Bingo. I know a billionaire who drinks nothing but highly sweet, low alcohol white wines because that's all he can tolerate. He tried EVERYTHING with hopes that he would some day get a "sophisticated palate." But never did. I think this is a physiological issue.

I think you are on the right track - it's cabs from napa. 06 was a really solid year. But because you are talking 20 years, you have to make absolutely sure the wine has been in ideal conditions since bottling. Order direct from winery or a trusted LA retailer like K&L.

hmm. I'm still getting the 404 error from both my house computers.

I think the four and five star restaurants wont change that much. Paper menus and very talented servers and wine stewards will reign supreme.

But when it comes to Marriott hotel restaurants, TGI Fridays and all those restaurants that are terrible at managing wine inventory and selling it -- those are the places where it may make sense to hand a customer an iPad and let them spin around to find what they want. And even order it.

Great story. A perfect case where a tablet PC actually adds a whole bunch of value.

One of these days, Cellar Tracker won't be such a painful app to get data in and out of, and when it changes, I'll manage my wine collection that way as well.

So I published an open letter to the Master Chef community boards last night. There was a lot of negative chatter buzzing, and I added to it.

I posted something that more or less said in my original Chowhound post above... but with a terse warning that a lot of talented home chefs will not be coming to the next casting call if this is the way they are going to play.

This morning, the entire Master Chef community board was torn down, and now has a 404 error. Hmm.

SDG - don't know you on the Chowhounder boards, but your criticism, sans context, doesn't land so well for me. You're really criticizing Juliet for having plated too many dots???

Bastianich had credibility with me before he started acting like a buffoon on the show. I think the producers put the screws to all the judges and prodded them to be more dramatic than they authentically are.

Consider Chopped -- a show I like a lot -- the expert judges do a great job of offering great criticism and deliver it with authentic flair. That's the kind of judging style I would like to see on the next season of MC.

Julietg - wow. Good to know. Question: in hindsight, do you believe that your cooking skills were on par with the top 10 contestants, higher or lower?

Just curious. And anything you're willing to share about the casting process will be very interesting to hear about... to all of us I'm sure.

Did you guys catch the September 3 New York Times technology story, "Choosing Wines at the Touch of a Screen"?

I've been mulling it for a couple weeks. It does a great job of covering the pros and cons of putting a tablet PC device in the hands of a customer, rather than a paper list, and the potential impacts that the new device may have on the way wine is served in a restaurant.

In short, I believe that tablet PCs will rock the sommelier world in nearly every restaurant that pushes a decent wine list. Those mid-tier restaurants and wine service pros who embrace this technology will gain an advantage for awhile as others follow later, or not at all.

Here is a case where a tablet PC wine list could greatly improve a wine service experience: Last night, I was at the posh Waterfront in San Francisco. The paper wine list (a solid one) came out with the menus, and we quickly ordered a bottle of pinot grigio from Alois Lagerder ($44 list/great QPR).

No less than 10 minutes later, the server told us that the sommelier was backed up, and coming shortly. At minute 15, he comes out -- does an extremely minimal presentation of the wine, unscrews the cap, and pours it. The minute I accept it, he is gone for the rest of the night. No offer of an ice bucket.

In general, this is the kind of service that drives me crazy, and makes me wonder why the sommelier role exists at all in many restaurants. It's much better if I didn't know there was a dedicated steward in the first place, and my wine is brought promptly by the server instead.

But the experience triggered some thoughts: how could Waterfront's wine service be improved with iPads? While I think last night's errors were due to service execution and overall service policy, I do think that Waterfront is the perfect candidate for iPad wine lists. And that customers would embrace a richer information source (and perhaps an ordering button if offered), and meanwhile, the wine steward could focus more on great service, and less on the tactical issues that he faces day to day.

What do you think about iPads and wine lists?

You're right. We won't ever know. Ramsay made a point of beating up David for attempting a Wellington that supposedly took him 1000 tries to get right (no frigging way, drama boy). So Whitney humbly puts up a slab of fried chicken with a Flintstonian presentation. One of the ugliest dishes of the whole season. David arrogantly puts up a beautiful Wellington plate. But we know by the editing that he is doomed.

I've tried 100 Long Island wines over the past few years. There are only a handful that I believe are world class, and boy howdy, will you pay for them. We can thank a very dense population west of Long Island for keeping the prices up, not to mention the high cost of land.

Bottom line: no wine expert I know takes Long Island seriously. But many may support the region because they live there. For comparable varietals and higher quality, they look to France -- Alsace, Loire, Chinon, etc. and many other regions of the world that are offering a much better QPR.

Wow. I watched it all the way through. I barely made it out of the first few episodes, where it was clear that they were largely choosing contestants based on how much they could emote and the personal story they could tell. And many talented people got through as well.

The middle episodes were fine -- the better home chefs were exalted and the weaker ones only good for their personal drama were weeded out. I was happy about this, and thought the show had a chance.

But the final episodes came full circle. Back to deeply subjective judging and a nice little personality contest perfect for good Reality TV.

So Whitney wins, and Master Chef loses (credibility). You could see the setup for Whitney about four episodes from the final, and the more critical members of Master Chef community chat boards were groaning..."please say this won't happen"...but it did.

I know at least half a dozen individuals who have incredible skills as home chefs, and would blow all 2010 competition out of the water. I talked to several of them who watched enough episodes to make a decision, and it is this comment from one of them" "If the show really is about the best home chef in America, I would take the risk of leaving work for 6 weeks to give it a shot. But it's a contest of personality over skill, and Master Chef producers get to play God...and that said, I'm not going to waste my time."

I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. Knowing how many passionate and talented chefs are on Chowhound, I am wondering: are you more or less interested in applying, knowing how season one ended?

I don't read WS. But its clout is undeniable. Case in point: K&L Wines is no dummy when it comes to selling wine, and they use WS and Parker scores all the time in their writeups. One unnamed employee said to me: we don't want to, we have to.

I think there are very few Americans who ever get to the place in drinking where they find their own palate and sensibilities. For as long as that trend is happening, there will be more WS readers than us "independents."

LOL. And good for you. I'm sure the customer was totally pysched!

Try value-priced zins from top producers in Lodi...$15-35. That area routinely sees 16% wines, and crazy-rich concentrations.

I've tried them, and I think you're being very generous in your reviews. Geographically, there's just no way that Guatemala can produce world-class wines, and lean on rum and beer instead.

When in Guatemala, perhaps local wine is a good call for variety's sake, and because South American and USA wines are so ridiculously expensive.

You should have dozens of great choices in the sub-$15 range to pair with this food. I like the suggestions that everyone has put up thus far.

Sticking with Spain, I suggest albarino for white. Mencia for red (fruity, unoaked, under 13% alcohol to compete with the chorizo heat), and take your pick on the rose. There are so many great value-priced roses in Spain to choose from -- suggest you select an off-dry just for variety.

If you are unfamiliar with these wines, just head to the best wine retailer in town and ask.

Welcome to the club. And stop calling yourself a weenie!

Here is one technical observation, and then some practical -- if not contrarian -- suggestions.

First, the technical - based on what you say above, you may be a hypersensitive taster, and if so, 90+% of the wine recommendations coming from the masses will not make sense to you. Nor will they understand why you like what you like...and perhaps call you unsophisticated! Google "Tim Hanni" to find the TasteSQ questionnaire online and figure out where you fit on the continuum of wine tasters. Hypersensitive tasters like sweet wines, low alcohol, and there is just no two ways about it. High alcohol zinfandels from Lodi will never work for hypersensitives. Nor will black coffee, single malt scotch served neat, and diet coke (aspertame), etc.

Forget notes, forget books unless you are really information starved. Just go to the best wine shop in your town once a week and buy a week's worth of wine. Tell them what you bought last time and whether or not you liked it. Your wine retailer will adjust your next purchase accordingly. This is so much more fun to most new wine drinkers than buying books and taking notes in solitude. Wine a very social topic.

As much as possible, taste before buying the bottle. This will keep the cost of "guessing wrong" way down....

Whatever wine appeals to you now is the wine you are supposed to drink now. If it is Sutter Home White Zinfandel, so be it. Many, many individuals who start to like wine start there -- and never like anything as much. Especially the hypersensitive tasters.

Don't collect wine. That gets expensive if you are in the exploration stages. Everything you can possibly need is available today at your local wine shop or within 3-4 days shipped from elsewhere.

I'll stop there.

Enjoy!

It's great to see this story. In my San Francisco circles, with arguably affluent wine drinkers mixed my the mix, Bordeaux sorely needs an updated image. It's completely shocking to hear what I hear -- "you have to spend $xxx," "there's nothing good under third-growth," "there's nothing comparable to my favorite California wines..."

Happy that Asimov is talking about this. And happy the Bordeaux marketing collective is spending millions trying to change their image.

Don't waste your time asking us...it will be hard to collate all the ideas. Head to the most trusted wine retailer in your location, and put the same question to her, and have a fun, memorable real-time debate about which ones you should choose.

Four perspectives:

Q: Are you crazy? All that pasta and cheese with seafood sausage?
A: Use the Force, Luke.

Q: What wine do you absolutely love to drink, regardless of food?
A: Pair with that wine. Even if red. Just be sure that you have a flavor balancing agent in your seafood lasagne. Like MSG or Vignon.

Q: Are you looking for a value-priced wine to pair with the dominant flavors -- assume bechamel, ricotta, shellfish?
A: Go to the wine shop and ask for a recommendation for a California chardonnay from Sonoma Coast, Monterrey, etc. with solid acidity and neutral oak. Also Albarino or Gruner Veltiner if you are anti chard.

Q: Are you looking to create the absolutl best wine pairing in the world?
A: Forget picking just one wine. Bring 5-6 of your best guesses to the table and have a ball deciding which one wins. Likely, 75% of participants will have a different opinion. It makes for a good conversation, and a long, fun night.

Buy as many appliances as you have money and space -- and tolerance for a growing inventory of gadgets.

I rarely run into anyone who actually uses all the gadgets they own. If they have a vitamix and a processor and a... it's for show.

But if you tell me you are in the kitchen 5+ days a week and produce most of your food from scractch, then load up the cabinet with major small appliances. ;-)

I appreciate your evangelism of Guatemala. It is a spectacular country.

But I have to drop in a warning about imported ingredients (Mexican shrimp) and going all over the country looking for ceviche. Be careful.

While good restaurants in mainland towns and smaller waterside spots can be trusted, you have to be very careful about ordering ceviche all over the country.

While ceviche is alive and well, I think the large majority of it should be avoided in fear of foodborne diseases, because you cannot trust that extremely poor people will care for mariscos and pescados in a proper way from water to table.

I say all this because I am constantly surprised when my well-traveled, first-world friends head down to South and Central America and end up getting food poisoning.

Are you sure you need 20 cases? That is 1200 glasses of wine. And my expeirence says it serves 400-450 people/3 gl per person assuming you have open bar and beer too. If no booze, then figure higher glass average per person.

Another think to consider: have 3-4 cases of premium wine for the premium wine people. Have the service team keep it under the bar for those who ask, and put it on the tables where the serious drinkers are. And they will love you for the top shelf treatment, and no one else will pay attention.

There's a lot to fall in love with in Ft Ross. Great value for money.

If you like it, you should try other wines in the Sonoma Coast region. Including Alcina.

And this bargain at K&L that tastes like Ft Ross for $13 a bottle: Sean Minor 4 Bears Carneros.

Maria Lorraine - thank you for putting this conversation on Chowhound, and then debating it thouroughly with the rest of the regular contributors and a few new folks.

As usual, I have learned a ton and have this as a reference if I ever intend to go deep on the subject.

That said, my habits won't change given this latest research or that done 10 years ago. In small amounts, I'll have a couple of high quality EVOOs (one Cali, one Spain), have a couple of lower grade picks from Costco, TJs, from who knows where, and assume I get exactly what I pay for...

Rancho Gordo is a star - - I tried 6 and all are great, with distinct flavors.

That said, there are a bunch of wonderful beans that don't cost $5 a pound (ridiculous), so while you explore RG, you should also head to the bulk food section of a specialty store and explore what costs .79 a pound...and while you're at it, try lentils and sprouted mung beans too.

you certainly hit the spots. a perfect premium Oregon tour. Did you happen to get a line on the value-priced wines in the region?

I tried Wine Preserva a few times so far. In my unscientific tests, I can say that it is better than nothing and perhaps on par with Private Preserve.

It's gimmicky.

But agree with Maria that smaller bottles and 100% argon are the way to go until otherwise told.