We had a great time at the Alcorn McBride Christmas party last night. This year we hired Puff ‘n Stuff to cater the event, and they did a great job. It was nice to have more time to spend with our friends, and to have the house all put back in order at the end of the evening. Â My favorite foods were the cheddar and bacon dip, poached salmon, beef empanadas and the mashed potato bar.
We poured a half dozen sparking wines, of which I thought the best were the Piper Heidsieck Brute Champagne, Iron Horse Fairytale Cuvee (the only non-Champagne entrant) and the Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial. The two nectares from Moet & Chandon were too sweet for me.
All of the red wines poured were made by Sparky Marquis from Shiraz, but they were all different. In descending order of my ratings: 2003 Henry’s Drive Reserve Shiraz, 2002 Marquis Philips 9, 2009 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy, 2009 Mollydooker The Boxer. Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s also descending order of price!
We were very lucky with the weather. After two weeks of very cold (for Orlando) weather, with some nights dropping into the 20s, Friday was in the mid 70s, and the evening was warm enough to sit outside until after 10pm. The next morning we woke up to rain, so our timing was perfect!