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Thread: To the wine afficianados

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    Default To the wine afficianados

    ok I'm not a connissieur but I really do enjoy my wine. What parts of the world do your favorite wines come from and how much are you willing to spend on a bottle?

    Me? I've found that some of the best values come from Chile, Australia, and I've just discovered today...South Africa.

    I can't recall the Chilean wine I adore because I'm so fuzzy off the south african but I truly love Lindemans from Australia. I've had many varieties...merlot, cabernet, shiraz, sauvignon blanc...I just discovered this South AFrican today it's called Goiya it's the Chardonnay/Sauvignon blanc mix...yummy! it was 5 or 6.99 for the bottle! yay! I also picked up the obligatory Merlot (Bianchi from Madera County sounded good to me especially for $7) and a Chardonnay from France called "Wild Pig". Now, the only reason I picked up Wild Pig is because it was:

    1) on sale from 9.99 to 6.99
    2) has a pretty sun embossed on the bottle )
    3) my chinese horoscope makes me a pig

    The price? Anything more than $8 and the label REALLLLLLY better catch my eye. I would estimate that the average that I pay for a bottle is $7 (gawd I love those vons and ralphs club deals!)

    Winos please share your tricks, secrets and adorations.

    Should I really be hoarding that '93 bottle of Dom Perignon for a special occasion?


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    Featured Member FONDL's Avatar
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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    I've found that the best cheap reds come from Chile, several good brands are available around here (Maryland or Delaware) for $6.99 for 1.5 liter. When I want something a little better I go for California wines. Talus is a great inexpensive CA wine that's easy to find ($6.99 a bottle.) For special occasions I usually buy Rodney Strong at about $15 per bottle. Yum.
    Friends Of Naked Dancing Ladies (FONDL)

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    i LOVE cloudy bay from new zealand. it's sweet & fruity- just an amazing taste.

    my fav wines, though, are red italians.

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    oh yes, you can never go wrong with a classic like italian or french wine.

    New Zealand, hmmmm I'll have to check that out

    FONDL you are absolutely right I think the best cheap reds do come from Chile. I saw the Talus in the store yesterday it was a tossup between that and the Bianchi. California has some really good wines. I went on a wine tour for my birthday last month the best one (that I can remember) was at Falkner and they had some special production it was called "Luscious Lips" Gorgeous label, very tasty, hilarious story behind the name, and quite a deal at $9.99. Of course it can't be bought in the store, only at the winery (or perhaps online as well)

    Miss George I'll check out the pinotage.

    Thanks for the tips for my next wine run I'll definately be checking out S.A.'s pinotage and something from NZ (not too sure about sweet tho is it a dessert wine carmen?)


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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    saph, let me be more clear, it's not really that sweet- but it's a great fruity flavor...the first time i had it was with sushi and i fell in love...it was awesome and you can get a really nice giddy buzz off it and no, it's not a dessert wine.

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    asti spumanti. nice sparkling italian white. useually costs 10-22 depending on the size of the bottle and where you are.

    I also like arbor mist. cheap stuff, but still good. peach is my favorite.

    I just tried a red spumante the other day. it was good, I useually don't like reds, but this one was good. and only 5 on sale. (7 normally I think)

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Oh, I adore asti spumante but that is a special occasion wine not within my misery wino range.

    Arbor Mist I like to toss fresh sliced fruit in...yummy.

    A red spumante, eh? hmmmmm...another one to add to my list.



    A link to the wine tour I went on for my birthday. If you are in the area or will be I highly recommend this company. They are very relaxed and have no problem taking you to a different winery even though the rest of the group is at another winery. They were punctual, informative and alot of fun. Oh yeah, and the guy at the bottom was the driver yum yum what a nice piece of eye candy for the birthday girl!


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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    My Favourites.

    Friesa- from Bonny Dune Vineyards- sparkling red tastes like strawberrys and peach. Excellent for Romantic Eveng Apertif.

    Piniot Nior- from Oregon, and The Santa Cruz Mountains in CA, great alternive to a Russian River Piniot Nior or a Negociant from Burgundy.

    The Spanish Temparrillo wines - the high end ones are cheap. 13-21$ a bottle excellant value towards the dollar.

    Any Cabernet or Blend from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. A true bargain, thank you Chatue Ste. Michelle.

    Folieux A Dux- Zinfendal "old vine" form Amador county.
    Tastes great, better than a cheap Merlot, but at the same price.

    Armida Vineyard's- Poizion (blended Zin) and La Femme De Mystique (blended cab) -excellant value for the price. Armida ships direct so check their website or call their Capitola California tasting room for more info. Good Bargains to be found.

    Bonny Dune Vineyard-- Cal Del Solo Charbono- this is a rare varietal, actually tastes like blue berries in character. Cheap and very good with wild game like venison.

    Also Bonny Dune Vineyards- Vin De La Glacier ice wines, perfect for dessert and cheaper than real German ice wines.

    La Crema Vineyards-- Chardonay "Napa" No Oak and Buttery ML taste- done in french style very well worth it at $12 a bottle.

    Rosemont Estates-- Australian a perfect bargain, very good wines.

    Any Gwuertraminer or Reisling from Alsace in France. They are not sweet like white zin or their german counterparts. Both are very good with Asian, Indain and Tropical food's mild in heat. If you like the food hot then go German or Austrian.

    Camyus Vineyards- Conundrum blended white, perfect with herby seafood dishes, lightly sweet.

    Robert Mondavi- Fume Blanc

    Grigrch Hills [spelling is messed up] awsome old school, high tannin european style wines meant for aging.

    Hope you like my choices.


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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    mm saph he was yummy! when i was in italy this summer i went on a tour of the Chianti winery with a really italian boy...mmm..

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    Featured Member SCGirl's Avatar
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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    The best white wine EVER comes from a small town in Germany called St. Goar. It's a Loreli Reisling and costs 6 Euro (equiv. to $6 US). Best investment I ever made. Also, from the same winery is a very good ice wine. We purchased it directly from the winery for 27.50 Euro. It's VERY sweet and very rare. One bottle, aged 20 years, just recently sold at auction for over $1,500. Needless to say I bought it as an investmet (or to use at my wedding....who knows). Right off the bat, it's worth over $75 (and that's in Germany--probably worth more here)...not too bad of a turn around.
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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Try any Liberty School Cabernet if you like a nice bold red. Their 1999 is about $12 in most wine shoppes right now and is super yummy! Very well known for it's high quality wines and great value. One of my favorite California vineyards.
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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    I wanna go to Italy and go on a wine tour with a really hot italian guy! *jumping up and down*

    Oh these all sound soooo delish! Makes my mouth water. Madgrad and SCGirl made the only suggestions regarding aging a wine. Who has experience with cellaring a wine for at least 5 years? I read an article in Peninsula mag the other day about cellaring your reds. Something about high tannin content...How do you know what would be a good (and inexpensive) wine to hold onto for 5-7 years? Are some wines just sold specifically to be stored for awhile?

    Again, I've got an 11 year old bottle of Dom (properly stored on it's side away from light heat blah blah blah). Can I save it (for when I marry Mr. Right?) or should I just drink it?

    Also, at first I was just a red snob. Now I really enjoy all kinds of wines, one of my favorite whites being Sauvingnon Blanc...


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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    oohh that reminds me Saph- now that my head has cleared from the other night

    i was at an awesome spanish restaurant a couple nights ago- before dinner we had some Rijallo (red)
    (spelling is prob. really fucked up) and with dinner we had something that KICKED it's ass, called....fuck.....something that starts with an "L". i'll ask my SO what it was. it was so good...medium bodied, bold, yet smooth as silk; not to mention with the amazing food it was just heaven. only downside, the bottle was @ $50- but well worth it.

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    yeah, well if you had a $50 bottle at the restaurant, you know it only costs $20-25 at the store! LOL

    oh I almost forgot...I drank the Wild Pig the other night and it had the cutest little story on the back...

    Feel free to ask our winemaker to tell you about the famous wild pig! The shrewd and sneaky swine that descends from the Cevennes Mountains to pillage the finest grapes from our vineyards! Such a smart and gluttonous pig deserved a special cuvee in his honor, a way for us to remind him: "You didn't get all the best grapes!..."

    When we bought the Luscious Lips, we were told a funny story about it's creation, something to do with a bunch of employees getting drunk and something about xerox copies...for some reason I'm thinking it might not be the lips on your mouth...Hahahahaha!


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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Try any Liberty School Cabernet if you like a nice bold red.
    Ha, I live on this stuff! Only very dry, low tannin merlot, cabs, and blends for me.

    I also like Sterling Reserve and Robert Mondavi Reserve.

    Anything from Bordeaux, specifically Haute Medoc, even though they are really expensive here.....1982 Lafite Rothschild, anyone?

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Heck, I'm buying me a bottle of Liberty tonight for the Sopranos...guess its the premiere cause I've been invited to a viewing party.....

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Liberty School -- Excellent Stuff, I had a bottle of 94 Cab---Gulp

    Another good vineyard-- Burrell School-- Santa Cruz/Los Gatos Mountains. Great Merlot and Zinfendels.

    Aging wines the general rule seems to be 4-7 years for California Style Wines- BV, meant to opened after release to the public.



    The European Style[i.e. 70's Style CA Prime Reds] - High in Tannin Wines like Bonny Dune Vineyard Reds, Grygigich Hill [Misspelled] can be aged longer than that due to high Tannins in the wine. If stored cool in dark places.

    Whites- up to 2 years, before they start breaking down.

    Exception to Red Aging. Beaujoulis and Beaujolis Noeveau. BeaJoullis has very little tannin in it and can be vinegar in 2 years. Beaujolis Noveau lasts about 3 months from release date then its usless unless you like vinegarette salad dressing.

    My rule of thumb for Tannins is if the Astringency of the Tannins overides the taste in wine completely(fruity, Wody, etc) then the wines needs aging. Light to medium Astringency= short term aging. Really Heavy Astringency = Long Aging. That's my own personal rule of thumb.

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Quote Originally Posted by Sapphire link=board=1;threadid=7007;start=msg82013#msg82013 date=1078704347
    yeah, well if you had a $50 bottle at the restaurant, you know it only costs $20-25 at the store! LOL
    Actually, If you pay $50 in a restaurant, they paid anywhere from $12-16 for it. At the most. You can get the same wine at a discount liqour/wine store. Most restaurants have a 3X mark-up but many have a 4X mark up.

    Many wine drinkers don't realize that they can stop by their local liquor store, pick up their favorite bottle(s) of wine and take them into your favorite restaurant. Tell them you've brought your own wine you'd like to be uncorked at your table. They should charge you no more than $10 corkage fee to open it. Of course, tip on your wine, as if you had ordered it at the table, but the point is you get the wine YOU want at a reasonable price in the atmosphere YOU choose.
    * FIND YOUR POWER ANIMAL

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Quote Originally Posted by SCGirl link=board=1;threadid=7007;start=msg81339#msg81339 date=1078531930
    The best white wine EVER comes from a small town in Germany called St. Goar. It's a Loreli Reisling and costs 6 Euro (equiv. to $6 US). Best investment I ever made.
    I've had this wine also and agree that it's VERY good. I've been into wines for many years. I thank my father for educating me well in this area. I've had glasses of wine from $1000 bottles before and I can tell you that many of the higher priced wines are amazing, and yet you certainly don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy a good bottle. I personally prefer white wines and my wife enjoys the reds. My personal favorite is anything that comes out of the J. Lohr vinyards from California. Their reds are really good, but their Reisling is by far the best I've ever had. If you can find a bottle of '97 J. Lohr. Reisling, you'll have a true treasure, and their bottles usually run around $10.

    Other incredibly good wines I've had include:

    Toasted Head - Chardonnay (California)
    Rosemount - Chardonnay (Australia)
    Alderbrook - Chardonnay (California)
    Ecco Domani - Merlot (Italy)
    Francis Coppola Diamond Series Blue - Merlot (California)
    Mills Reef Reserve - Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
    Berenger - White Merlot (California)

    This is a good starting point for those getting into enjoying wines and I believe all of these run under $20 a bottle. Get any of these and you won't go wrong.

    If price were no object though, going with a bottle of Bastard Montrachet (French) or Crystal.

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    Default Re:To the wine afficianados

    Coppola Vineyards used to be the old Inglenook vineyards.

    Inglenook used to be a prime brand before the name was bought for box wines.

    As for wine being marked up 2-3 times the price thats absolutely true, unless your in CA and the locals know what the real price is. The common mark up in the SF Bay Area is like 1.5 times the wholesale price.

    My personal favorite is the gentlemen's club mark up of DOM Perringom, and Steak-Lobster Dinner Special something like $300.

    Absolutely gross paring steak and Champange--Yuck!!!!

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