Viva Las Vegas

Last weekend I had the opportunity to drive out to Vegas to celebrate Felicia's birthday. Now that Sort This Out Cellars is up and running I have only one mission, and that is to acquire the points needed to become a Platinum Rewards member at the Harrah's properties. Why?.... So I don't have to wait in line with the many mongoloids that stream into Vegas. Not that there aren't a lot of nice people out there. I meet many new and exciting folks every time we are in town. I am talking exclusively about the people that seem to live somewhere near the nuclear test site in their home state. Anyway, I don't want to get off track. So the Platinum Rewards card gets you some nice benefits and it gives me a goal to aim for. I have also been advised by my accountant to mention that 9:00am-5:00pm, during normal business hours, I developed new contacts and had discussions with restaurant and hotel managers about featuring Sort This Out Cellars wines at their properties.

Aside from the hours of entertainment that I had playing Blackjack and my new found hobby, slot machines, we had dinner at two great restaurants. On Friday we took a bottle of Money Plays Merlot to Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian. This is a stand up place with consistent quality and attentive service. Our server, Berkley, was professional and never hovered. She knew to pop up just when we needed something. She did one of the best jobs I have experienced lately coursing our food and timing it so that as we were having one course cleared, the next was arriving hot and perfectly prepared. You'll see in the quick photo I took the amazing bone in rib eye and potato gratin that I had. The Money Plays was a perfect companion with balanced tannin that complimented the rich marbled fat of the rib eye. A fabulous cheese plate helped us finish off the bottle. Thank you everyone at Delmonico for a great evening.

On Saturday, we ventured over to Caesars Palace and discovered it was Mexican Independence weekend celebration. Many famous Latin acts were playing all weekend but the most noticeable new fixture was the abundance of 6 foot tall Latin women with striking features and jet black hair filling the room. As a married guy, I had more important things on my mind like dinner at Bradley Ogden's, but I couldn't help but think that while Michael was working hard in the tasting room, he would have found his Valhalla at Caesars Palace.

If you're looking for a low key place to enjoy a great departure from the 20 somethings filled new resturants of Vegas, Bradley Ogden's is perfect. With minimalist design and great lighting, the restaurant is a relaxing setting without the nightclub bullshit thats a part of so many Vegas restaurants. In the lounge we had the Lounge Pre-Fix menu which included a great salad, flavorful angus burger with bleu cheese and sea salted french fries. The menu ended with an amazing butterscotch pudding and snickerdoodle cookies. For $29 it was the best value of the weekend with well prepared and designed food.

One of my favorite moments of the weekend was sitting next to a women from India who had never been to Las Vegas before. She put $5 in a slot machine next to whe r e we were playing and two spins later started one of the longest winning sprees I have ever seen. She couldn't lose. She couldn't convert the dollars she was winning into her currency fast enough to figure out just how much money she was winning, but she was excited nonetheless.

Finally, I dragged Felicia to Slots-A-Fun down on the North Strip to get a hot dog for a $1 and play some $3 Blackjack for old time sake. Here are my words of wisdom. 1. They still have slots that pay out coins. That's fun 2. Don't eat the hot dog.

I hope you get a chance to take bottle of your favorite Sort This Out Cellars wine on an adventure to Las Vegas soon.

Jeff

What A Summer

After weeks of hard work the tasting room opened with a slow start in late June. By the time our July 11, grand opening arrived, the phone was ringing with questions. Where are you located? How late are you open? What wines are you pouring? Throughout the summer hundreds of new friends joined us in the tasting room. The thing that has made this experience most enjoyable is watching people connect with our concept. By stripping down the wine tasting experience, we are welcoming new wine drinkers every weekend.

As successful as we have been, we can't overlook the help of our friends in the wine industry. Thank you to all of our friends pouring in other tasting rooms for sharing news of our opening. We would especially like to thank all of the wine touring companies who have supported us. Grapeline and Cloud Climbers Jeep Tours have been especially supportive, bringing us lots of fun people. The great thing about a tour group is the diversity. The group above recently came in on a Grapeline tour. Three guys from the U.K., two chicks from Omaha, a Baby Boomer couple from New York, a couple from Jersey, and a couple from Santa Barbara. All were strangers hours before. By the time we meet them it was like they all grew up together. It's great, how wines brings us together.

So looking back here are a few fun facts from the summer.

1. 2005 Cardiff Giant, and 2007 Suited Pinot Grigio were the two top selling wines. We have plenty of Pinot Grigio left, but there are less than 5 cases of Cardiff Giant left.

2. We should have named the tasting room the Sort This Out Cellars Tasting Room and Coaster Emporium. We have sold more than 200 coasters since opening. Mike always said people like coasters, but they must have been excited to see them without the tired old wine labels so many other wineries make.

3. The number one selling Sort This Out Cellars clothing selection was the sexy Boy Shorts with the Sort This Out Cellars logo on the ass cheek. Felicia says it's because all women look sexy in boy shorts regardless of your size. I think it's because the guys snatch them up for their wives and girlfriends after wine tasting all day.

4. Just because the sign says R.V. Park doesn't mean they don't drink wine. Everyone we asked said it would be a waste of time, but we didn't agree. The Flying Flags RV Park in Buellton host many vacationers pulling large fifth wheels or driving million dollar coaches. Let me tell you. Once these people level off the coaches, they drink wine. More than 100 visitors came by from Flying Flags this summer. Other wineries listen up. They have more trunk space than a car, and they don't have to try and smuggle wine home in luggage boarding a plane. One RV couple came in and bought a case of wine the first night they got to town and then returned 10 days later to buy another to take back to Laguna Beach.

5. Only two wine glasses were broken all summer. Both glasses were broken by the same little blond fidget from Studio City. Bachelorette parties are a reason to have fun, not to be a pain in the ass and break stuff.

6. Felicia was right. If you spend a little extra and upgrade the bathroom with flowers, nice soap, and cloth hand towels, women will tell more people to visit you, buy more wine, and thank you for thinking of them.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this summer. As harvest approaches and we are getting ready to take delivery on our first grapes of the season, we hope that you will keep in touch, check back in on our website and blog, and of course visit the tasting room.

Jeff