The Wine Thread -- what have you been drinking?

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I could talk about wine all day and all night, but there are very few people I see with any regularity (outside the store, of course) who care much about it. I'd love to be able to have a thread where we share our impressions of wines we've enjoyed recently (or, if incredibly memorable, not so recently). I know there are quite a few wine-related threads already, but I hope that this one will catch on.

The last wine I drunk was a near-dry German riesling -- the 2001 Gunderloch "Jean Baptiste" kabinett. German 2001s are very ripe and juicy, so this one comes across much more sumptuous and rich than most kabinetts, but it's still got finesse aplenty. I am completely in love with riesling right now, and I plan to drink as many as I can afford, especially with the warm weather finally coming on.

― Clarke B., Wednesday, 18 February 2004 20:59 (9 years ago) Permalink

A very dry Hungarian red I found for cheap at Trader Joe's and which is most delicious, got a good bite to it. I'll post more details tonight.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

Bull's Blood!

I worked in a bunch of California wineries for years and no longer give a shit about it. All the magic is gone, and most of the people in the industry are completely full of shit - get them involved in a blind taste test and they'll make total asses of themselves. Most can't tell the difference between a merlot and a cabernet, truly.

That said, there's some cheap Penfold's at Trader Joe's that rules my world right now... $5.99 shiraz I think.

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:19 (9 years ago) Permalink

Bull's Blood!

That would be the one. 2000 vintage I think.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

The bottom is falling out of the market - you can get some deals now.

Say, what is that stuff at Trader Joe's - Charles Something - we call it Two-Buck Chuck. What happened there? There must have been a bankruptcy or something... no Napa wine should sell for $1.99 unless there was some kind of trouble.

It's actually sort of drinkable, especially if it's the fourth or fifth bottle...

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:29 (9 years ago) Permalink

I just recently made a list of some types I wanted to investigate:

marsala ambra, colli
maderia verdelho
traminer
and a cold duck (whatever that is?)

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:30 (9 years ago) Permalink

COLD DUCK EW.

I got ridiculously wasted on Cold Duck red champagne a few weeks ago and died to death at Emilymv's. Our boy Fudge who was over there coined the term "Quack Attack" to apply whenever drinking Cold Duck again. Which will never EVER happen ugh.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:33 (9 years ago) Permalink

Cold Duck was my first drunk, circa fourth grade. It's a lower alcohol sparkling wine, used in punches.

I think the rest of your choices are cooking wines!

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:34 (9 years ago) Permalink

Anyway, I want a big bodacious pinot noir as dank as the Steele I had last week but for far less than $30 a bottle. Any suggestions?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:34 (9 years ago) Permalink

A bottle of Portuguese Palmella Garrefeirra awaits. I am very curious.

Last bottle- Ca' del Solo Big House Red (actually by Bonny Doon). They were clearing out a bunch for like $7/bottle. Bonus factor-- SCREW TOP!

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:36 (9 years ago) Permalink

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:36 (9 years ago) Permalink

last wine bought (two times in a row, cuz it was on sale): hogue cabernet-merlot, $7.99, pretty average but not bad.

― jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:39 (9 years ago) Permalink

From the Canandaigua Wineries website:

"Cisco is a Beverage Dessert wine for people who like a strong, great-tasting sweet wine at an affordable price. Cisco is available in a wide range of flavors: Orange, Peach, Red, Berry, Black Cherry and Strawberry and in 375ml and 750ml sizes. All wines are offered in both 13.9% and 18% alcohol by volume..."

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:39 (9 years ago) Permalink

As far as cheap wine goes--here is Orbit's Trader Joe's Wine Report

Search: Anything from Columbia Crest and esp. from Columbia Crest Grand Estates--lots of oak. The Chard and Maerlot/Cab table wines are on sale for 3.99 I think. The Grand Estates are more from 5.99-7.99

The French red Bourdeaux from Trader Joes are generally good. Chateau Haute Rozier is one, I think

I'm a little disaapointed with Trader Joe's Australian offerings, from the usual suspects, but I've found that if for a white, if it is blended w/ Semillion and for a red, if it is a blend with Shiraz, the cheap wine is brought up to drinkable.

2 buck chuck (Charles Shaw) is undrinkable swill. Bull's Blood is on the same level.

At Trader Joe's you do get what you pay for, and it is hard to get a decently drinkable table wine for less than 5.99. An exception is the Marques de Caceres White Rioja at 3.99 and occassional sales on Columbia Crest.

The Italian Bastardo (it's the only one Trader's has) is a pretty good deal for an ordinary pizza wines, but beware the Barolo, Barbaesco, Sangiovese, Cameneire. I would get these wines at a real wineseller like Rolf's.

The best under $20 Champagne/Sparking Wine is Domaine Ste. Michelle Extra dry7.99 and at a step up Roederer Estates NV 17.99 (the latter you will have to go to Costco or Rolfs for)

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Well, la dee da-da...

― andy, Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:45 (9 years ago) Permalink

At $11 Duck Pond Willamette Pinot Noir is a pretty decent, and obv. way cheap for PN. I don't normally consider PN as "big bodacious", but this is ok. The problem with PN is I think the the $25 bottle is likely 10 times better then the $15, but I can't afford $25 even occasionally.

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:45 (9 years ago) Permalink

the last red i bought was francis coppola claret. it's delicious, and way too easy to drink.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:47 (9 years ago) Permalink

well excuuuusseeee meeee mr. andy!

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:48 (9 years ago) Permalink

My knowledge of wine <<<<<< my knowledge of how much I like to drink it.

School me please people!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 21:50 (9 years ago) Permalink

you should try rioja (spain) or malbec (argentina) if you like gutsy reds. you can generally get a much better bottle for less money than you would spend on a comparable french or italian red. 1997 or 2001 are years to look for with rioja, not as sure about malbec. the last one of those i had was a 2002, about a $14 bottle, and it was lovely.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 22:02 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I find even $6 Norton malbec to be drinkable. I had a malbec Reserva that was really great a couple of months ago, but now can't remember the label. Taking recommendations plz.

I really like Rioja, but after a couple of duds I realize I need a primer. Orbit?

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 18 February 2004 22:07 (9 years ago) Permalink

If you're looking to get lots of wine for your dollar, you can do a lot worse than Spanish wines. Many wonders can be had for $12 and under. Rioja is great but perhaps overvalued -- most are on the expensive side, and the cheap ones usually aren't as good as the cheap ones from other, lesser canonized, areas. Look for wines from Montsant, Yecla, and Ribera del Duero. I'd be happy to make suggestions! Problem is, alcohol is generally pretty poorly distributed. I can get wines here in Virginia that some of you probably can't get, and vice-versa (HELLA vice-versa, actually).

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 01:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

Has anyone done tasting nights @ Astor Wines y Spirits?

― ModJ (ModJ), Thursday, 19 February 2004 02:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

i've been drinking shiteloads of chardonnay lately, mostly rosemount, trentham estate and windy hill. tonight i'm having dinner with my sisters and this will almost certainly involve ingesting expensive reds. hopefully Henschke, which is blissfully fucking amazing

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 19 February 2004 02:56 (9 years ago) Permalink

Has anyone done tasting nights @ Astor Wines y Spirits?

i was looking at their schedule online today. i haven't gone yet, but it's something i keep meaning to do. tomorrow is australian wine.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:08 (9 years ago) Permalink

the last red i bought was francis coppola claret. it's delicious, and way too easy to drink

oh i just had that last nite. nice

― phil-two (phil-two), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:28 (9 years ago) Permalink

Ah, also last week I had a bottle of Castle Rock cabernet sauvignon, and I think it was among the very best $11 cabs I've had. And it was on sale. Their Pinot Noir was pretty meh.

― Hunter (Hunter), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:39 (9 years ago) Permalink

Ned, in Pennsylvania I could never buy wine at Trader Joe's (let alone Hungarian wine).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:44 (9 years ago) Permalink

I don't know anything about wine, but in the last few years it's more or less the only alcohol I have any interest in drinking. Am I just fulfilling someone's idea of maturity? I don't think so. I am not interested in getting really drunk, because it's unhealthy, but I also don't like the way hard liquor feels in my body, and I don't like the way beer makes me feel so full. But a couple glasses of red wine can give me a nice buzz.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

Pennsylvania has laws against that kind of thing?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:47 (9 years ago) Permalink

State-run liquor stores. (You probably have heard this before.) Although I think there are wine shops that are independent of the state. But you can't just go to any old food store and buy wine or any other alcohol (except maybe cooking wine).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Thursday, 19 February 2004 03:48 (9 years ago) Permalink

Red wine is good for the heart, as well--it's proven by science.

I'm drinking Renwood's sierra series zin from 2001 right now, it's decent but far from my fave. I love Peter Franus's zins, and highly recommend them if you can find them. I'm about to drink a 1997 Rosenthal Malibu Estates cab, and expect it to be fantastic as I had some about a year ago or so and it was getting really good. Had a 1997 Liparita cab from Napa a few days ago, great stuff. I'm running out of good wine though and have been falling back on the cheaper stuff as I am tonight, but cheap wines have been getting better lately.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 19 February 2004 05:30 (9 years ago) Permalink

I like Zin, and I just got to taste a terrific one from Downing Family in Napa (Oakville to be precise) -- very restrained and elegant for a zin, which can be overly jammy and huge for my tastes.

Castle Rock cab is very very good for the money -- they're a Napa producer, but their cab is Washington fruit.

Jim, you sound like you're pretty into the Aussie stuff. I envy you getting to drink that Henschke -- sounds awesome. Have you Yalumba's unoaked chard? Very tasty.

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 05:55 (9 years ago) Permalink

"have you *tried*" duh

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 05:56 (9 years ago) Permalink

I am lazy and have been consuming a lot of Yalumba and Banrock Station cask chardonnay and semillions. For cask wines they aren't all that bad though (and certainly arent dirt cheap). Have a nice bottle of Yellowglen sparkling in the fridge we're gonna have after work I think, with a nice rare steak and some roast tatoes.

I cant drink reds, I'm allergic :(

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:06 (9 years ago) Permalink

I pity you Trayce.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:07 (9 years ago) Permalink

Sorry to hear, that Trayce. I've read that sulfite allergy is similar to lactose intolerance in that more people than you might expect suffer negligible to mild symptoms but don't even register the cause. You're definitely not alone; you probably just have a worse case than most people.

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:11 (9 years ago) Permalink

i haven't had the Yalumba, i'll get some on the weekend!

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:16 (9 years ago) Permalink

The odd thing is I can tolerate whites (though if I have too much, I wake up with a severe sinus headache). But reds, I get a nasty headache and blocked sinuses after a few mouthfuls, I really dunno why. If it was the sulfites, wouldnt white do it too? Maybe its the amines, or... I duno.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

Jim - the Yalumby 2L casks are often on special and the chardonnay and columbard chard are quite drinkable, in that cheap and cheerful "have 6 glasses" kinda way.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:25 (9 years ago) Permalink

Clarke, what wine store do you work in?

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:27 (9 years ago) Permalink

If it's to be _only_ wine, I'll take zin. So tasty. Plus high alcohol, hurrah. Last year a buddy gave me a bottle of Heywood Estate Chamizal Zinfandel- I just realized that it's 93. I wonder if it has made it this far down the road. I think he got it cellar door, and presumably they'd know exactly how long to cellar it.

― Hunter (Hunter), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:51 (9 years ago) Permalink

I'm all about spanish red's at the moment, big full bodied gutsy reds, very brash, not full bodied in the same way as a good Barbera or Pauillac, but much cheaper. Particular h9t was Torres Tempranillo, 2000 vintage, I know it's a big brand but very good nonetheless.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 19 February 2004 11:15 (9 years ago) Permalink

BULLS BLOOD? Isn't that that terrible stuff that not even Lixi and I (who might I add, are well accustomed to Pollo's ~~keg~~house wine) could stomach? Or is it something with a similiar name?

I wished I had a bottle of wine whilst watching Foopballers Wive$ last night but I did not :(

― Sarah (starry), Thursday, 19 February 2004 11:26 (9 years ago) Permalink

My store's called Wine Warehouse. It's not part of a chain or anything, as the name might lead you to believe; the name is actually tongue-in-cheek, as our owner wanted to differentiate the place from boutique-y "bottle shops." We have a lot of smaller producers, and the owner and managers do an amazing job with quality control.

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 12:52 (9 years ago) Permalink

Milller High Life - the champagne of beer. I hate wine.

― Chris V (Chris V), Thursday, 19 February 2004 13:21 (9 years ago) Permalink

This thread is going to be hellish useful in determining when Matt Coastal is back from his holiday.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Thursday, 19 February 2004 13:37 (9 years ago) Permalink

What did it ever do to you, Chris??

― Clarke B., Thursday, 19 February 2004 18:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

i just don't like the taste of it. and the breath it gives you is something else.

― Chris V (Chris V), Thursday, 19 February 2004 18:17 (9 years ago) Permalink

A bottle of Portuguese Palmella Garrefeirra awaits. I am very curious.

The label says J P Garrafeira 1995 Palmela. It's got some kind of D.O.C. style registration cert on the back. It's 100% Perequita varietal from Setubal peninsula, and I have no idea in hell what any of that is about, I've never had perequita. It's quite good. I think it's rather like a strong finishing Garnacha. You ever heard of this style Clarke? I got it on sale from a heavily raided case.

― Hunter (Hunter), Friday, 20 February 2004 05:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 470 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

i wish i appreciated wine more than i do.

― Cindy Mancini can ride my lawnmower anytime (thebingo), Saturday, 12 May 2012 00:18 (1 year ago) Permalink

more lozenge than syrup because there is that tart sucking on hard candy taste. when i was very small i got very sick and couldn't take cough syrup; it made me gag. so that is the case for qualia and what you cannot recover in your own lifetime.

― youn, Sunday, 13 May 2012 23:07 (1 year ago) Permalink

Robitussin, make me feel so fine
Robitussin, elderberry wine

― Lee626, Monday, 14 May 2012 00:56 (1 year ago) Permalink

crozes
pommard
bierzo
cotes de ventoux
some nz sauv blanc

― nakhchivan, Monday, 14 May 2012 01:01 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

Does the shape of a bottle say anything about the wine it contains? I am asking this question after attempting to divide a bottle into 4-5 glasses based on the height of the label (level after the 2nd glass?) and finding it works differently for French (feminine) and Spanish / Portuguese reds (masculine). Spanish reds were featured in a Lloyd Cole song. If he were to rewrite it today, I imagine he would tie Greek whites to the drachma or something like that ...

― youn, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:40 (7 months ago) Permalink

It does: Burgundy and new world pinot noir have a rounded shape; Bordeaux and its grapes (cabernet sauvignon et al) have a straight cylinder shape; and Rhone wines (syrah, grenache, mouvedre) have an even more rounded, shapely bottle.

But, with a few funny exceptions, they all hold 750 mL of wine.

― pretty even gender split (Eazy), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:43 (7 months ago) Permalink

high shouldered = bordeaux, rioja, chianti
low shouldered = burgundy, rhone, barolo mostly

then there are those slender alsace/german things that new-world riesling producers kitschily copy

― Cornelius Chi-Dubem Udebuluzor (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

Giant photo, but here are the four common shapes (forgot to mention tall/slim for riesling, gewurtz, etc. from Germany and Alsace):

― pretty even gender split (Eazy), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

traditional jura wines are still sold in some peculiar size like 620ml or sthing

― Cornelius Chi-Dubem Udebuluzor (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:45 (7 months ago) Permalink

I think I've seen those .. Please forgive the gender stereotypes ...

― youn, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 01:35 (7 months ago) Permalink

The shoulders are meant to capture debris when pouring the last of the bottle, so you see them on reds rather than whites.

― nickn, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 02:09 (7 months ago) Permalink

the wikipedia page for vacqueyras is amusingly sniffy & embittered

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

Being a little brother of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and, arguably, Gigondas, the wine is moderately prestigious and can yield pleasing results when treated correctly.[2]

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

The best vineyards are found on Plateau de Garrigues. In the lowland, warmer temperatures result in more powerful and often inelegant wines.[2]

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

The red wine can be much like the wines from Gigondas but for some reason Vacqueyras rarely manages to match their northern sibling.[citation needed]

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:47 (7 months ago) Permalink

Vacqueyras is, like Gigondas, known for its power rather than its elegance.

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:47 (7 months ago) Permalink

G & V now seem ro be in a great place these days.

― pretty even gender split (Eazy), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

I almost never drink anything but cheap plonk, but lately when I want a wine with a reputable character I've been buying reds from the Cote du Rhone appellation, with invariably good results.

― Aimless, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:52 (7 months ago) Permalink

there is some excellent wine from vacqueyras and it's usually better than cheap chateauaneuf-du-pape

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Tuesday, 16 October 2012 19:22 (7 months ago) Permalink

Trader Joe's has a cheap Cote du Rhone that I think is not bad. I think it's the one with a rooster on the label, in a kind of squat bottle.

― nickn, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 00:49 (7 months ago) Permalink

i'll be visiting the states in about a week and will be visiting trader joe's promptly upon arrival. what bargain wines might you recommend, o ilx trader joe sommelier types? is that a proper recommendation for the roostery cote du rhone, or were you just giving it a backhanded compliment?

― messiahwannabe, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 08:22 (7 months ago) Permalink

I don't know if they have this at Trader Joes, but Ravenswood 2009 Vintners Blend Cabernet Sauvignon is great value at around $9 per bottle. Very drinkable and balanced.

― o. nate, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 14:36 (7 months ago) Permalink

No, I do like the roostery CdR. I'll stop by again to see if that's an accurate description. It's about $6. I used to get their Black Mountain stuff, every varietal I tried I liked, and it was $5/bottle then. You'll have to try a 2 buck chuck, just to say you did. I "prefer" the Syrrah, but for all I know all the reds are the same wine.

I like the Casilliero del Diablo Carmenere, and a Bodega Norton Malbec, both $8.

― nickn, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 19:13 (7 months ago) Permalink

Rooster-y Cotes du Rhone is La Veille Ferme--mass produced but from one of the Perrins, so related to the same family as Reserve Perrin and Chateau du Beaucastel.

TJs is good at having exclusives on $5-$20 wines, worth taking a chance based on the lengthy descriptions in the store. Wouldn't go for Two Buck Chuck or $5 pinot noir unless you're hosting an art opening.

― pretty even gender split (Eazy), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 19:32 (7 months ago) Permalink

good call o.nate - ravenswood was my go to cheap wine when i lived in california, you could get it at every corner store and supermaket in northern california for $7/bottle back then. highly quaffable. glad to know they're still putting out quality product! dunno if they have it at trader joes but maybe i'll see it somewhere

i've bought blindly at TJs before, never gotten anything undrinkable but some choices were definitely better than others

― messiahwannabe, Thursday, 18 October 2012 04:29 (7 months ago) Permalink

you know, there should be a rolling trader joe's cheap ass wine recommendations thread! i mean there's a lot of turnover/new products coming through, right? pretty much everyone i know loves tj's cheap ass wines, but not all cheap ass wines are equally good.

contributors could go all wine snob and rate the bouquet, finish, nose, discuss the composition of the blends and terroir etc, or just call out exceptionally awesome cheapie finds

― messiahwannabe, Thursday, 18 October 2012 04:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

The TJ's Caves du Fournalet Cotes du Rhone is the one I was thinking of. But the rooster one is good too.

http://www.cheapwinefinder.com/2012/09/2011-caves-du-fournalet-cotes-du-rhone-red/

― nickn, Wednesday, 24 October 2012 21:00 (7 months ago) Permalink

thanks! off to tj's now and thought i'd check in, score. also, i can confirm that theirjunmai ginjo sake is v quaffable - if it's at all cheap i'll buy another one (tbh i stole that shit out of parents liquor cabinet and drank the whole thing in a day. yes i am 44 years old)

― messiahwannabe, Monday, 5 November 2012 19:46 (6 months ago) Permalink

drinking a red st aubin atm

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Monday, 5 November 2012 21:52 (6 months ago) Permalink

it's not that great, i don't think it's corked but it's quite astringent for village burgundy

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Monday, 5 November 2012 22:25 (6 months ago) Permalink

I had a Maipe Malbec 2011 recently. Good value - nice balance of smokiness, fruit, astringency.

― o. nate, Monday, 5 November 2012 22:27 (6 months ago) Permalink

just wanted to point this out:

http://www.mnstatefair.org/_assets/pdf/competition/ahb_fruit_rs.pdf

page 6, Lot 001 Red grape table wine, 100% MN grapes

that's my dad's wine at #1 ^_^

― Gandalf’s Gobble Melt (DJP), Monday, 5 November 2012 22:30 (6 months ago) Permalink

'Good intensity with beautiful raspberry fruit. Good weight on the palate with a clean Pinot Noir purity, elegant with a good balance, finesse and long length. '

hmmmn

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Monday, 5 November 2012 22:31 (6 months ago) Permalink

Also, the rooster wine actualy has a goat on it, but at some point it was a rooster, I think. And both are $4.99 here (LA area) rather than the $5.99 mentioned in the link I posted.

DJP: Your dad's wine as in a favorite of his, or one he's involved in making?

― nickn, Monday, 5 November 2012 23:01 (6 months ago) Permalink

appelation minnesota contrôlée

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Monday, 5 November 2012 23:02 (6 months ago) Permalink

how do you grow grapes in the american version of siberia?

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Monday, 5 November 2012 23:03 (6 months ago) Permalink

OK, followed the link. Perry Vineyard! How large is the label, production-wise?

― nickn, Monday, 5 November 2012 23:04 (6 months ago) Permalink

University of MN has an excellent agriculture dept all about creating delicious hardy fruits and vegetables to grow in the MN climate

Dad's vineyard is super small, with about 200 vines. He made about 30 cases of wine in the batch he submitted to the fair

― Gandalf’s Gobble Melt (DJP), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 12:06 (6 months ago) Permalink

in a fit of tightwaddedness i bought a bottle of 2 buck chuck: a charles shaw 2011 california chardonnay. it did the job and didn't taste revolting, but that's about all i can say about it.

also finally scored a bottle of j sparkling wine (the last one at whole foods) i've been looking for one since i had a really delicious bottle of the stuff back in '97, but this bottle tasted nothing like champagne - it was as if regular wine had become carbonated. not particularly impressed this time.

also, if you are going to try to re-enact the champagne blowjob scene from espedair street, i suggest you keep the bubbly at room temperature, not freezing cold, right out of the fridge etc

― messiahwannabe, Thursday, 15 November 2012 21:37 (6 months ago) Permalink

I picked up some Juan Gil Jumilla (Spain) yesterday. An earlier vintage got listed on one of those glossy wine mags in their "100 best of the year" roundup. It is very good and about $17. Vons supermarkets are having a 30% off everything sale with an extra 10% off if you buy 6 of anything, so I got it for under $11. Also picked up some Poppy Pinot Noir for about $8, also something I've had before and liked.

― nickn, Thursday, 15 November 2012 22:04 (6 months ago) Permalink

That one Vons I went to has a pretty impressive wine selection, with a special locked room where I could see $200+ bottles on sale. Never asked to go in, because that's out of my range.

Also a good beer selection.

― nickn, Thursday, 15 November 2012 22:06 (6 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Domaine Grand Cotes du Jura Trousseau 2010 (Jura, France): For some reason, my initial reaction was this wine tastes a bit like beer: I think my mother will like it. The Wikipedia entry for Jura wines states that yeast is used in the production of vin jaune. It is a light-bodied red, however, and has low alcohol content, unlike what is claimed in various Wikipedia entries.

― youn, Monday, 7 January 2013 01:46 (4 months ago) Permalink

vin jaune is aged like seven years in casks

― things that are jokes pretty much (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Monday, 7 January 2013 01:47 (4 months ago) Permalink

that sounds like a pretty nice wine anyway, maybe like an alsace pinot noir or something? i would like to try more wines from places like jura and savoie

― things that are jokes pretty much (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Monday, 7 January 2013 01:49 (4 months ago) Permalink

the other day i had some argentine malbec/syrah which was total dogshit and conceivably the worst wine in the world not containing antifreeze, assuming it didn't contain antifreeze

― things that are jokes pretty much (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Monday, 7 January 2013 01:51 (4 months ago) Permalink

Malbec/Syrah sounds like a weird blend. I usually avoid those 50/50 blends - I had a Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay once that was pretty nasty.

― o. nate, Monday, 7 January 2013 01:55 (4 months ago) Permalink

The different wines that go into rose seem interesting together. For white wines, it seems the most you can do is to use sweet wines for effect. I think I've had good Semillon/Sauvignon blanc. I also remember liking the Qupe Marsanne Roussanne.

― youn, Monday, 7 January 2013 03:22 (4 months ago) Permalink

well semillon/s.v. is p. standard bordeaux shit; malbec/shirz is more like we don't know wtf we're doing

― an eagle named "small government" (call all destroyer), Monday, 7 January 2013 04:19 (4 months ago) Permalink

no it's like whatever the worst cheapest shit to bulk buy and sell we can stick in a bottle for something that costs barely more than the excise tax

usually different varietals are combined maybe 70:30 or 80:20, many of the famous bordeaux wines tend to be either merlot or cabernet sauvignon heavy, or better mendoza wines might be predominantly malbec with some cabernet sauvignon

it's less common to employ a roughy equal amount of two different wines, at least in the old world, though you might find it with grenache/syrah or grenache/tempranillo in southern france and spain, and in australia/chile/etc it tends to be pretty entry level stuff

― things that are jokes pretty much (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Monday, 7 January 2013 10:34 (4 months ago) Permalink

The 2009 Dee Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty good value for about $12.

― o. nate, Monday, 21 January 2013 03:31 (4 months ago) Permalink

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