Bubbly on the High Seas

Poor li'l blog, how I've been neglecting you so... I'll write more about my "adventures in wine" soon (have a birthday Dry Creek Valley trip coming up, hooray!), but for now I'll infuse this page with some techno, which has been sorely missing.

This Sunday is a Sunset boat party, which should -- as it always is -- be a blast. Debauchery in the high seas in the form of house & techno music (the legendary John Tejada joins the crew this time) and lots of booze flowing. I'll be sipping bubbly (Mumm Cuvee Napa Brut Prestige Champagne), which usually runs out, as everyone is in a decadent party mood when crusing the bay waters and taking in the lovely, twinkling skyline of SF.


Another super party wine is Periscope Cellars' little bottles of '06 rosé (a blend of Cab, Barbera, Syrah & Sangiovese grapes in Brendan Eliason's madcap "throw-in-a-little-of-everything" style that he learned while apprenticing with the original mad scientist David Coffaro in Dry Creek Valley). Unlike the dry -- and often rather tasteless -- rosés that are all the rage -- Periscope's is a bit fruitier and earthier and could almost be mistaken for a regular light red if one sipped with their eyes closed. Enjoyed a couple of these little guys at the Sunset park party last month, rockin' out to house grooves by longtime djs Halo and Hipp-e.

Too bad the security on the boat doles out such thorough searches, or I'd bring some of the mini-rosé with me for when the bubbles dry up!


After the boat there's an after-party at Vessel, one of the swankiest clubs in SF, although it feels too Vegas or L.A. for my taste, at least on weekends. The place is gorgeous, though, and they serve some good vino (for example, Trimbach Reserve Pinot Gris) in nice stemware (both counts big rarities for clubland). Just be careful not to swirl the wine out of your glass while on the dancefloor!