I think with the rustic nature of the food, Rhone or Rhone varietals would be a very good choice, but I also think that Burgundy or Pinots in general wouldn't be totally out of place either.

For a little diversity it might be nice to include some whites, as well. Looking at the starters and all the weird and wonderful things on offer, I think Alsatian whites might be nice.

That may be a place to start and see how others chime in.

I ate at that St. John about 6 or 7 years ago, which must have been shortly after it opened. I had welsh rarebit and liked it, and two others had marrowbones and toast, I think. It's an interesting venue, in an old slaughterhouse, I think.

bman,

It was actually a smokehouse. This from their website:

Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver opened St. JOHN in October 1994.

The former smokehouse, situated around the corner from London's Smithfield Market had fallen into serious disrepair since ham and bacon smoking ceased in 1967.

The Georgian building had been part townhouse, part smokehouse (this part having been built later over the townhouse gardens) and following its abandonment had been used variously and in no particular order as squats, a greenhouse for harvesting bean sprouts, a Chinese beer store and the occasional rave.

The place is very minimalist in design with everything white. The food can be hit or miss but, generally, of very good quality. Their BYOB policy makes it a favorite of the UK Forum for offlines.

Thanks bobby. It opened in 1994 eh? I was only off by about a decade!

TILT!!!!! I just learned I have to be in Ulverston at 9am on March 3. I will be back in London that evening or again on March 6. Is it possible to re-schedule or you can go forward and I will catch you on my next trip? BobbyC and/or BirD, you can shoot me an email at ghedrick at nalco dot com.

I don't have a problem with postponing til the 6th. Lets see what BirD and Glenn say since its only us 4 confirmed at the moment. This might help Ampuis' situation.

I would not be able to do the 3rd, but the 6th is fine with me.

6th would be great for me. I'm in.

All of the themes mentioned are fine with me, just let me know.

Thanks for the flexibility. I look forward to seeing you again and meeting GlennK for the first time.

That's a Friday night? I could just about get away with that. It'll be great to see BirD again and nice to meet a couple of others.

Any theme?

KillerB,

Thats great news. It will be nice to meet you. I haven't changed the booking at St. Johns, but I will move the reservation tomorrow from the 2nd to the 6th which is a Friday. I will keep it at 6 people with KillerB making 5 and, hopefully, Ampuis will make 6.

Theme: What about Syrah and Riesling from any region?

I can do Syrah but don't really have much Riesling of note in the cellar. Alternatively, I have some very good aged white burg.

An alternative thought: Italian and Spanish - wines from Barolo, Barbaresco or Brunello and any notable Spaniards (I have some interesting bottles to try).

A second alternative: Bring whatever the hell you want.

I'm ok for all of these.

Taken me a couple of days to dig out of this freakin snow...I left the beautiful Pacific North West for this...its crazy...might just turn me to drink.

Was going to say that I had cleared it for the 2nd, not sure now about the 6th, I see a mark on the wall calander, must check with the Trouble.

Theme wise...my 2 cents..
My main cellar is stashed overseas..My recent purchases here have been mainly french Bords and Burgs with a couple of Spanish thrown in.

Although I do have some pretty good Karl Lawrence from the Napa side and some William Selyem.

I'll Get back later

I can bring some Alsatian Riesling, have plenty of Italian B's, not much Spanish, some young Burgs(both white and red), Bordeaux, but sadly not much from the Rhone. I do have some American Syrah (Ramey, etc.).

Like BirD says, I am OK with any of these.

Okay, its seems everyone is pretty relaxed about theme. Why don't make the whole evening relaxed as far as theme, as per BirDs suggestion. Lets just have fun with it and make some declarations!

I'm thinking of bringing:

Guy Larmandier NV Brut 1er Cru Vertus to start.

2001 Alban Reva Syrah

I'll probably stick with the champagne, but I could switch out the Alban with a northern rhone. I have lots of La Chapelle, some Jamet Cote Rotie, and some Chave.

What do you guys think?

Hey KillerB, long time - no see here! I guess your port site keeps you busy. I have some TNs to post there (and here) one of these days.

Got the thumbs up on the 6th...approx what time are you all thinking?

bobbyc, love the Vertus, classy juice and the Alban can be a ringer for Cote Rotie,

or anything from Ampuis would do.

Thats great news, Ampuis! Now, hopefully, KillerB will confirm soon and we will be at 6. Excellent!

The original booking was for 7pm. I haven't changed it to the Friday yet, but I will do today.

I would like to keep it the same time, if thats okay. Let me know if thats a problem. There is one issue with St. Johns, and that is their stemware. They are very basic. It is best to bring our own. They do have a very limited quantity of quality stemware but we can't rely on those being available to us.

Longboarder, I don't expect you to travel across the atlantic with stemware in hand. I can bring a couple extra for you. I just want the London contingent to be aware of this.

Ampuis, I have just gotten the Vertus in. I haven't gotten around to trying one yet. First time will probably be with you guys! Oh, and I am never opposed to bringing the wine that originates from the village of Ampuis!

I do have a Jamet 98 that will be nice to try. Any ideas or declarations from the rest of you?

quote:

Originally posted by bobbyc:

Longboarder, I don't expect you to travel across the atlantic with stemware in hand. I can bring a couple extra for you. I just want the London contingent to be aware of this.

Thanks bobbyc. I don't think the airlines would be that gentle.

I will be bringing a traditional BirD bottle of VP, a'77 or an '83. Not sure about the other stuff quite yet.

Very much looking forward to seeing everyone.

BirD

I thought I would bump this up as its just over a week to go before this thing.

I hope everybody is still up for this. KillerB, we haven't heard from you since that first post. Are you going to be able to join us?

For the rest of you, any ideas what you plan on bringing?

Looking forward to it Bobby! Unfortunately, most of my wine is in the US, but looking at my little London cellar I can do the 95 Beaucastel. I’ll work on a white or a sparkler as well.

Ooh - Can I be a maybe too?

Sorry to have taken so long to respond, I thought that I had but must have been dreaming. What date are we on for, the 6th?

quote:

The date that Seaquam and I were to offline? July 7, 2005. Needless to say, we didn't....

Errrmmm - nope we didn't meet up, did we? I was just relieved everybody we knew was OK.

I am still in and looking forward to it. I should arrive back in London around 3 pm. Bobby, I thought I still had your cell number but it is not is my Blackberry. Could you send me an email with your number?

I plan on bringing a mature BdM, along with something new. I will also bring an Alsatian white.

Killer B, the 6th it is, a week from this Friday. Hope you can make it.

Longboarder, sounds great. I will send you an email with my cell.

Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a big night!