so going to my brother's house for christmas eve dinner has become a tradition, and i really look forward to bringing some great wine to go with his great food. this year, i sourced two bottles that i thought would be a fun contrast to each other yet both would work with the main course: roasted prime beef tenderloin with veggies. the wines: a 95 beaucastel CdP and a 97 dehlinger RRV cabernet.

i had been at my girlfriend's all weekend, and had left the bottles at home in my wine fridge. so drove an hour to my place to pick up the wines. got there and realized that i had left my keys at my GF's. but no cause for panic. i'll just use her key to my apartment. only i had taken her key a while back to give to a petsitting service. so i'm at my apartment - but can't get in. no way we can drive all the way back to her place and get the key, then drive back to my place, grab the wines then 30 more minutes driving to my brother's.

fortunately, the county liquor store near my place had an '05 grgich cab and an '07 stags leap merlot (which both drank very nice but i overpaid badly for both). so not a total loss, and we'll go back to my brother's soon for another dinner when i'll bring the original two bottles. but i felt really badly as i knew he had been looking forward to the two bottles i had told him i'd be bringing. and last night was probably our last christmas eve dinner together for a while as they are moving out of the area.

so basically, a total wine fail on my part.

anyone have any wine stories that left you still wanting to smack your forehead the next day?

Only the time I promised wine+art I was bringing a 92 Dominus to an offline but brought the 97 by mistake.

He had to wait until the next time he was in town for the 92. LOL.

I totally forgot about an offline until I got a phone call from the restaurant asking where the hell I was!!

PH

Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

Ouch. What a waste. Damn fool customs guys.

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

oh, that is truly harsh. my condolences.

If I listed some of the wines, it would be even worse! But thanks for the sympathy

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

You win. Close the thread.

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

You win. Close the thread.

Yeah, this doesn't compare with that, but here's my Christmas wine fail; I should have taken Matt Kramer's advice.

My buddy invites us over for dinner on Saturday, so I grab a few bottles I enjoy sharing and head on over. Thought there would be about 10 close friends there. Turns out, his wife invited several other people that I don't know, so there is more like 25.
I put my bottles with the rest, pour from an open one, and mingle a few minutes. I walk back over to refill my glass, and there is some guy filling his glass to the brim with my '05 Northwest Totem Longhouse Syrah. Ok, well, I guess there's one at every party. I say, "Mind if I get a little of that?"
He says, "Sure," and pours me about 3 oz.
A little while later, I go back and the same guy is again filling to the brim with my '05 Columbia-Crest Walter Clore. ...
Now, I don't mind sharing, but come on, dude! Let someone else try some!

quote:

Originally posted by Primordialsoup:

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

Ouch. What a waste. Damn fool customs guys.

They ain't no fool. The customs probably personally "destroyed" it along with a turkey feast.

quote:

Originally posted by Gundam:

quote:

Originally posted by Primordialsoup:

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

Ouch. What a waste. Damn fool customs guys.

They ain't no fool. The customs probably personally "destroyed" it along with a turkey feast.

As it happens, one of my staff in Guatemala was seconded from CBSA and knew the process well, so no, the wine would be going down the drain. To be honest, it is doubtful that many if anyone of the CBSA officers would have the slightest idea what they had - each bottle was valued at $15 including 85 Fonseca and Puemo de Carmin! It was actually seized about 18 months ago and we've been fighting ever since to get it back, but our last appeal was lost last month and so the wine was likely destroyed a few days ago, according to my former staffer.

And everyone thinks of Canada as such a friendly country.

quote:

Originally posted by bman:

As it happens, one of my staff in Guatemala was seconded from CBSA and knew the process well, so no, the wine would be going down the drain. To be honest, it is doubtful that many if anyone of the CBSA officers would have the slightest idea what they had - each bottle was valued at $15 including 85 Fonseca and Puemo de Carmin! It was actually seized about 18 months ago and we've been fighting ever since to get it back, but our last appeal was lost last month and so the wine was likely destroyed a few days ago, according to my former staffer.

bman, I look forward to meeting you at an offline in the not too distant future. We can swap stories about confiscated wine and the helpful, friendly people who keep our country's borders safe.

Keith, That will teach you to live that far from Christie's place, or to buy wine in MoCo.

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

if I were a more vengeful man I would say that's what you get for obviously being a Detroit sports fan EXCEPT for the Red Wings and going for the Bruins, what gives?

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
Does having $1500 worth of wine confiscated and destroyed by CBSA/Canada Customs, due to a mistake by packers in Guatemala, count?

Oof, that must have hurt. A good warning though. We will make sure that we drink everything before we leave here in about a year's time.

Sorry to hear that, bman. Get down here. I've got more Port than I can ever drink and don't open it ofetn at all. I'm guessing I only opened one bottle of VP in 2012.

quote:

Originally posted by dinwiddie:
Keith, That will teach you to live that far from Christie's place, or to buy wine in MoCo.

she will certainly say you're right on the first part, and i will certainly say you're right on the second.

but seriously, if you see the beltway as a circle, we literally live on opposite sides of it (she's in del ray neighborhood of alexandria, right by old town). it's basically the same driving time to her place going either direction on 495. absolutely sucks.