Wine Connoisseurs - give me your secrets

decides2dream · February 2009

jimed14 wrote:

(not being a dick, just being an educator here. ... "Aussie shiraz" is redundant ... if it's called Shiraz, it's Australian by nature, if it's made here in the US, it's Syrah. You can actually get Rosemont Shiraz in your local gorcery store for around $10-15, and honestly, I like it)

hey there!
i KNEW it wasn't just oz that referred to shiraz as shiraz. i was just out to dinner the other night, got a bottle of cali wine....and yes, it was labelled SHIRAZ. as i said earlier, i've known about the syrah/shiraz, being interchangeable...but never heard that the term 'shiraz' was aussie-only. so someone better inform delicato wineries.

btw - tried a malbec from coppolla and it was delish! bold and deep...with chocolate undertones....sooo good! i didn't know any cali wineries even produced malbecs - it is new for coppolla, thought it was pretty much the domain of SA.

wolfbear · February 2009

vduboise wrote:

you are suppose to spit it out- eat some bread or neutral crackers and then try some more.

If you really want to know about wines- most culinary schools have wine classes for recreational purposes. I did one years ago when I left school. It was great and informative

We once took a class with another couple at a community college. It was really fun and informative. We got to try many different wines from all over. We've also visited many different wineries, which is something we love to do while traveling. The one thing I learned about me is that I love them all. I guess my palate isn't very discriminating.

BinFrog · February 2009

Without getting into my favorites or what I know about wines, one piece of advice: Find a local liquor store and ask if they have someone there who knows about wines. If so, have them walk you around the store and pick out 5-6 of their recommendations in your price range. Be honest about what you are willing to spend. Tell the guy you want wines in the $10-20 range, or no more than $12, or go crazy and say you want a few in the $20 range and 1 or 2 in the $30-40 range to try some of the less expensive of the higher end wines. Do this a few times a year and keep a notebook of your favorites. If you find a $15 bottle you love, inquire about buying a case so you always have some around for guests and nice dinners.

decides2dream · February 2009

BinFrog wrote:

Without getting into my favorites or what I know about wines, one piece of advice: Find a local liquor store and ask if they have someone there who knows about wines. If so, have them walk you around the store and pick out 5-6 of their recommendations in your price range. Be honest about what you are willing to spend. Tell the guy you want wines in the $10-20 range, or no more than $12, or go crazy and say you want a few in the $20 range and 1 or 2 in the $30-40 range to try some of the less expensive of the higher end wines. Do this a few times a year and keep a notebook of your favorites. If you find a $15 bottle you love, inquire about buying a case so you always have some around for guests and nice dinners.

excellent advice!

i think too, simply paying attention to what you drink at a friends house, out to dinner...making note of what you seemingly enjoy, or not....especially differing varietals...and then using such info as a guideline in the wine hop when making choices. when we first started buying, i focused on a few varietals we enjoyed and price ranges we were willing to spend in. also, recommendations of friends helped expand what to try as well. it's such a fun and enjoyable process, trying new wines! i especially enjoy finding wines that i really like that are inexpensive. i've tried just about ever pinot noir our local store carries under $30, many shirazes, malbecs, etc....using this same system...trying different vairetals from different regions, etc. whatever criteria you choose can make it fun to experiement!

sennin · February 2009

There are no rules to what is good...and what is bad. Drink what tastes good to you. Try them with different foods....try wines that 'compliment' the food.....try wines that 'contrast' with the food. Talk to the 'wine person' at your local grocery store.

....and 3 buck chuck isn't bad wine. The Shiraz and Chard have won many awards....including "double golds" for their respective classes. It kind of turn the wine industry on it's ear. A wine that scores 97+....for $3??? Wine snobs everywhere are probably in a panic!

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/artic ... 254801.txt

You can't judge a wine by it's price.

Some basics.....

Reds w/ hearty meals....try a Bogel Cabernet (Or Chuck) w/ some lamb....or even pasta or a nice pizza!

Whites w/ lighter meals....BV Carneros Chard w/ some fish.....or fish tacos

But some whites can really stand up to heavier stuff too!

Grey areas....spicy foods, I like a gewurstraminer or a reisling (sweet white wines). I think you can go white or red w/ salmon or tomato based dishes.

and oh...last tip....pick up the glass by the stem. <maybe a slight bit snobby?

ok...one more tip....don't let anyone tell you what to like!

decides2dream · February 2009

this reminds me, just watched the flick bottle shock over the weekend. while it's no sideways...it's a good little flick and pretty interesting, and true. anything with alan rickman always gets me watching no matter what.

jimed14 · February 2009

decides2dream wrote:

jimed14 wrote:

(not being a dick, just being an educator here. ... "Aussie shiraz" is redundant ... if it's called Shiraz, it's Australian by nature, if it's made here in the US, it's Syrah. You can actually get Rosemont Shiraz in your local gorcery store for around $10-15, and honestly, I like it)

hey there!
i KNEW it wasn't just oz that referred to shiraz as shiraz. i was just out to dinner the other night, got a bottle of cali wine....and yes, it was labelled SHIRAZ. as i said earlier, i've known about the syrah/shiraz, being interchangeable...but never heard that the term 'shiraz' was aussie-only. so someone better inform delicato wineries.

There is a vineyard out here named Loxton, they are from Australia ... they actually borught out Shiraz grapes, grow them here and call one of their wines "Shiraz" ... but, they note it's a Shiraz "clone" ... check them out if you can ...

http://www.loxtonwines.com/index.html

decides2dream · February 2009

jimed14 wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

jimed14 wrote:

(not being a dick, just being an educator here. ... "Aussie shiraz" is redundant ... if it's called Shiraz, it's Australian by nature, if it's made here in the US, it's Syrah. You can actually get Rosemont Shiraz in your local gorcery store for around $10-15, and honestly, I like it)

hey there!
i KNEW it wasn't just oz that referred to shiraz as shiraz. i was just out to dinner the other night, got a bottle of cali wine....and yes, it was labelled SHIRAZ. as i said earlier, i've known about the syrah/shiraz, being interchangeable...but never heard that the term 'shiraz' was aussie-only. so someone better inform delicato wineries.

There is a vineyard out here named Loxton, they are from Australia ... they actually borught out Shiraz grapes, grow them here and call one of their wines "Shiraz" ... but, they note it's a Shiraz "clone" ... check them out if you can ...

http://www.loxtonwines.com/index.html

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.

sennin · February 2009

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.

Something_More · February 2009

I really like Cabs... but they can be really bold.
Try Ménage à Trois Red blend... VERY good and you can find it for about $10.

CreedDisease · February 2009

I think wine is about personal preference, and don't believe more expensive = better...

It was at a blind wine tasting that I realized 2 things:
1) I have cheap taste
2) alcohol is a social lubricant... At the beginning of the tasting, noone was talking to one another. Everyone was trying not to look stupid. By the end you couldn't keep people from talking, sharing opinions, getting to know one another. I guess what I am trying to say is... don't spit it out

Another thing I have noticed is that people influence how wine tastes...ok, maybe it is just me, but I have had the same bottle of wine with people that I love, and love to be around, and I have had it by myself... In good company, good wine tastes better.

That's all I got... I think if you had a different bottle of wine every day, you couldn't try them all... but I am still gonna try! Hope you do too.

I would say don't be afraid to ask questions, but I think you are already there

decides2dream · February 2009

definitely will be trying out a whole bottle of coppolla's new wine, the blue label malbec, over dinner tomorrow night. 8-) as i mentioned earlier, got a taste of it recently and it was wonderful! however, was only a taste....were at the bar at our fave italian place, know everyone there, noticed the bottle and the bartender gave us a taste and had some damn fine interesting discussion about wines.

already were into drinking mixed drinks tho that night.....so tomorrow will be the virgin bottle for us! can't wait!

intodeep · February 2009

sennin wrote:

....and 3 buck chuck isn't bad wine. The Shiraz and Chard have won many awards....including "double golds" for their respective classes. It kind of turn the wine industry on it's ear. A wine that scores 97+....for $3??? Wine snobs everywhere are probably in a panic! !

I love going to trader joes and getting the shiraz. for $2.50 i'm sold. I always have a few bottles sitting around.

decides2dream · February 2009

intodeep wrote:

sennin wrote:

....and 3 buck chuck isn't bad wine. The Shiraz and Chard have won many awards....including "double golds" for their respective classes. It kind of turn the wine industry on it's ear. A wine that scores 97+....for $3??? Wine snobs everywhere are probably in a panic! !

I love going to trader joes and getting the shiraz. for $2.50 i'm sold. I always have a few bottles sitting around.

some day i must visit this utopia known as trader joes. :P have heard of it, know they are about...but there's really not one in a truly convenient location for us...so we've never gone, yet. someday........and a good bottle of wine for $3? sold!:D

i am sooooooo looking forward to kicking off the weekend with a nice bottle of mirassou pinot noir, $8.90, when i get home! it ain't the price, it's the taste!

bee_boy · February 2009

Chilean Carmenere or Argentinian Malbec. They both rock my world

On a separate note, I drink my red wine at about 5C-10C, way below room temperature. Can't stand warm wine

pearljgirl2010 · February 2009

If you live near a Whole Foods, check their website for awesome wine tastings....there is one in El Segundo, CA that has some sort of tasting every night...usually themed. They're about $10 for 5 tastings and there are yummy snacks to pair with for free :-) a few of us girls go every couple of weeks and it's a blast...i've learned a lot. i've done ports, stouts and chocolates, and various different wine tastings..highly recommend going if you can!

decides2dream · April 2009

dunno what happened to my 'let's talk wine' thread

...seems to have gone poof, or the search function isn't all that great, surprise, surprise.....;)

anyhoo....a nice inexpensive pinot noir - chilean - pepperwoodgrove. under $8 a bottle and goes down well.

yum! looooovvvvvvveeessss me some pinot! 8-)

btw - i looked into it - trader joes in NY, not allowed to sell wine. forgot about that. bummer....

South of Seattle · May 2009

I've always enjoyed the Chilean Shiraz (I thought Shiraz was not just Aussie, but south of the equator? But what do I know? I'm a beer and vodka guy

)

decides2dream · May 2009

South of Seattle wrote:

I've always enjoyed the Chilean Shiraz (I thought Shiraz was not just Aussie, but south of the equator? But what do I know? I'm a beer and vodka guy )

i think we've established that while shiraz may've originated as a term for a particular varietal of australian wine, that it indeed DOES refer to other regional wines....such as chilean, californian, whatever else....

i've obviously had australian shiraz, but also a few californian, and i too have had chilean shirazes. then i've had long island syrahs along with other regions of syrahs, which is bascially one and the same varietal, just different area of origination for the term. so sure syrah - france, shiraz - oz....but both terms are used for wines produces in other regions.

whew!
:P

i want me some wine!

but i've been being *good*.....no drinkin M-Th. trying to limit to saturdays, sometimes a little on sundays....but fridays keep sneaking in too.

BinFrog · May 2009

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.

Wine Connoisseurs - give me your secrets

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