WINE: Old Sugar Mill and Bogle Vineyards, Clarksburg

Thanks to mom and dad visiting, I had a great excuse to excuse myself from work. Saturday was Ports and Chocolate weekend at Bogle Vineyards and the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, CA. I won't make this too lengthy, but let's just say, we prefer less crowded weekends when we bring a picnic and don't have to deal with pushy people trying to get their 100th pour. Too many short obnoxious men taking up too much room and being overly domineering and loud. Do you really need to drape yourself over 5 feet of the entire tasting area and monopolize the vintner's attention when there are about 50 other people waiting? I think not. Typical jerks trying to get their free stuff. Seemed to be more about the "free" and not about the tasting of the wine. Bogle- still a favorite, mostly a reason to support local businesses; best wines- Phantom and Old Vine Zinfandel. Old Sugar Mill- great ambience, but Ray described the wine, at times, as vintner's dysentery. Carvalho- bad; immature wines. Solomon- disgusting; sugary water. Revolution- respectable Pinot Grigio, if just for the price. Heringer- the best petite syrah port we tasted on that particular day. Todd Taylor- this is probably the best winery in that complex/area. I think it's better than Bogle (sorry Bogle). It seems that their wines are more complex than the sugar water we drank at all the others. Their wines probably compete with Napa- I think most of their grapes are from Amador County and some regional Monterey areas. The Tempranillo, Primitivo, and "Clockspring" Zin are must tries. The best food we had that day- some random deli in between Bogle and the sugar mill on the main road.