* THE WINE THREAD *

Cliffy6745 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Cliffy6745 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mcgruff10 said:

I drank this one last weekend.  One of the best wines I ever had. No ice cubes.

Fantastic wine.

So dude just posted a pic of Opus One, but regarding wine like this.  I know they're so good, but I have such a tough time spending $50+ on a Napa Cab or something along those lines. I know they're great and have had plenty, but there are soooooo many good California Cabs that are $30 or so or even less. I feel like I am getting more bang for my buck going old world when I start spending a little more on wine. Like I'd prefer to buy a Brunello/Barolo as a $60+ wine and seek out the good $20-$30 cabs that are highly rated.

Am I crazy?

No you aren't!

I bought a bottle of Opus for my boss.  I have never tried it.

Drinking wine though that is expensive is an experience that should be tried every now and again.  Some of the expensive wines aren't as good as a $30 wine though, they just aren't.

My favorite wines are from Howell Mountain and Alexander Valley area in Cali.  Pick something from those areas that aren't expensive and you'll taste a difference.

A perfect example is Rodney Strong.  His cab from Sonoma is very good for the price point.  While out to eat at a fancy steak house I noticed RS so I ordered a bottle.  Was a little pricier from what I had remembered but I know it's a good wine.  Upon tasting that wine there was an absolute difference from what I remembered.  Look at the bottle and lo and behold the vintage was from Alexander Valley.  This has become one of my favorites from them.

So my go to wine that I have around the house?

Los Vascos Cab from Chile.  About $9 a bottle.

It's a great wine for $9.  Buy it by the case.

Then I always have Seghesio and RS too.  Those are for other occasions but if I am really wanting something different I will see what else is out there so I know.  Brands like Jordan, Heitz, Howell Mtn, Symmetry, Hess, Frog's Leap, Duck Horn, Caduces and the list goes on.

Drinking wine should always be fun no matter what the cost.

This is good stuff and very much agreed.  I was looking at some ratings of Opus One vintages yesterday and there were a couple that had ratings in the 90 range. Now I get every rating and palate is different, but imagine drinking a $350 bottle of wine that you can get the same rating in a blind taste test for $20?

I have had expensive wine a couple times and it is an experience.  I love good wine and over the past 5 years or so have been drinking more and more and thinking about it and paying more attention to it. It is a whole lot of fun.

I am very familiar with Rodney Strong and am sure I have had both the Cab and Zin.  Interesting about Alexander Valley  Will look into.

Good stuff.

Cliffy6745 said:

You ain’t wrong, tempo 

tempo_n_groove said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Breaking out a bottle from Italy, a really small winery ran by a dude named mirko

And?

Cliffy6745 said:

mcgruff10 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Breaking out a bottle from Italy, a really small winery ran by a dude named mirko

And?

His ice maker broke so he wasn’t able to drink it. 
I had some stags leap on Christmas, damn it was delicious!!

Ha!

it was good. A little young and could use some more time in the bottle but absolutely no complaints

tbergs said:

Enjoyed a nice local red from one of my favorite wineries in MN, Trinity from Carlos Creek Winery. Always delicious, especially with some spinach lasagna.