The Wine Thread.

Open mind

If you enjoy a glass of vino now and then, tell us what you like and how your tastes got to where they are now. Wine snobs & non-snobs alike welcome!

(Simon? Any chance of getting a wine glass into these emoticons?)

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My intro to the world of wine was my JW parents buying a huge screw-top bottle of Paul Masson or Gallo red or white, having half a glass, and sticking it out on the back porch thinking that wine stayed good like that. When I became a teen, they'd let us have a teeny-tiny glass of it. One sip of this red wine vinegar made me think I didn't like wine.

Fast forward a few years. Moved to Calipornea, and I actually enjoyed Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers and white zinfandel now and then. Although beer was my preferred drink.

Fast forward a few more years to getting married. My wife and I originally liked big oakey, buttery Chardonnay and smooth, mellow Merlot mainly from California. Kind of like a coffee drinker getting started out on big sweet Cafe Mochas. Our snobbery evolved as we worked our way around to most other varietals and now we can't stand big oak or butter in a Chardonnay.

We were probably pretty insufferable wine snobs for a couple years there but last week I knew my wife had come back down to earth. We had a big dinner party with all non-JWs in attendance. My wife made a special purchase of 7-Up so one of her best friends could make her own "wine cooler" out of a really good Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

(For the non-wine drinkers out there, that's like a serious beer afficianado going back to Bud Light.)

Cheers!!

om

sooner7nc

Just give me a bottle of nice sweet dark Lambrusco (not the Riunite version however) and you can take all the other overpriced vinegar and pour it down the sink (or your gullets). I really prefer beer however.

NomadSoul

I like red wine once in a while. The cheapest will do. Although if I drink too much of it in the morning I get red spots all over and I can see all my veins of my face. It's like the wine is still flowing, lol.

Give me a two beers and two shots of Goldshlager and I'm good!

karter

I live in new Zealand and we have some world class wines here.....spoilt for choice.

Our most famous wine is Sauvignon blanc but we lso have lovley Merlots,charrdoy and bubblys.

Open mind

sooner7nc: "Just give me a bottle of nice sweet dark Lambrusco (not the Riunite version however"

One thing I really love about wine, is there's always something new to try. I had written off Lambrusco since all I knew about it was "Riunite". Now I'll look for a really good one to have on a hot summer day. Thanks!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambrusco

Nomad Soul: Just read up on Goldshlager. I don't think I could handle drinking it at the same time I was having a beer. You've got a stronger gut than I.

karter: We love New Zealand's Sauv Blanc. Light, crisp and refreshing. Our favorites have a strong grapefruit flavor as well. Will have to move on to the other Kiwi wines you mentiond.

om

VampireDCLXV

I'm not exactly a wine snob per se, but cheap liquor store plonk just doesn't quite do it for me as I literally live in the middle of wine country. Yes, I'm a little bit spoiled.

I like big, flavourful reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Chianti, Merlot, etc.

I like whites with more kick to them like Reisling, Gewutrztraminer, Auxerrois Blanc, etc.

I'm not much of a fan of heavy oak flavours. I can do without...

V665 V665

Nickolas

I love wine and do my best to drink it every day. I have a small semi-passive cellar - about 450 bottles - stocked 80% to reds and the rest to whites with the odd rosé that's great with burgers. Favourites are the big reds out of California, Australia and Italy, although there are some really good Chilean and Argentinian offerings at really decent prices. I prefer German, Alsatian and Canadian whites. I've got some big buck reds in the cellar but most are $20 or less. Value for the dollar and wines that will improve with cellaring is the name of the game. My wife and I took a vineyard tour in of all places Ensenada Mexico back in February. I didn't hold up any high expectations but I was pleasantly surprised. Their merlot and petit syrah offerings were really good, and cheap. I've just bought a case of the latter. 2009 L A Cetto. Best deals I've seen in Italian reds lately has been 2007 Ricossa Barbera d'Asti Superiore and 2006 Rocca delle Maci Chianti Reserva, both 90/100 and exceptional values. Another good one is 2007 Catena Malbec out of Argentina, 91 and another Argentine malbec, 2009 Chakana Mendoza which rates a conservative 89. Almost forgot the recent release of 2008 Penfold's Mourvdre Bin 2 Shiraz, a maybe overly generous 93 rating but a fabulous wine just over $20. Lots more but these are the ones that come to mind.

Sun's over the yardarm. Time to find something interesting.

Edit. Just checked the inventory. One solitary NZ wine. 2008 Monkey Bay Sauv Blanc. I'll try some others, karter. Any recommendations?

mamalove

I love pinot grapes, red and white. Like merlot at times. Really, I like most wines, and can drink anything that cost more than $6, that is my threshold lol!

Open mind

VampireDCLXV: "Auxerrois Blanc"

Never heard of it. (Any so many others.) So many wines. So little time. A wonderful "problem".

Nickolas: "Value for the dollar and wines that will improve with cellaring is the name of the game."

Here, here.

Thanks for all the great recommendations.

BTW, when exactly is "Sun's over the yardarm" in your world? Here, on the weekend's, it's Noon.

om

Open mind

mamalove: " I like most wines, and can drink anything that cost more than $6, that is my threshold lol!"

Well, if you happen to live in California, you might even be able to limbo down to $5. Our current "threshold" wine is Rabbit Ridge, Allure de Robles from Trader Joe's at $4.99/bottle.

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http://victorcaballero.com/trader-joes-rabbit-ridge-allure-de-robles-rhone-style-red-wine-4-99-special/

It’s a Cotes du Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, each grown in a vineyard whose soil and elevation is best suited to the particular varietal. The wine’s strawberry & cherry overtones come courtesy of Grenache, its medium body a Syrah-specifc characteristc and its subtle, earthy undertones from the Mourvedre.

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Finding great wines for great value is our never-ending quest.

om

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