The Wine Thread -- what have you been drinking?

"It may surprise most southerners to know commercial wine making is a big industry, almost bigger than catfish farming"

I'm trying to warm up some cheese, what is your favorite/most effective method to bring cheese to 'room temperature' when you're too cheap to turn the thermostat above 65?

hahahaha

A really interesting and cheap red. Not as ascerbically dry as most Corbieres, probably from being a blend of no less than five grape varieties; Carignan, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Syrah and Mouvèrde. I wouldn't think it would work so well, but there's a richness with some high dry notes that works very nicely. Next time I am in the area I shall visit the chateau.

Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages. This one is my favourite wine of all. Has been for awhile now. I've tried several other Beaujolais, too and it just isn't the same. Luckily this isn't the "nouveau" variety so you can get it year round, and it tastes much better than the nouveau stuff. It's about $8-13.

It was also good to note that after a few years of believing their own hype and producing over-fruited over tannic monsters the McLaren Vale is producing some good, balanced and juicy shirazes, I was starting to despair.

Still couldn't find a Pinot Grigio that made me do anything other than yawn, though. Oh well. If anyone comes across a decent one, do let me know.

An absolutely delightful wine, much more rounded than many others of the area. Delightfully drinkable.

If it's young, def decant for (if you're serious) an hour or so.

Currently lined up for the slaughter: Whites, whites and more whites:
2003 Rieslings from Reif and Flat Rock Estates.
2001 Gewurztraminer from Vineland (soon as I can make up some yummy indian food in this bloody heat).
2004 'Twisted' from Flat Rock, a white wine blend involving chardonay, riesling and gewurtaminer but more importantly tastes good in 40 degree humidex.

Also I have a bottle of red from the '70s, is this still going to be drinkable or is it more than likely godawful by this point? I don't think it was kept in the most ideal of conditions, ie it was my grandfather's.

...only if it's a really good, strong red (Cab etc.). If it didn't have a lot of tannin going in, it probably won't have kept. That being said: holding on to it longer will probably only make it worse, so... Nothing venture, nothing gained.

Dry Riesling = yummy.

Château Routas Rosé, 2005

For those keeping score: this move is called the Texas Sidepull.

They recently had an insane sale on McMannis Cab for $5.99/bottle, so we got a case of that. I've had a bit of that lately.

But I gotta say, I'm so constrained on the law school budget that this week I decided that I'd try for the first time one of the so-called "premium box" wines-- 3 litres, the typical range is $15 to $24 per. I bought toward the middle of the range-- Black Box Cabernet. Not terrible, but not very good. Thin, rather acid/sharp, no finish to speak of. On the other hand, it's not plain sour. Just sort of tolerable. I will probably try some of the Aussie Shiraz next. If anyone's got recommendations for this sort of table wine, I'm listening.

88 points from Robert Parker! He says, "Even better is the 2004 Naia, a tank-fermented and aged Verdejo offering loads of honeysuckle, lemon zest, and orange rind characteristics in a crisp, medium-bodied, surprisingly textured yet elegant, fresh style. Enjoy it over the next 12-18 months. (6/30/2005)"

Que bueno!

This is good stuff - we had a bottle a few nights back. Cost Plus used to sell it in the US, around $7/bottle. Another nice inexpensive italian wine is A-Mano Primitivo if you can find it.

We've been drinking Red Truck from Cline as a standard - about $8/bottle here, as well as various lembergers from Kiona and Covey Run.

Here's a weird one I liked a lot:

Medanos from Mendoza (but not Malbec, it's a Bonarda/Tempranillo) 2003 $8
really bright but full-flavored. jolly. I hate thick and jammy or overly oaked wine