Over Labor Day weekend Ken Emery & Bob Summers (Alan Rath on right) organized an absolutely KICK ASS tailgate party in Oakland at the home of the A’s stadium. When Bob first sent me an email asking if I might be interested in attending the game I was a bit skeptical as they were playing the NEW YORK YANKEE’S. Now being from NY and attending Fordham University in the Bronx, I have certainly been a Yankee fan for a long time. I knew that most of the attendees would be loyal A’s fans but I pushed that aside knowing that Bob doesn’t F@#$ around when it comes to cooking and BBQ'ing. Everyone should take note: If Bob Summers is involved in an offline/cookout – Do Whatever You Can To Attend!!! This was the second event I attended that Bob set up and IT ROCKED!!! (Bob also does the Hospice du Rhone BBQ every year).
or upon requestHalibut with Mediterranean Olive Relish
Kristen and I arrived at 10:15 (Bob said the Champagne would be opened at 10:30 and I certainly didn't want to be late). Bob had almost everything set up when we arrived including long dinner tables, multiple chars, two BBQ’s, etc. I couldn’t believe how much gear Bob had. At one point of the morning a wine geek (who will remain nameless) dropped a Spiegelau glass on the ground shattering it into pieces. Well - no more than 10 seconds later Bob pulled out a mini broom and pan to clean up the mess. There was a table set up to put wines on so I placed my bottle of 2003 Kosta Browne 4 Barrel and 1994 Mount Eden Pinot on it and quickly reached for a cork screw as I knew the 4 barrel would need plenty of air time. Before I could blink Ken was cracking the Krug (2 hours after getting out of bed) so with Krug N.V. in hand we toasted one another - a bunch of early morning wine freaks. Car after car would pass by us gawking at the sight of 12 people with 14+ bottles of wine and crystal stem wear. The steaks were cooked to perfection. Although I am a NY Yankee’s fan, I ordered the Ribeye steak over the NY strip. It was easily the best steak I have had since moving to California. I was told they were purchased from Ver Brugge meats which is located in Oakland. Seriously, does it get any better than this? Look at all those smiles.
Ohh – the wines weren’t that bad either…
N.V. Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée - France, Champagne Light yellow. Bright and vibrant. Totally alive with faint caramel notes. Good complexity as well as fantastic acidity. ohh laa laaa the finish. Nothing like bubbly at 10:30 am. (93 pts.)
2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley A standard issue Cabernet with medium body and sweet ripe fruit. A hint of toast on the mid palate this just wasn't that appealing to me with so many other wines on the table. (88 pts.)
1998 St. Francis Alicante Pagani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County Really dark almost black and bordering on opaque in color. With a super concentrated whiff I knew the palate would be wonderful. This was like a baby Pride. With tons of concentration and a smooth velvet texture. It's seductive at the same time powerful. What a pairing with the steak. (94 pts.)
2002 Origin Sauvignon Blanc Gamble Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville From Magnum. This bottle had a funky etched label of a mermaid. The crisp acidity was a nice palate cleaner with ripe fruit basket flavors and a good bite to the finish. A very nice pairing wine with the shrimp Bob chefed up. (89 pts.)
2003 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Four Barrel - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley If you have any bottles of this wine - Don't touch it!! It's such a baby at this point. The fruit was hidding but a glimpse showed it was very succulant and BIG. I told Michael that I cracked one of these and he agreed that its just a puppy and needs much more time in the bottle. This was my second and I only have 1 left. Next - 2010
1994 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Bottled - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Cruz Mountains This bottle started with a slight bit of volitile acidity. Most of it blew off but still stuck out ever so lightly. For me it left the wine appealing but others seemed to take to the wine. It also seemed to be in a downward sloap in terms of fruit and future. It did have some nice terrior style to it. (88 pts.)
2002 Littorai Pinot Noir One Acre - USA, California, Mendocino County, Anderson Valley Just an awesome bottle of California Pinot. The nose was screaming with beautiful model girl rose peddle perfume. The fruit was so soft on the nose and almost all red fruit ridden. The palate I went ga ga over. With such concentrated rich fruit It still managed to be soooo seductive and alluring - with its sexy, silky, velvet mouth feel. This is everything I look for in a California Pinot. Stunning. (94 pts.)
1992 Lechéneaut Nuits St. Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges Tasting this white Burgundy after the Champage was a sin. It was way too soft and the left over acidity from the Krug threw me off. No tasting note.
2000 Carlisle Zinfandel Tom Feeney Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley SWEET as candy. This is a huge Zinfandel with its gobs upon gobs of fruit. I looked into the neck of the bottle to see if there were clusters still in the bottle. With its medium body and smooth edge this was a really good wine while breaking from bites of the steak. Yumm.. (90 pts.)
2003 Coho Pinot Noir Stanly Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley Nice beautiful nose of ripe red fruit. The mouth feel was soft and subtle. It was slightly 1 dimensional though on palate with a brief finish. Good potential here. (90 pts.)
1997 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Octagon Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - Corked!!!!
2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands Dark ruby red in color with a big whiff of fruit on the nose. Smooth tannins over lay the fruit and lead to a clean mouth feel. (91 pts.)
2003 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills Tthe controversial wine of the Pinot line-up. This was big and a bruiser for a pinot. Still very young some felt it would be better in 5 years and others felt it wouldn't materialize in time and the fruit would dry out.
2002 Core Hard Core Alta Mesa - USA, California, Santa Barbara County Wow was this good with food. Nice compexity of flavors with still a nice attack of flavors up-front. Smooth in the mouth with a nice finish. Well done Dave Corey. (92 pts.)
2001 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles No notes taken.
N.V. Gosset Champagne Grand Rosé Brut - France, Champagne Very nice and a nice way to bring back the festivity after the game. Mildly sweet it has minimal complexity and a brief finish. (89 pts.)
1999 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley Amazingly someone said that they picked this bottle up for $16. A nice Cabernet with some earth tones and new oak flavors. This needed air or much more time in the bottle. Very primary and not showing much. (90 pts.)
Bob picked up ten tickets in the first row of the second deck behind the plate. The seats were great and the view was perfect. Bob asked for $45 from each of us to cover the cost of the ticket plus ALL the food!! What a deal… The game began at 1:05 sharp and we walked in a closer to 1:30. With a slight buzz the game moved fast with no one nodding off that I saw. It didn’t take long for the Yankees to fill up all the bases and then slam one out of the park. I felt right at home with the score. Thanks Bobfor a great day and for everyone who attended.
nice notes & story... my friends & i tailgate at least 1 UCLA football game like (well, OK, minus the Krug ) that a season near the Rose Bowl... the parking is ON a local golf course so its actually kind of nice to get there hours earlier, lay a blanket down on the grass and picnic
Originally posted by kumazam: ...the parking is ON a local golf course so its actually kind of nice to get there hours earlier, lay a blanket down on the grass and picnic
Are you kidding? You should be wearing a chem suit and a gas mask on that grass. No natural fibers that come in contact with your body should ever touch it.
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Wish we could say the same for the rest of the weekend. 
) that a season near the Rose Bowl... the parking is ON a local golf course so its actually kind of nice to get there hours earlier, lay a blanket down on the grass and picnic
