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The jancis robinson wine glass was quite similar to the zalto universal in terms of fineness, and some of the Plumm range too. The Zaltos really are special though, managed to not break any glasses after six years which I think is an achievement. I did break a zalto decanter by dropping a teaspoon on it though.
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# ? Dec 6, 2022 23:03 |
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# ? May 10, 2024 01:56 |
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The Zaltos actually aren't that bad. Had a set of six for ~two years, dishwashing to clean them, have not broken any. I mean don't be stupid with them, but you can use them in everyday life just fine - they feel weaker than they actually are.
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# ? Dec 7, 2022 08:02 |
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GTO posted:Does anyone have a good recommendation for wine glasses? I've got quite a few reidel but looking for something different this time. I was recommended zalto and gabriel glas but they are permanently out of stock. Glas.vin is a solid choice, geometry not quite as nice as the other choices but better pricing/availability. This is completely anecdotal experience but I believe Zalto has changed their production and is making lower quality glasses. I handled a few stems that someone I know purchased recently and they were heavier and had slight changes in shape to the original models.
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# ? Dec 8, 2022 10:01 |
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Thanks, they look like a good option! I actually weighed some of my glasses, a basic cheapo large wine glass was 222g, a large Riedel machine made glass was 166g, those glasvin universals purport to come in around 100g so should be quite noticeable hopefully. avantgardener fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 8, 2022 |
# ? Dec 8, 2022 16:03 |
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Seconding Glasvin universals. They are all I use. Good balance of lightness and not wtf this is gonna break. No weird shapes. Slightly cheaper but not that much really.
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# ? Dec 9, 2022 20:23 |
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Grassl glasses are nice too, a small step in quality from Glasvin. Their Liberté glass makes for a solid univeral, although to be honest I've been using the 1855 for just about everything for a larger universal style glass.
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# ? Dec 9, 2022 21:03 |
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Apologies if this has been answered a million times, but I scanned back a few pages and didn't see it mentioned. Are any of the big US wine shipping retailers worth using? Is there one that goons would recommend? My state recently legalized to-the-home wine deliveries. Some of the companies haven't updated to allow my state yet, but a few have. My wife and I are not huge wine drinkers but want to sample more. We mostly don't leave the house due to pandemic stuff, so delivery has become a staple in our lives. Or am I better off throwing on a mask and braving my local mega-mart's wine aisle? Publix has a surprisingly large selection, though it's obviously mostly mass-market wines.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 16:57 |
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WhiteHowler posted:Apologies if this has been answered a million times, but I scanned back a few pages and didn't see it mentioned. Publix is honestly how I got into wine, so there’s no harm there. I got MrsYenko a first leaf subscription for her birthday this year, and it’s been pretty solid. The wines are definitely marked up a bit, but so far it’s been 100% worth it to have a grab bag of selection dropped off every month or three. I do wish they would let you exclude certain wines though; Neither of us particularly care for Chardonnay, so we’ve had to pawn a few bottles off on friends.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 17:12 |
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WhiteHowler posted:Apologies if this has been answered a million times, but I scanned back a few pages and didn't see it mentioned. If you have some wineries you've been to and like, join their wine club. It may take them a bit to get updated but they'll get there. I've really enjoyed Wine Access (.com) to try a bunch of different stuff. Their clubs seem thoughtful and once you find something good you can often find it at Total Wine (which can have pickup or delivery depending). Also there's like your neighborhood wine houses, which are probably not very trafficked if you're worried about running in to others. They can really take a personal touch. The best imo are the ones that are from people who used to work at another wine place and decided they could do better, and that the old place's wine clubs were about offloading things that weren't selling. They might surprise you as well. No shame in Publix / grocery stores.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 17:41 |
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Hed posted:If you have some wineries you've been to and like, join their wine club. It may take them a bit to get updated but they'll get there. My city is a bit of a cultural void, so there are fewer wine bars and such than a city of this size should probably have. We have a few local-ish wineries, all of which are extremely small, and I don't think they do any kind of clubs or anything. Most of them specialize in Muscadine wines, which are okay but tend too sweet for me. I think my biggest hurdle is that I don't know what I like in a wine. I know some specific wines that I enjoy, but they don't usually have a lot in common. I don't love wines with a lot of tannins, and I prefer mid-range on sweetness -- I don't like wines that are so dry they can strip varnish off a table, or the cough syrup dessert wines that my wife prefers. One of my favorite wines ever was a smooth Riesling, but I've run into a bunch of other Rieslings I hated. Cabernets tend too dry and/or tannin-y for me. I usually enjoy Malbecs. I've never met a Chardonnay I've liked. Sauvignon Blancs tend to be good but boring. And I know the type of grape is only a small piece of what makes an enjoyable wine, but it's one of the few details you can get from a label when you're scrambling at the grocery store 15 minutes before a party. Reading reviews has been helpful in the past, but there's usually a big disconnect between what's available and what's been reviewed. Or you'll find a great review for a 2014 vintage with the footnote "but after 2016 all of their wine has been piss". I guess I just need to bite the bullet, pick up some extra bottles, and be ready to hate some stuff while I'm finding new favorites.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 18:03 |
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Try an un-oaked Chardonnay if you ever get a chance. They’re a bit hard to find, but are my exception to the no-Chardonnay rule.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 18:44 |
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MrYenko posted:Try an un-oaked Chardonnay if you ever get a chance. They’re a bit hard to find, but are my exception to the no-Chardonnay rule. Are you just drinking New World chardonnays?
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 18:51 |
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Furious Lobster posted:Are you just drinking New World chardonnays? I’ve had a couple French ones that I didn’t particularly enjoy either, though they were notably better than the Californians I’ve had. I don’t particularly care for wood-aged liquors either.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 20:34 |
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MrYenko posted:I’ve had a couple French ones that I didn’t particularly enjoy either, though they were notably better than the Californians I’ve had. Do you like champagne? quote:I don’t particularly care for wood-aged liquors either. So, you just drink clear spirits? No whiskey of any type I'm assuming.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 21:36 |
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WhiteHowler posted:Apologies if this has been answered a million times, but I scanned back a few pages and didn't see it mentioned. There are a couple approaches you could take. There are DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) clubs that use a machine learning driven approach to figure out what you do and don't like. I haven't tried one and can't recommend as a result, but you can look at Firstleaf, Bright Cellars or any more of the dozens (if not hundreds) of options out there. That said, these are generally on a subscription model and I can't speak to their plans - they may require a monthly box, a quarterly box, I don't know. Investigate and figure out if you'll be ordering more than you can consume. One option I have used in the past, and was quite happy with, was Garagiste (https://www.garagiste.com). I don't really drink wine any more, but their model is not subscription based - it's a mailing list. You'll get a daily email with what they have on offer, they cellar it for you until you have a full case (or cases) to ship, and when the weather is right. You can request shipment at any time, and they'll do it. Buy as much or as little as you want, but it is a CYOA service. It's at least worth getting on their mailing list and seeing what they're selling these days, since there's no obligation.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 21:49 |
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Furious Lobster posted:Do you like champagne? I’ve never had a champagne that I’d drink out of anything other than duty-because-it’s-new-year. I’ll drink whiskey, but I don’t really ENJOY it. Liquor of any kind straight-up or on the rocks is a loving mystery to me. I’m beer (!) and wine and mixed-drinks kind of guy. Covid gave me a nasty ($$$) Tiki problem, and I’ve developed a Jamaican rum problem. Wood isn’t food, is my feeling.
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# ? Dec 26, 2022 22:08 |
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thotsky posted:What? Spiegelau built their business on being machine washable. Anyway, some friends and I are planning a wine trip to Champagne and Alsace. Any must see/must try? We are probably going to stay in Reims but Epernay has more of the big houses?
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# ? Dec 28, 2022 17:42 |
idiotsavant posted:Yeah Tatomers are very deec. If you want some insane CA riesling you miiiiight be able to find some of the old mid-90's Renaissance bottlings; I think the winemaker re-released most of them under his own Clos Saron label as the "Taken From Granite" series. It's definitely super small & super niche and now and again a bottle might be a little oxidized but they are also loving incredible wines. Not cheap but idk that you'd find comparable US 30-yo US rieslings at the same price. Have to give a shout out to the dry Rieslings from the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys of British Columbia. If you can get some try Eighth Generation or Ex Nihilo. Right now I am having a Black Sage 2019 Zinfandel that tastes to delicious that I'm pretty sure I'm going to get into trouble for opening something too expensive on a week night
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# ? Dec 29, 2022 02:11 |
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Shooting Blanks posted:One option I have used in the past, and was quite happy with, was Garagiste (https://www.garagiste.com). I don't really drink wine any more, but their model is not subscription based - it's a mailing list. You'll get a daily email with what they have on offer, they cellar it for you until you have a full case (or cases) to ship, and when the weather is right. You can request shipment at any time, and they'll do it. Buy as much or as little as you want, but it is a CYOA service. It's at least worth getting on their mailing list and seeing what they're selling these days, since there's no obligation. I really wish there was something like this in Ontario!
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# ? Dec 29, 2022 02:31 |
We ended up with a hole in our trip to Sonoma due to a friend not checking if the winery was closed this week. Any ideas for places to check out? We're staying by the square but do have transport. So prioritizing walking but not in any way essential.
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# ? Dec 29, 2022 06:52 |
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Carillon posted:We ended up with a hole in our trip to Sonoma due to a friend not checking if the winery was closed this week. Any ideas for places to check out? We're staying by the square but do have transport. So prioritizing walking but not in any way essential. Downtown Sonoma: Bedrock!! Quality wines for killer prices. I particularly like their syrah but they also make a very good rose. There's also a pretty cool champagne bar called Sigh. Not walking: J Vineyards is really beautiful and a fun tasting (good sparklers). Ridge if you're into zins. They have a nice patio seating area, but if it's chilly the interior is nothing special.
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# ? Dec 29, 2022 23:28 |
taco show posted:Downtown Sonoma: TY! They didn't have reservations while we were there, but I'm absolutely going to check out Bedrock next time we're up.
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# ? Dec 31, 2022 05:28 |
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Can champagne get mouse or premox? Had a fail champagne on NYE, the nose was strange, flavor muted, bruised apple. All the CT notes are good. Champagne Lété-Vautrain Brut Zéro. WTSO gave me refund. I had a backup, some Cremant Burg Blanc de Noirs.
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# ? Jan 3, 2023 19:06 |
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Define "strange". Mouse is unmistakable if you are not among the people who can't taste it at all. It's a stale cereal flavor detected at the end of, or a second or two after the swallow. It can happen in anything if the conditions are right. Muted flavors are more commonly associated with cork taint, but I am pretty terrible at identifying cork so don't have a good description of it. You can't confuse it with mouse though, nothing about mouse is muted. In fact I will often be smelling a particularly inviting natural wine and my reaction these days will usually be "please don't be a mousy wine that the winemaker should have sat on for at least another year instead of rushing to market and ruining natural wine for everybody", and then have a sip that comes with a 20% chance of being really happy at the end of it. Bruised apple is a pretty common note in oxidative champagnes. That's quite in style at the moment, and I do see some reviews mentioning it for this champagne. thotsky fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Jan 4, 2023 |
# ? Jan 4, 2023 02:40 |
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Comb Your Beard posted:Can champagne get mouse or premox? Had a fail champagne on NYE, the nose was strange, flavor muted, bruised apple. All the CT notes are good. Champagne Lété-Vautrain Brut Zéro. WTSO gave me refund. I had a backup, some Cremant Burg Blanc de Noirs. I'd say from the combination of strange nose and muted flavor that it was corked. Mouse taint (from my professional experience) is typically only noticeable on the palate after opening and develops on the palate over the span of 10 to 60 minutes; if it's apparent on the nose immediately after opening it would taste like absolute dog poo poo. I also think I've only identified mouse taint in a non - san soufre wine 2-3 times over 10 years but YMMV.
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# ? Jan 4, 2023 05:06 |
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Bilirubin posted:Have to give a shout out to the dry Rieslings from the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys of British Columbia. If you can get some try Eighth Generation or Ex Nihilo. As long as we're still talking Riesling, the 2021 Peter Lauer "Barrel X" feinherb is absolutely bonkers, especially at the price. It manages to hit an impossible balance where there's the smallest bit of RS up front that juices up the attack but disappears entirely as it evolves on the palate and finishes dry. And it's like 25-ish bucks, total steal.
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# ? Jan 14, 2023 22:31 |
New study suggests wine grapes were domesticated in the stone age, end of last glacial maximum, 12k years ago in Asia https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/03/02/wine-grapes-domesticated/ quote:When the last Ice Age ended and the glaciers retreated, roughly 11,000 years ago, something appears to have changed among the wild grapevines of Asia. They became domesticated. The first farmers on Earth began cultivating the best vines with the biggest, juiciest grapes.
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# ? Mar 3, 2023 01:03 |
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Are all wine fridges basically the same? Looking for something that is reasonably priced.
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# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:33 |
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obi_ant posted:Are all wine fridges basically the same? Looking for something that is reasonably priced. The best ones usually have at least two chambers and the ability to set different temps per chamber, but those are usually pretty expensive. My only real advice would be to consider the number of bottles you plan to keep then get a fridge with twice that capacity.
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# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:59 |
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I think they will also differ by how much noise they make with the compressor.
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# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:35 |
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Smaller fridges (up to 30 bottles) are thermo electric (peltier?) based and don't have compressors. I've got dual zone 24 (12+12) bottle system, but if I would do it over, I would just get a single zone system. Also, koolatron are cheap buggers and didn't put a nvram chip in it to remember what the temp was set to on power restoration. So it resets every time back to 60f (both sides) when the power blips. Also watch out that certain bottles can be too tall for many fridges!
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# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:58 |
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While looking for the cheap wine fridge... Oof!
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# ? Jul 6, 2023 05:24 |
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Isn't that a little hard to evaluate without seeing a bottle list? Otherwise, nice boxes.
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# ? Jul 6, 2023 20:17 |
taco show posted:Downtown Sonoma: So thanks for this, Bedrock was amazing! I loved their wine so much, their sparkling Sangiacomo sparkling is amazing, rose was great, loved their flagship! It was pretty fantastic.
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# ? Jul 6, 2023 20:40 |
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Shooting Blanks posted:Isn't that a little hard to evaluate without seeing a bottle list? Otherwise, nice boxes. Even if the bottle list is solid, 15-yo unrefrigerated San Jose U-Stor-It wine is uh, optimistic
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# ? Aug 10, 2023 05:27 |
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https://twitter.com/popbase/status/1701286323817160783?s=46
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# ? Sep 11, 2023 21:54 |
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That poo poo is no joke. The London Beer Flood killed 8 people.
thotsky fucked around with this message at 08:30 on Sep 12, 2023 |
# ? Sep 12, 2023 01:13 |
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No alcohol involved, but a similar level of incompetence: The Boston Molasses Disaster killed 21 and injured 150.
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# ? Sep 12, 2023 05:33 |
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anakha posted:No alcohol involved, but a similar level of incompetence: The Boston Molasses Disaster killed 21 and injured 150. I think the molasses was being used in alcohol production and they were trying to sell it all before prohibition kicked in
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# ? Sep 12, 2023 08:27 |
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# ? May 10, 2024 01:56 |
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Steve Yun posted:I think the molasses was being used in alcohol production and they were trying to sell it all before prohibition kicked in Deleted, wrong thread. Wine content: Been making my own rose like blends with 25% bold red, lot of dry Riesling, maybe some cheap Spanish rosado. Comb Your Beard fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Sep 12, 2023 |
# ? Sep 12, 2023 14:33 |