It all started with me
I started my winery because I wanted to show the world I wasn't just any ordinary corporate CEO. I wanted to prove I was sophisticated, cosmopolitan, genteel, and capable of spending 18 million bucks for ego gratification. One hundred-fifty years ago I might have bought a cotton plantation. But how many society columns would cotton get me into these days? Behind every great wine is a great winemaker At my winery, it's me. Experienced? Damn right! I once had the biggest wine cellar in Beverly Hills. I've got an assistant, too. Some young enologist fresh out of UC Davis. I bought him cheap. It's a buyer's market. The wine and nature are one There's nothing quite like the deep, sensual colors of rich, dark soil. Or the inspiring sight of thousands of tender vines, alive and bursting with growth. I like to watch them from my swimming pool up on the hill. It's cleaner up there. It's the people behind our wine that make the difference At Chateau L'Ego we use foreign people. They're cheap. If they weren't, we'd really have to stick it to our customers. Take my wife's recipes....Please My wife's name is Muffy. People have been commenting about her cooking for years. When we're entertaining wine writers and other freeloading dignitaries at our simple vineyard manor, Muffy often gives the cooks the night off and surprises our guests with her processed cheese crullers. You'll find Muffy's recipes in our quarterly four-color newsletter and on the back of every bottle of our wine. Aging. Another secret of great wine My wines are aged in fancy French oak barrels that cost me 850 bucks apiece. The enologist kid told me to buy them. They'd better be good. The more you know about wine, the less likely you are to be reading this. So there's no sense in confusing you with talk about tannins, acids, residual sugar, diacetyl, malolactic fermentation and the rest of that technical bullshit. Just take my word for it. My wine's good. You work hard for your money. You deserve a bottle of wine at a fair price. Tough. So how many people get what they deserve these days? We look at the market, figure out what we can possibly get away with, then add 25%*. Will we look expensive? Hell, no. Every other winery is doing the same. Nobody's going to screw up a good thing. * 50% for Zinfandel. Heh-heh. Do we need to give you a reason to buy our wine? You've got to be kidding. We're a cult wine. All those wine writers who guzzle down our wine think it's tickety-boo. Particularly you-know-who. You'll look like a schmuck if you don't like it. And your self-image is too shaky for that. I ought to know. That's why I started my own winery. And that's why Chateau L'Ego is your kind of wine. We recommend... Chateau L'Ego wines are indeed suitable for all occasions. You'll find them as complementary to Duck l'orange as to fish sticks, to rack of lamb as to corn dogs. Our whites are often enjoyed en les rockes and knowledgeable hostesses are discovering that a case of Chateau L'Ego can turn a simple dinner party into a truly occasion memorable. You're invited to be our guest at Chateau L'Ego Winery We're open 7 days a week. Admission $25. Children under 8 months free. Includes self-guided tour and free two-page brochure. Tastings $9.50/glass. Cheese, luncheon meats, T-shirts, paperback books, used corks and labels available at our souvenir shop. Don't miss the autographed pictures of the winery owner suitable for framing. $65 and up. Lunch with Muffy by appointment. Inquire about rates at ticket counter. |
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