Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I have never heard of a red Champagne, though they do make a very few still wines from Champagne.  There are a fair number of sparkling reds out there now, often pinot noir based, but by no means all.

Basically, the whole point of making sparkling wine is to convert really crappy wine into something quaffable.

some folks seem to enjoy the bubbles

They do, but basically the wines grown in Champagne historically were crappy, and they discovered people would like them if they had bubbles - "I see stars!".

The district is too far north for reasonable maturation.

Oddly enough, it isn't easy to get a flight from here to IST unless you fly Turkish Airlines (they do one nonstop a day).  We have a nearly 6 hour layover in Paris because my wife wants to fly Delta.  Then coming back for some reason we go through DC, I don't know why, there are four flights a day from here direct to Paris.

I wanted to use Turkish, their price for a business class ticket isn't absurd.

Here's the Southern Living article that the Atlanta piece is taken from.

https://www.southernliving.com/new-barbecue-restaurants-2024-8643046

#13 Leroy and Lewis in Austin, and #2 Barb's in nearby Lockhart, are legitimately delicious.  Easily among the top places in the state.

The best Healdsburg wineries for wine tasting on a budget are David Coffaro Winery, Viszlay Vineyards, Longboard Vineyards, and Selby Winery.

1. David Coffaro Winery

David only recently began charging a tasting fee, as his was the last winery with free wine tasting in Healdsburg. That’s because, frankly, his wines sell out almost every year. David humbly believes when you make wine well, people will simply want it. And isn’t that how winemaking is supposed to be?

$10 Tasting Fee · Hours: 11:am to 4:pm, Thursdays – Tuesdays (closed Wednesdays) at 7485 Dry Creek Rd.

2. Viszlay Vineyards

There’s a spot where Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Chalk Hill meet. And in the cradle of these four appellations lies Viszlay Vineyards. That’s where you’ll meet John Viszlay. Rarely does someone make a transition from commercial real estate to winemaking. However, John has done so, and now runs this family owned estate winery with his son and daughter.

$20 Tasting Fee · Hours: 11:am to 5:pm, Thursdays – Tuesdays (closed Wednesdays) at 929 Limerick Lane

3. Longboard Vineyards

Imagine if a seaside surf shack washed-up along the shores of the Russian River. Okay, LongBoard’s not actually on the Russian River, but you get the idea… it’s really casual here. Like, tasting at a beach bar with a cool display of surfboards hanging overhead kinda’ chill.

$20 Tasting Fee · Hours: 11:am to 6:pm, Thursdays – Tuesdays (closed Wednesdays) at 5 Fitch Street.

4. Selby Winery

Susie Selby started her viticultural career driving a fork lift for a winery. Later, she opened her own winery in 1994 with her father David. And you have to say, Susie has certainly given Healdsburg’s wine scene a woman’s touch. It’s impressive how Susie can offer such affordable wine tasting, given the selections of sparkling wine she serves.

If you’re looking for a tasting room that’s a petite pearl of opulence, think Selby Winery. Selby tasting salon only specializes in sparkling wines.

$20 Tasting Fee · Hours: 11:am to 530:pm, Open Every Day at 215 Center Street


Enjoying Healdsburg on a budget is much easier than most people think, and you don’t have to settle for cheap wine tasting. A great place to start, is to weave these top Healdsburg budget wineries into your itinerary! If you’d like to peruse our artistic culture, see our top places for art and wine. And, there’s a lot more fun, friendly, affordable (and free) activities and adventures to enjoy, which you can learn all about by seeing our article on “Fun Free Things To Do In Healdsburg”.

the QB's in this conference are hot garbage. 

Dillon Gabriel is a clear cut #1 and he's just....an above average college QB imo. But great fit for that system so he'll put up really good #'s. Drew Allar is far more talented than Dillon Gabriel- he's got all the tools to be #1 but I just have a feeling James Franklin will hold him back and #2 is probably a fair spot for him heading into the year.

Tyler Van Dyke a lit bit too high. Miller Moss or Will Rodgers should be 3rd and 4th in some order. TVD should probably be 5th, Will Howard 6th. Aidan Chiles is way too low. He's top 8 at worst imo. 

Dylan Raiola could wind up being the best guy on this list by the end of the year. Has the highest 'crootin profile of any of these QB's and he's got a cannon for an arm. 

Haven't seen Alex Orji throw a single pass in a real game yet- but with his speed and athleticism and running ability-if he just isn't a turnover machine as a passer ala Jeff Sims- he's better than Cade McNamara. Cade was never all that great and immobile as it gets, just a solid college QB but he seems to have lost something after dealing with injuries and missing most of the last 2 seasons in a row because all the reports about his camp performance has been...well....kinda bad.