Afternoon 
in Sacramento

"Please show all work; partial credit will be given. Do not spit on thy neighbor. Do not spill on thy neighbor, either. And please: Do not look longingly at your neighbor’s Sommelier stems and say: "Hey, can I smell your ‘A’?"

Josh du Lac’s instructions on the score sheets

Words to live by.

I’ve decided to promote Josh du Lac to Associate Wine Geek - after attending and creating an incredible array of quality tasting events and dinners in the SF Bay and Sacramento areas, he has earned it. He’s a great guy - quick to smile and easy to like.

Unfortunately, he’s into that cab thing, but hey, he’s young and I’m willing to give him a little time to come around.

But seriously, folks, this was a beautifully conceived and well executed event.

Heidi Peterson Barrett has worked hard for years, and has become a well respected and highly sought after creator of top flight California wines. For my palate, the Showket 1997 Sangiovese she crafted was the wine of the day at Cal-Italia a few weeks ago. We were mightily disappointed that the late harvest this year prevented her from joining us, but we celebrated her accomplishments by tasting 22 of her Cabernets from a variety of labels and vintages.

Enotria is a little jewel of a place hidden in an unlikely neighborhood north of downtown Sacramento. I’ve heard good things about this place through the postings of our Sacto contingent, and now I understand why. These folks opened their back room for us early in the afternoon, so we could hold our tasting undisturbed - we then had dinner when the restaurant was opened. They also have a small, but well chosen selection of wines for retail sale and on-premise consumption.