# FORUM PERKS



## Waldo (Jul 9, 2009)

The perks afforded by being an active, participating member of this forum are too numerous to list and I have probably not realized/discoverd all of them myself. One that stands out on my list is meeting new friends and exchanging wines. I can't begin to remember all the different wines I have been afforded the opportunity to try through this exchange and my most recent acquisition came to the Cats Meow from Al Fulchino (




Thanks Buddy )


It actually arrived on my Birthday so that was a great, unexpected Birthday gift. What Al sent me was a bottle of his 2008 Signature Blend


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<DIV align=left>It is resting right now from it's journey and I am really looking forward to popping a cork on this one


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## uavwmn (Jul 9, 2009)

Amen, Waldo. And Happy Birthday!!


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## gaudet (Jul 9, 2009)

You are going to like that one Waldo..... 

I thought it was especially tasty....


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## IQwine (Jul 9, 2009)

how do you ship a bottle or two?
Are there special boxes to use or special packaging?
I would like to send a couple to my son.
your pics look like you had a very special day there, Waldo


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## Wade E (Jul 9, 2009)

I ship mine UPS and just use a box big enough to fit the bottles I need to ship plus some bubble wrap around each bottle and some peanuts between them. It is illegal to ship wine in case you dont know so if they ask say its marinade or jams and jellies. There are special Styrofoam boxes designed for this and heres a link.
http://www.uline.com/BL_5450/Styrofoam-Wine-Shippers?desc=Styrofoam+Wine+Shippers


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## IQwine (Jul 10, 2009)

hmmmm.... did not know that
Thanks, wade


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## Goodfella (Jul 10, 2009)

How is the wine Waldo?


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## Wade E (Jul 10, 2009)

IQ, lots of us ship wine all the time, just take care in packaging your bottles good and all will be fine. I have been shipping wine for 5 years now and have not had a broken bottle yet.


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## Waldo (Jul 10, 2009)

Goodfella said:


> How is the wine Waldo?









Shhhhhhhhh It's still resting right now. That was a long hard journey.
I think perhaps by next weekend it should be feeling up to a nice celebration.


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## Goodfella (Jul 10, 2009)

HAHA.... Good!!!


I will be expecting a report.


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## AlFulchino (Jul 10, 2009)

glad you finally got it Waldo....from what i can deduce it sat in some heat over the weekend...sorry about that and hope in a few days it is just fine and certainly i also hope you enjoy it

and to tell you the truth..i do not recall which oak your wine rested on whilst aging...i guess i will find out when you drink it!


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## Waldo (Aug 16, 2009)

Another bottle of wineshowed up at the Cats Meow the other day. This time it was a Syrah from rrawhide and has special significance as he had sent me some cuttings from the vines this wine was made from. As an inducement and encouragement to my vines now gowing from those cuttings I took the bottle out today and showed the vines what they could grow up to be. 














This one has really taken off down the fence


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## Wade E (Aug 16, 2009)

Fingers crossed for some good results there buddy.


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## grapeman (Aug 16, 2009)

Doing great there Waldo.


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## Waldo (Aug 17, 2009)

Think they are gonna make it appleman?


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## Waldo (Oct 8, 2009)

And the perks will continue this evening as Kat andI pick up Gaudet and his wife in Little Rock for dinner and later some wine tastings. Stay tuned for continuing developments and maybe even a picture or two


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## Brewgrrrl (Oct 8, 2009)

Love the pics! I've been trying to find a winemaking group out here in Detroit but have struck out so far.

Is it really illegal to ship wine??? That seems so silly to me. Of course, I also thought it was silly when my peanut butter was confiscated the last time I flew on an airplane (apparently that counts as a liquid and could somehow be made into a dangerous weapon). So I guess I don't have a good "read" on the general logic for safely moving stuff around the country.

Is it illegal to ship wine in and in between all states?


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## gaudet (Oct 8, 2009)

Yeah buddy. Kicking back after a long uneventful drive. Very scenic and peaceful cept for that crop duster that buzzed us back in Eudora. 

Looking forward to dinner tonight with you and Kat.


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## vcasey (Oct 8, 2009)

Brewgrrrl said:


> Of course, I also thought it was silly when my peanut butter was confiscated the last time I flew on an airplane (apparently that counts as a liquid and could somehow be made into a dangerous weapon).
> 
> 
> Is it illegal to ship wine in and in between all states?



Maybe you have taken almond butter or sunbutter instead



! When I ship wine I ship through UPS and when they ask what I am shipping I just say homemade goods. Never had a problem.

Waldo &amp; Gaudet looking forward to pictures.
VC


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## Wade E (Oct 8, 2009)

It is illegal to ship wine anywhere!!!!!! Some of us do it though, you just gotta pack it real good so that it can take a beating and not break. Ive shipped out around 100 times now and all over the US. I dont use the U.S. postal service as thats a federal offense.


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## gaudet (Oct 8, 2009)

Waldo & Kat,

thanks for some great company & great BBQ. We will plan to come back and enjoy more of this beautiful state.


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## Waldo (Oct 9, 2009)

We hope you do gaudet. Was great meeting you and your wife Tanya. 
And a thanks to rrawhide for providing the wine for this event. Albeit not the one he intended us to shate it was still enjoyed by all. I had planned on taking the merlot rrawhide had sent me for ourafter dinner sipping but inadvertently grabbed a bottle of the Syrah instead.
Anyway, upon arriving at the hotel to pick up Mike and his wife thy expressed a desire to get elbow deep in some good ribs so off to Simms BBQ we went. 















Tanya, Were the ribs good ?
And she replied.................










After dinner we headed back to the Hotel and popped a cork on rrawhides Syrah ( awesome wine there buddy )


























Was way too short of a visit and I left with a great selection of Mike's wines ( will get and post picture of those later)We thoroughly enjoyed the meeting you guys and look forward to a possible trip to O'leans in the future.


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## AlFulchino (Oct 9, 2009)

Sounds like you had a great time!


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## hannabarn (Oct 10, 2009)

It is always nice to put a face on a name!! Not at all what I expected Gaudet to look like!!!!!!!!


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2009)

Great pics and Mike your wife looks like the hotty Marg Helgenberger!


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## Waldo (Oct 10, 2009)

You got it ass backwards wade.. Marg Helgenberger looks like Mikes wife


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## Waldo (Oct 10, 2009)

Al Fulchino said:


> Sounds like you had a great time!





Indeed we did Al..It's always such a great pleasure meeting someone from the forum..


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## Waldo (Oct 10, 2009)

The two bottles on top were compliments of barney which I received via UPS on Wednesday and the remainder were from gaudet....Tell me i diodn't score !!!!! 
THANKS to both of you. they will be much enjoyed.


The two bottles from barney were a Cranapple/Blueberry blend and a Chokecherry


The ones from gaudet were a Persian Lime Mead, Muscadine aged on Hungarian Oak, Muscadine Port, Mulberry, Cranberry/Muscadine blend and a Orange Blossom Mead.


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## gaudet (Oct 12, 2009)

Man that was a marathon of driving. From New Orleans to Little Rock wasn't too bad. We left at 06:30 on Thursday Morning and made it there for 15:30. Met with Waldo and Kat and it was a very nice evening. Great company and great wine. Thanks to you Rrawhide, that was the first syrah I've ever had and it was most excellent. Wish we could grow them grapes down here. 

Al we did have a great time. And made a good friend as well.

Barney, were you expecting perhaps a younger Gent?





And Wade, my wife thanks you for your compliments, and blushes while accepting them. 

Drove to Dallas on Friday, left at 09:00 and made it there at 16:30. Relaxed around the room then went walk around the local area since it had a bunch of places to eat and drink. Hit the happy hour at a little Mexican place for some Margaritas and then went back to the room to crash.

Saturday morning, we left about 10am to check out the state fair at the Cottonbowl. It was fun, but I had not anticipated the weather change. I was dressed for 70-80 degree weather and got 50-60 instead. BRRRRRR!!!!!!

Lots of stuff to see there, we mainly went for the strange foods we had heard about. Chicken Fried Bacon and fried twinkies as examples. There were long lines for stuff like the deep fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches and deep fried butter (I don't know what sick individual thought of that one). So we didn't get to try everything, but had an enjoyable time. I even got Tanya to go on the Ferris Wheel which was 214 feet tall. (She doesn't like heights)

We decided to come home a day early yesterday since Mrs. Gaudet and I were a little homesick. We left Dallas at 09:30 and made it home at 19:00. The weather was threatening to pour down, but held out and was not too bad a drive home.


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## hannabarn (Oct 12, 2009)

Glad you had a safe trip home!! (Quote) "Barney, were you expecting perhaps a younger Gent?" No, not younger but perhaps a little thinner!







But what I saw I liked!!!


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## gaudet (Oct 12, 2009)

Well the thinner me was killed years ago by my wife.





I can't resist her cooking.


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## vcasey (Oct 13, 2009)

gaudet said:


> Well the thinner me was killed years ago by my wife.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



LOL! My husband blames me as well. He has lost over 50 lbs. using http://www.sparkpeople.com/. The best part is that you can pretty much eat what you are used to, just in his case less



. And he did not stop drinking his beer, just had to account for what he drank.
VC


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