Andrea Immer Robinson's excellent teach-yourself course on wine
The other great wine & food pairing book on the market
One of the two best wine & food pairing books on the market
Encylopedic reference tome on all regions and wines. Very educational.
Well-written and very informative.
A great compact reference book -- extremely helpful when trying to decipher wine labels in other languages.
Easily digestible sections for each micro-region in the world. Fantastic maps
The gold standard -- read this cover to cover and you'll know more than most wine shop employees

Great wine shops

Vintage Wine Merchants
More than a destination shop -- you can easily spend the whole day talking with Alex, Joe, Mike, Harry and the gang and learning a ton about fine wine. Santana Row wouldn't be nearly as much fun without their shop!
K&L Wine Merchants
Great selection and newsletter. One of the best-designed wine websites around.
The Wine Club
Some real hard to find gems, good futures prices and a great newsletter.
Joseph George Wines
Think about it -- how many wine shops do you know that are 3rd generation family-owned, provide you the owner's name and phone number on their website (and invite you to call for assistance in selecting wines), and are only open noon-5pm Monday through Friday ...! A sign of how well the shop is doing.
Vin, Vino, Wine Bottle Shop & Tasting Bar
Tucked away on California Ave. in Palo Alto, this is truly a shop for the connoisseur -- not as comprehensive as some of the bigger shops, but they more than make up for it with deep collections of exceptional red and white Burgundies. Their newsletter is required reading each month.

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