* THE WINE THREAD *

briantheguitarist85

genevieve wrote:

Hubby and I are super excited to get some of this wine! There is a wine store that we have found where not too far. ust a tow over from us that has Maynards wine. Cant wait to try it! Have you seen the Blood Into Wine doc? I want to order it but dont know anyone that has seen it yet. Ive only seen snippets of it. It looks good though.

hey there, Yes i've seen the documentary. My fiance and I have it on netflix instant watch. Very good you will enjoy it and the wine too.. Go get some and you wont be disappointed!! Let me know which one's you got and what you thought of it!! Enjoy..

The Juggler

anyone heard of james gang wineries? http://www.tobinjames.com/club.html

crazy old lady i'm doing a loan for just mentioned them to me. she's 75 and sounded pretty hammered.

tobin james cellars--looks like that is what it is called... :?

florence151

pinkbutterfly wrote:

Here's my favorite ~



Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

A nice wine! Decant it and let it stand for two hours before you drink it next time. It will be even better.

Best I have right now is Ruffino "Modus" (an IGT) 2007. Wine Spectator gave it a 96! Under $25-!!!!!

genevieve

briantheguitarist85 wrote:

hey there, Yes i've seen the documentary. My fiance and I have it on netflix instant watch. Very good you will enjoy it and the wine too.. Go get some and you wont be disappointed!! Let me know which one's you got and what you thought of it!! Enjoy..

Cool! Will do! Do you decant? I know with some of the reds it makes a huge difference.

briantheguitarist85

genevieve wrote:

briantheguitarist85 wrote:

hey there, Yes i've seen the documentary. My fiance and I have it on netflix instant watch. Very good you will enjoy it and the wine too.. Go get some and you wont be disappointed!! Let me know which one's you got and what you thought of it!! Enjoy..

Cool! Will do! Do you decant? I know with some of the reds it makes a huge difference.

I've never done it before myself but Eric Glomski does a great presentation of how to do it on some website I found. Its really good to do it for really old red wines cause of the sediment that develops during the aging process. And it is also good to do to very young red wines too.. Again I've never tried this before so I don't know what it would be like. One thing I do do with my wine's, is I never chill them. I read on Arizona Stronghold site that Eric said " In all the tests we have done, cold stable wines lose some of their aromatic beauty. What wouldn’t be beaten up after getting that kind of treatment?!"

genevieve

Hey Brian.

We do decant, but we recently got ourselves this aerator. http://vinturi.com/
We had a small aerator that you pop into the bottle like a cork and it pours out through there. But we are really liking this one now.

coachchris

genevieve wrote:

briantheguitarist85 wrote:

hey there, Yes i've seen the documentary. My fiance and I have it on netflix instant watch. Very good you will enjoy it and the wine too.. Go get some and you wont be disappointed!! Let me know which one's you got and what you thought of it!! Enjoy..

Cool! Will do! Do you decant? I know with some of the reds it makes a huge difference.

Genevieve, we have both the wine from the Arizona Stronghold and Chupacabra, in which Maynard used imported grapes from California, and the documentary in my store. In fact, I have one Blood Into Wine poster left if you want it? I could maybe even get you an Arizona Stronghold bottle opener

I manage a local wine store here in Edmonton. We have over 1600 wines! If anyone has questions regarding wine, I'd be more then happy to lend an opinion or suggestion.

For Maynard's wines, the Chupacabra and Caduceus are good but IMO not worth the money. We sell the Caduceus for $55 Canadian and I would say it tasted like a $30 bottle. The Arizona Stronghold wines are all good but I think alot of the credit goes to Glomski on that one The Nachise (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) and Dala (Cab/Sauv) are both well done. We also have Tazi (white blend) and Dala (Dry Rose blend)
Any 10c members swing by and I'll hook you up

We did our best to have Maynard do a bottle signing at our store but his people were worried we couldn't provide security he would need, despite us already having arranged professional event staff which is the same staff used for all major concerts in Edmonton :roll:

We are likely getting Glomski in July

markin ball

catefrances wrote:

i bought this bottle of beaujolais the other day. lets just say i will not be becoming a regular beaujolais drinker in this lifetime or any other. its a bit weak.

The '08 beauj was pretty good!

genevieve

coachchris wrote:

Genevieve, we have both the wine from the Arizona Stronghold and Chupacabra, in which Maynard used imported grapes from California, and the documentary in my store. In fact, I have one Blood Into Wine poster left if you want it? I could maybe even get you an Arizona Stronghold bottle opener

Yeah I will take the poster for sure. I would like to make up a package of stuff for the fundraiser. Hubby and I should come by and see you. What days are you at the store?

coachchris

genevieve wrote:

coachchris wrote:

Genevieve, we have both the wine from the Arizona Stronghold and Chupacabra, in which Maynard used imported grapes from California, and the documentary in my store. In fact, I have one Blood Into Wine poster left if you want it? I could maybe even get you an Arizona Stronghold bottle opener

Yeah I will take the poster for sure. I would like to make up a package of stuff for the fundraiser. Hubby and I should come by and see you. What days are you at the store?

Monday-Friday 10am-6pm. St. Albert (right beside the casino) 3 Curial Dr.

genevieve

Looks like hubby will have to take a morning off work so we can come over and see ya. But Im sure it will be worth it!

coachchris

genevieve wrote:

Looks like hubby will have to take a morning off work so we can come over and see ya. But Im sure it will be worth it!

Poster and DVD put aside for you as a donation for the Pre-Party. Asked for additional corkscrews today

briantheguitarist85

coachchris wrote:

genevieve wrote:

briantheguitarist85 wrote:

hey there, Yes i've seen the documentary. My fiance and I have it on netflix instant watch. Very good you will enjoy it and the wine too.. Go get some and you wont be disappointed!! Let me know which one's you got and what you thought of it!! Enjoy..

Cool! Will do! Do you decant? I know with some of the reds it makes a huge difference.

Genevieve, we have both the wine from the Arizona Stronghold and Chupacabra, in which Maynard used imported grapes from California, and the documentary in my store. In fact, I have one Blood Into Wine poster left if you want it? I could maybe even get you an Arizona Stronghold bottle opener

I manage a local wine store here in Edmonton. We have over 1600 wines! If anyone has questions regarding wine, I'd be more then happy to lend an opinion or suggestion.

For Maynard's wines, the Chupacabra and Caduceus are good but IMO not worth the money. We sell the Caduceus for $55 Canadian and I would say it tasted like a $30 bottle. The Arizona Stronghold wines are all good but I think alot of the credit goes to Glomski on that one The Nachise (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) and Dala (Cab/Sauv) are both well done. We also have Tazi (white blend) and Dala (Dry Rose blend)
Any 10c members swing by and I'll hook you up

We did our best to have Maynard do a bottle signing at our store but his people were worried we couldn't provide security he would need, despite us already having arranged professional event staff which is the same staff used for all major concerts in Edmonton :roll:

We are likely getting Glomski in July

Man on a side note I do like Arizona Stronghold but only one Caduceus I really liked was the Nagual Del La Naga I thought it was awesome.. But I'm a big Maynard fan so I had to try it. Though I have been trying to get my local Liquor store to get in for me the Arizona Stronghold Dayden Dry Rose Blend but they haven't.. :( They carry all the others but the Rose one. Oh this fall Arizona Stronghold is coming out with a Dala Chardonnay. Can't wait for that!!

decides2dream

Coppola shiraz.
Yummm.

coachchris

2003 Collosorbo Brunello

markin ball

Some humble advice from a wine novice to wine newbies...

Pay careful attention to the vintage. It can make a huge difference. An '08 in your favorite brand might be much worse or better than the '07, etc. Look for a wine vintage app for your phone and when you are selecting a wine at the store, look up the region and see if that year was good or not. Its not a fool proof way of ensuring you'll get something great, but its a whole lot better than just a wild guess. I would rather choose a varietal I wasn't necessarily looking for that had a great year over the one I went into the store for almost every time.

Secondly...90% of cheap wine is very mediocre. Unfortunately about 70% of $20 to $25 wine is, too. I hope I'm not sounding too snobbish, but when you are new to wine, I think generally you can be ignorant of what good wine with depth, complexity and concentration is supposed to taste like. I know I was for sure. I think one of best ways to educate your palate is to go to a really great restaurant with a sommelier who can set up a great pairing with properly served wine at the right temperature, etc. I had no idea what I was doing until I had a few $75 to $200 wines from great vintages with great food. Once I learned, though, I was able to identify much better wines that were $25 and under which make up the vast majority of what I drink ($15 and under actually).

staceycurci

You are totally right - when it comes to wine price means everything! The more expensive wines are dramatically better!

My favorite wine at the moment is Plantagenet Omrah 2008 Pinot Noir. A western Austrailian burgundy. It is dry and soooo smooth. Just pure bliss to savor. I tried a cheaper south eastern Austrailian Pinot Noir thinking, hey maybe its not THAT much of a difference. Holy hell was I wrong! Total shit. I will stick with my Plantagent Pinot Noir - It's not a $75 bottle but it is quite amazing! Give it a try wine lovers - you can thank me later

markin ball

staceycurci@yahoo.com wrote:

You are totally right - when it comes to wine price means everything! The more expensive wines are dramatically better!

My favorite wine at the moment is Plantagenet Omrah 2008 Pinot Noir. A western Austrailian burgundy. It is dry and soooo smooth. Just pure bliss to savor. I tried a cheaper south eastern Austrailian Pinot Noir thinking, hey maybe its not THAT much of a difference. Holy hell was I wrong! Total shit. I will stick with my Plantagent Pinot Noir - It's not a $75 bottle but it is quite amazing! Give it a try wine lovers - you can thank me later

Try a Nevis Bluff '05 PInot. Very good for $15.

florence151

Tonight's dinner and wine:

2007 FRESCOBALDI NIPOZZANO Wine Spectator 91 Robert Parker 90 $19.00. Plum, cherry forward but with enough tannin to keep it bright. Decanted for 3 hours before dinner.

With a simple, farm style lenil soup made with tomato and chopped sauteed sausage with fresh spinach added. Grated cheese on top / Romano. Home made bread: Italian Style, hard, corn meal encrusted, roll.

Just the way it should be.

coachchris

markin ball wrote:

Some humble advice from a wine novice to wine newbies...

Pay careful attention to the vintage. It can make a huge difference. An '08 in your favorite brand might be much worse or better than the '07, etc. Look for a wine vintage app for your phone and when you are selecting a wine at the store, look up the region and see if that year was good or not. Its not a fool proof way of ensuring you'll get something great, but its a whole lot better than just a wild guess. I would rather choose a varietal I wasn't necessarily looking for that had a great year over the one I went into the store for almost every time.

Secondly...90% of cheap wine is very mediocre. Unfortunately about 70% of $20 to $25 wine is, too. I hope I'm not sounding too snobbish, but when you are new to wine, I think generally you can be ignorant of what good wine with depth, complexity and concentration is supposed to taste like. I know I was for sure. I think one of best ways to educate your palate is to go to a really great restaurant with a sommelier who can set up a great pairing with properly served wine at the right temperature, etc. I had no idea what I was doing until I had a few $75 to $200 wines from great vintages with great food. Once I learned, though, I was able to identify much better wines that were $25 and under which make up the vast majority of what I drink ($15 and under actually).

You do have to be aware of price but by no means does it reflect all wines. I agree though, vintage can make a dramatic difference. We have vintage charts posted in my store for consumers to check.

That said, there are some great wines under $25 out there.

Schild Estates 2008 Shiraz, we sell for $25
Wine Spectator rated the wine 94 points and then ranked it No. 7 in the Top 100 Wines of the year.

D'Arenberg Stump Jump Shiraz, we sell for $14.95
The Stump Jump Shiraz, 2008, is one of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2009.

Peter Lehmann Clancy's we sell for $14.95
Wine Spectator, has selected Clancy’s in its prestigious Top 100 Wines of the Year listing on no less than four occasions since 1997, and selected the 2004 vintage to appear in its inaugural list of the world’s Top 100 Wine Values.

Those are just out of Australia. Once you know what to look for there's a ton out there!