Steamboat Springs; Seeing White

It has been so brown in Denver, I forgot how beautiful the snow is. My Dad took a trip to Steamboat from Wisconsin with a bunch of his buddies. I crashed their party last week. I made the 3 hour trek up right after closing our shop. The drive was amazing. He says the skiing is better in Colorado. What? Little Switzerland is not challenging enough for you??!! Come on Dad, they have 5 ski lifts and night skiing! .
I bet Don wouldn't have broke his knee, the first day out, if
you would have just stayed back east. How disappointing. You pay for a week of skiing plus airfare just to end up having surgery on your second day, then stuck in the lodge while your friends are out enjoying themselves. Not to mention the out-of-town Co-pays. On the bright side, Don's surgeon just came back from competing in Turin and he was given a BIG bottle of oxycodone. (Don, not the doctor). On the down side, no wine for Don.

Now, let me just set something straight right now. I DON'T SKI. You could break a knee. Although the Bob part of me loves to snowboard. While he's out ravishing the slopes I wait in the bar and test wine. I got up to Steamboat about 10 pm. They were staying at the Steamboat Grand with a condo looking over the ski runs. Big Daddy'O made a wonderful dinner of baked salmon, fresh sauteed veggies and salad. Jim picked the wine. Turns out he and his wife are fanatics like Bob and I. Since they are older, and probably retired, they actually go around touring vineyards. During dinner, Dad told a few of his short stories made long, thank goodness for the vino. How does he do that?? Maybe if the stories weren't embarrassing stories which included me, I wouldn't care as much. There was the one about J-Dog and KimBob (both parts of us) polishing off an entire case of his wine at new years eve a couple of years ago. He didn't tell us he was saving it for a special occasion. He didn't tell us it couldn't be replaced. He could have stopped us. Maybe. Picture above, here is Dad (in the purple coat) and Jim (blue coat) on the slope...at least I think it's Jim. I guess it could be Don before the tragic accident.

Five Rivers Chardonnay. Monterey County. 2004. "they say she has a thirst for adventure" From Five Rivers Winery.$9.99. Here's something I learned from Jim. Chardonnay is only good for about three years. I thought the longer you let it sit, the better. Yeah, if you like vinegar he said. I don't drink much white wine, so I had no idea. I did really like this one. It was a little sweet, a little dry it was velvety, fruity and had a smooth finish. It went well with the salmon. I would buy some more.
Dad said, "I like it." (the same guy who tells really long stories).
Jim says, "I taste forward fruit behind my teeth at top of the gumline".

We also tried a bottle of Meridian Chardonnay 2004. $8.99. We all decided it probably would have been better if it would have proceeded the Five Rivers rather than follow it. I thought it tasted oaky and bitter. Jim suggested it was a "musty" taste. After trying again, I agree. Dad thought it was rather bitter too. We all came to the same conclusion. We will need to try it again on it's own. It didn't stop us from finishing the bottle though.

The Bob part of me was in Montana. Sorry Baby, you could have gone snowboarding if you were home!
One more thing, before you go. We need some help. Bob's brother Pete Masitti, Produced and Co-wrote a song being played on XM. But, they really need people to go in a request their song. So please help. Click this link and request " Without you" by Sean Ensign.

Thanks so much! Also, tell your friends!