When we first opened our doors in 2002, one of our floor stackers was Rutherford Hill Merlot. The vintage then was 2000, and the wine was phenomenal. But things change. Back then, Merlot was the hip thing to drink, along with Chardonnay. And as vintages change, so does the wine.

Now, I'm not saying there hasn't been a good vintage since then, but none with the big hoo-hah of this 2005 vintage: a BIG Merlot, one that should be decanted. The cork shows residual sugar and a dark ruby hue. (Dark Ruby Hue? Didn't he just win the Derby?)

Anyhoo, this Rutherford Hill rates right up there with all the other famous hills:

1. Charge Up Rutherford Hill (Teddy Roosevelt)
2. I Found My Thrill on Rutherford Hill (Fats Domino)
3. Rutherford Hill Street Blues (T.V. Show)

So, all you 8 readers need to trust Ol' Ron on this one. I'm going to knock the bottom out of this honey.

Seeing as how the government is bailing out all the financial institutions and Fannie and Fred and anyone else who might be in monetary stress. I thought I’d offer up a collector cabernet because everyone’s gonna have an extra buck or two in their pockets. (Yeah, right.)

A little while back I gave away a Peter Lehman Stonewall Shiraz that you 8 readers cleaned me out of in 3 days because you know a bargain when you see one. Well, I’m gonna do something similar again. Mayacamus Vineyard is a small winery that sits high above the Napa Valley near the top of Mount Veeder in the Mayacamus mountains. Its old stone winery sits on the edge of a dormant volcano. The steep volcanic soils yield small crops of tiny intensely flavored grapes. This leads to wines of complex structure and flavor. This ‘99 cabernet is a very limited release that will cellar 15 to 20 years - a wine collector’s cabernet.

I have a total of 17 bottles, sixteen of which I will sell at two dollars over my cost. (I’ll even show you the invoice.) The one bottle I will have open on Wednesday for anyone to sample. Stop by for a taste, but it will only last so long. I know this isn’t for everyone at 62 bucks a bottle (I normally get $90), but it’s a real lay-down bottle for a special occasion. Like when the country goes bankrupt. Drink a toast to hard times!

(Continued from last week!)

Sarah and Christie awoke early the next morning and continued their journey to Cambria. Along the way they stopped at Terra L’Oro to rest and get something to eat. The Inn at Montevena was always a fine place to partake of food and drink.

However, something was different. The place had become run-down and seedy. The clientele was nothing more than a bunch of ruffians and outlaws. At one table alone sat 3 thieves. The ladies thought better about staying and retreated to the door. But there stood the famous scoundrel Rex Goliath and his barefoot friend Cycles Gladiator. Two of the most low-down, no-good scum that ever walked the true earth. The ladies screamed in fear! At that same moment two of Cambria’s most gallant young men, David Bruce and Mark West, were riding by on their fine steeds. They burst through the door, drew their swords and commenced to deloach the pinot-evils. After the fracas the bad men were exiled to the land of Argyle, where they were eventually gored by a dancing bull in a Francis Ford Coppola movie.

The fair young maidens were wed to the two brave men and they lived in Toad Hollow where the air is fresh and the rosenblum. And that’s the story -- enjoy!

How many wines in the story? Stop in and tell me, and get wine for a penny with correct guess.

Now, about this wine. This wine is better than drawing to an inside straight and getting your card. Four Bordeaux-style grapes make this a winner: Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot are 'four of a kind' that can't miss. Big, concentrated flavors of cherries and blackberries with hints of vanilla will color your cheeks like a Heart Flush.

So, for the holidays, don't just make this a wine for a pair...or Two Pair. This wine is meant to be shared by many. So send out the invites and get the gang over until you have a FULL HOUSE. Party the night away until you're ALL IN. Then tell everyone they have to go, 'cause you're gonna FOLD...okay, okay, I'll stop. But this wine really is all that. It's usually 20 bucks, but for this week I'll have it for sixteen, AND I AIN'T BLUFFIN'.

Enjoy!

A while back I wrote about a wine called Red Truck. It was a product of Cline Wineries, one of the more respected California labels for consistently producing quality wines. So I “spose” it’s only fair to the white grapes of California to come out with WHITE TRUCK. This is a great summer wine. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Voignier make this an easy drinker.

Usually on the back labels of wine bottles there is a description of the wine and what to expect to taste when sampling. I always like to see if my taste buds are the same as the person who is describing the wine. This back label describes flavors of grapefruit, oranges, and gooseberries. Now I don’t know about you, but where I grew up gooseberries were what you tried not to step in when heading out to the poultry shed.

Anyway, the front label is what matters here. A classic 1958 Chevy Cameo pick-em-up truck. This was the first real classic truck that the girls wanted to be seen in. A work truck by day, a babe magnet by night. You just had to be sure to clean it before heading out after chores. Ain’t nothin’ harder than trying to get a girl to go for a ride in your white truck after you’ve hauled a few loads of gooseberries that day. (Stay up-wind!)

Enjoy! Cline 2004 White Truck Wine.