Wine Connoisseurs - give me your secrets

decides2dream

BinFrog wrote:

Just got back from my honeymoon, and the first 2 full days were spent in Napa/Sonoma. We tasted wines from 11 wineries, and shipped 20 bottles home.

Life is good.

congratulations!

sounds like a wonderful honeymoon!
some day mr. dream and i plan on hitting up the cali wineries too....sounds like an excellent way to spend some time off.


share any faves of the lovely bottles you picked up...

BinFrog

Thanks for the congrats

Word to the wise: the '07 Pinot Noirs from the Napa/Sonoma area are stellar. They had the best season in 30+ years. Most wineries have not released them yet, but be on the lookout for them when they come out in the fall.

It was a great honeymoon. We headed to Carmel after Napa, and then to Sausalito. 10 days of great weather and awesome scenery. I put more pictures on facebook then should be allowed by law.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001

Just a taste

-B-

decides2dream

BinFrog wrote:

Thanks for the congrats

Word to the wise: the '07 Pinot Noirs from the Napa/Sonoma area are stellar. They had the best season in 30+ years. Most wineries have not released them yet, but be on the lookout for them when they come out in the fall.

It was a great honeymoon. We headed to Carmel after Napa, and then to Sausalito. 10 days of great weather and awesome scenery. I put more pictures on facebook then should be allowed by law.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1148441001

Just a taste

-B-

great pics - i especially love the fourth one....beautiful! 6th one.... ....cheers to you too!


ahhhhhhhh....good to hear about the pinot noirs as that is my MOST fave varietal, and i do seem to favor the calis....so that's great news. i am a big fan of coppolla wines in particular, but i drink just about anything. :P to keep my consumption under $10 a bottle for everyday, i usually buy mirassou pinot noir, a cali wine.


we did the wine tour thing out east on long island last september i think actually 2007...i posted pics somewhere on the board. haha. see if i still have em on my photobucket.....


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... C06580.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... gazebo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... nebarn.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... yvines.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... column.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... eglass.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... barrel.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... wvines.jpg

thereya go!

BinFrog

Some nice pics there too!

ReeenkRoink

I've been getting into Port wines lately, Anyone have any recomendations for a good relatively cheap one?

BinFrog

ReeenkRoink wrote:

I've been getting into Port wines lately, Anyone have any recomendations for a good relatively cheap one?

Unfortunately, 99% of the time cheap port = bad port.

jimed14

BinFrog wrote:

ReeenkRoink wrote:

I've been getting into Port wines lately, Anyone have any recomendations for a good relatively cheap one?

Unfortunately, 99% of the time cheap port = bad port.

agreed ... while it depnds on your definition of "cheap", port isn't really something you can skimp on. There is no "Two Buck Chuck" of ports.

These are two I've bought in a grocery store and liked ...

Can usually find this for about $18-20 a bottle (sometimes it's up around $30 ... your store's club card savings program may vary) ... they carry it at Safeway here. It's pretty decent. The 20 Year is good, but, obviously, more expensive.



For sweet wines, they actually sell this at Costco for about $25 ... and, it's like crack. Royal Tokaji

BinFrog

If anyone cares, here are the vineyards we visited (and then the 2 that visited our Inn for a free tasting)

Day 1:
http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/
http://www.summerswinery.com/
http://www.augustbriggswines.com/
http://www.jessupcellars.com/
http://www.hillfamilyestate.com/

Day 2:
http://www.moshinvineyards.com/
http://www.aristawinery.com/arista/index.jsp
http://www.mauritsonwines.com/
http://www.ferrari-carano.com/

+ 2 more tastings provided by the Wine Country Inn:
http://www.hagafen.com/hagafen/index.jsp
http://www.vengevineyards.com/venge/index.jsp



If you want a port worth killing for, checl out the Frank Family Zinfandel Port.

http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/ind ... ngState=MA

Is it cheap? God no. We bought a bottle and I think it cost us $65. But oh MAN is it tasty.

The Champ

jimed14 wrote:

For sweet wines, they actually sell this at Costco for about $25 ... and, it's like crack. Royal Tokaji

That's some good Hungarian sweet wine right there! I generally hate anything sweet, but definitely enjoy the Tokaji, and not just because I'm Hungarian..I prefer the Aszu..

The Champ

I used to be big on the Pinots, especially from Oregon, but it's hard to find a decent one under $15 or even $20. Currently the best red wine bang for my buck have been from Argentina. Very nice and you can often find one for under $10 that drinks like an expensive one..good luck out there kids..anyone try Recession Red?

strummers

Black Stump - Aussie red, absolutely beautiful. Also El Bombero - Spanish red, mmmmm!

Also can't go wrong with the Italian Brunello di Montalcino - usually a bit pricier, but worth it!

coachchris

I am part owner and manager of a wine boutique store. I have to agree with an early post, don't worry about the cost, you can find some real bargains out there that really work and compliment your pallet.

If you're just getting into wine and want to try a red, start with a pinot noir. They are generally lighter wines and are for the most part non-offensive. I would suggest a pinot noir out of Chile.

Another poster mentioned Argentina for a place to look. These are by far the best bang for your buck these days. I make good margin on them and yet they are all under $25 Canadian! Malbec grape varietal is really hot right now! A really really good Malbec is called Catena.....we sell it for $24 and everybody comes back raving about it. Another great choice from Argentina is La Mascota Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a big body red and again it sells for under $25.

If you're more of a white wine drinker I would say stay with a Sauvignon Blanc out of New Zealand. Some great choices are Kim Crawford or Villa Maria! Both sell here for under $25.

If you like your Aussies red's, may I suggest trying anything by D'Arenberg or Peter Lehmann (my personal favourite wine maker). For high end stuff you can't go wrong with either winemaker, especially if you like Shiraz! Eight Songs by Lehmann $65 here or Dead Arm by D'Arenberg $75 are amazing Shiraz!

For the poster asking about Port. I really like Offley 20yr old. It sells for $55 Canadian so in the US that should be about $5

Hope this helps a little, if you have any questions anyone, don't hesitate to PM me

IGotShit76

sennin wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

my only *point* was....there ARe winemakers outside of oz calling their syrahs/shirazes....shiraz. :P even sennin above refers to yet another cali winemaker and their shiraz. that was all. whether they are 'incorrect' to do so or not, point is....they ARe putting it on the bottle label....so indeed, there ARE wines not from oz that are called shiraz. whether they note it's a 'clone' or not.....still using the name. a rose by any other name would still smell just as sweet.

and Syrah.....is named for a region in France....where it originally came from. I'm not sure where 'shiraz' came from.

Well not exactly ... Syrah grape is actually produced mostly in Rhône area in France. Some of the famous wines from Rhône and made with syrah grapes are Croze-Hermitage, Châteauneuf du Pape, Côte Rôtie ... They are not pure syrah wines but blends which is often the case for french wines.
The name may be coming from a town in Iran named Shiraz where similar grapes were coming from. But ADN studies (that's crazy) revealed it's a combination of two other french grapes in Rhône area.

For those who like sweet wines for dessert or even with foie gras (he he he), I suggest to try Gewürztraminer and especially those with the appellation "vendanges tardives" (late harvest). Though they may be quite expensive outside France.

One of the best wine I had was coming from Napa Valley. It was a pinot noir but I can't remember from which wineyard.

Another excellent one was a Château Le Châtelet 1992 (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru from Bordeaux area) I received as a gift when I turned 30. I shared it with friends two years ago and that was just amazing.

helplessdancer

heres the thing about wine...think of it as a never ending journey, of the exploration of variety, a full bottomless pit...

the more you explore
the more you will find out

it's about finding your personal best tastes
mostly about what you prefer
quality & variety are key

alla that, and you'll be drunk more often

it's a win win situation

JOEJOEJOE

I worked at a liquor store in the late 80's, and I bought a bunch of bottles of wine and kept them stored for 10-15 years......most of them were still good when I opened them.

If you have the self-control, buy a few bottles of cabernet and forget about them for 10 years....it'll make you like like a high-rolling pimp when you bust them out in 2019!

helplessdancer

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

I worked at a liquor store in the late 80's, and I bought a bunch of bottles of wine and kept them stored for 10-15 years......most of them were still good when I opened them.

If you have the self-control, buy a few bottles of cabernet and forget about them for 10 years....it'll make you like like a high-rolling pimp when you bust them out in 2019!

it's all about the collection

surprise is a key factor

covered in bliss

http://www.robertsinskey.com/Wines/69/P ... s-Vineyard.

A good restaurant is a great sourse for wine recommendations. A waiter/waitress that knows their shit will never steer you wrong.

florence151

Current inexpensive favorite - Terra Rosa Malbec from Chile +- $10- (cap, no cork!)
Our table wine J Lohr Cab.

Have put away a case of each to break out in 2018.
Hope they are still good.
Storing them in a cool, dark, slightly humid room in our basement.

Trip to Italy to see PJ last tour: Bologna, Turino, Pistoia. Great wine experience and wonderful concerts.

helplessdancer

I drank there and I slaved there

pjtradeking

Merlot By Berringer Founders Estate is good, and only $6-8 a bottle. Make sure it is the FOUNDERS ESTATE though as the other Berringer isnt that good. :-)