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Vox Nihili posted:-Is it a good idea to store red wines in our full-sized refrigerator either as a stop-gap measure or until we drink them? Most of these bottles were previously stored in our little cooler at 55 degrees F. Obviously, the standard refrigerator is colder than that. The alternative is storing them on their sides in our pantry, which is maybe a few degrees below room temperature. Some of these bottles are from 2007/2008, so they are already pretty old (by our standards anyway) and we really do not want to ruin them. Assuming that the wines are already at room temperature from the delivery, wouldn't the swing from room temperature to real refrigerator temperature to wine refrigerator be more drastic and possibly damaging to the wines; than room temperature to wine refrigerator? I would personally hide in your dark pantry until you can get yourself a wine refrigerator. I think it's also dependent on room temperature, what is that sitting around?
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May 13, 2021 00:50
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Well we blew $350 on a bigger wine cooler the day after the meltdown. Always fun to carry a 100 pound appliance up a couple flights of stairs. In the interim period we shoved the bottles that were already cold in the fridge and left the others out.
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May 13, 2021 08:35
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Wine is way tougher than most people give it credit for. Now don't go leaving it in a hot car, but a few days (weeks, months) at room temperature isn't going to hurt it. Temperature fluctuations are what you really want to avoid.
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May 13, 2021 16:09
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CleverHans posted:Wine is way tougher than most people give it credit for. Now don't go leaving it in a hot car, but a few days (weeks, months) at room temperature isn't going to hurt it. Temperature fluctuations are what you really want to avoid. Yeah it's been hitting 80 degrees here so I didn't want to screw around. Probably overreacted but at least the problem is resolved!
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May 13, 2021 22:04
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Any suggestions for some good Merlot produced in California? I noticed that I seem to enjoy California Bordeaux blends with a higher Merlot percentage, so I figured I would give it a shot.
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May 19, 2021 01:23
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Crazy difficult blinds tonight: We were all over the place. Some chenin guesses from my friends too. I personally didn’t think so for any of them, but I don’t know how to explain chenin vs French chard… obi_ant posted:Any suggestions for some good Merlot produced in California? I noticed that I seem to enjoy California Bordeaux blends with a higher Merlot percentage, so I figured I would give it a shot. Price point? And are you open to all Merlot and/or Bordeaux blends from anywhere or just Cali?
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May 19, 2021 04:36
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taco show posted:Price point? And are you open to all Merlot and/or Bordeaux blends from anywhere or just Cali? Price point I was hoping to spend would be $45-$100. I don't drink every often, but when my friends bring over a bunch of wines to people to try (they're sommeliers) I tend to like things within that price range. I would prefer to stick to domestic Merlot or blends at this point and eventually move on to the Old World stuff. I did something very similar with Chardonnay, where I drink a bunch of domestic stuff then went over to Burgundy. But Burgundy priced me out.
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May 19, 2021 04:55
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons With Spoons > Tried to get wasted under the guise of sophistication, but Burgundy priced me out
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May 19, 2021 15:17
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obi_ant posted:Price point I was hoping to spend would be $45-$100. I don't drink every often, but when my friends bring over a bunch of wines to people to try (they're sommeliers) I tend to like things within that price range. I would prefer to stick to domestic Merlot or blends at this point and eventually move on to the Old World stuff. Check out Ridge Vineyards Estate Merlot. Everyone loves Ridge, including industry folks. If you ask them nicely maybe they'll even part with a library bottle. But remember, somms are unscrupulous, shady characters. Don't let them shame your wine picks if they're bringing natty juice with a kid's crayon drawing on the front.
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May 20, 2021 22:13
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Crimson posted:Check out Ridge Vineyards Estate Merlot. Everyone loves Ridge, including industry folks. If you ask them nicely maybe they'll even part with a library bottle. But remember, somms are unscrupulous, shady characters. Don't let them shame your wine picks if they're bringing natty juice with a kid's crayon drawing on the front. I know Ridge for their Zinfandels and those are pretty good. I'll check our their Merlot. I'm also thinking about Duckhorn, Keenan and Mayacamas. Those group of friends are total wine nerds, they're the type of people to roll their eyes at a bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay, but insults are all made in good fun. I like a Rombauer Chardonnay for what it is (even though it's slightly expensive), and I can appreciate the Meursault 1er Cru's they're drinking; I think they bring very different things to the table.
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May 21, 2021 06:12
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What town are you guys in? The somm world is small, wouldn't be surprised if I knew your friends. Funny note on Rombauer, a certain master somm candidate in my previous blind tasting group called Rombauer as a "very high quality Meursault premier cru." He had passed all 3 sections of the master sommelier exam at different times, but not within the 3 year period to attain the MS. So maybe your taste isn't so bad after all. Although everyone else at the table said he was way off and that it was definitely some blown out CA chard before the bottle reveal, haha. Also, what you should really do to excite them is to snag some old merlot on WineBid. I just searched on there for merlot and found lots of interesting things. The '88 Phelps might be worth a roll of the dice at the low asking price. Not California, but the '06 Quilceda Creek could be fun too. You do have to be ready for WineBid wines to be underwhelming, but I've actually had some great luck. Just don't spend too much on anything if the fill level is creeping below the neck. Old Duckhorn Merlot can be quite tasty, although I've had enough to know the 80s bottles are largely over the hill.
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May 21, 2021 08:43
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I'm hoping to hear about a job soon, so I preemptively bought a bottle of Alfred Gratien Millesime. I don't know much about the company, hopefully it will be good!
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May 21, 2021 10:06
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Professor Shark posted:I'm hoping to hear about a job soon, so I preemptively bought a bottle of Alfred Gratien Millesime. I don't know much about the company, hopefully it will be good! If it's good, you deserve the bottle. If it's bad, you need it.
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May 21, 2021 12:01
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Crimson posted:Don't let them shame your wine picks if they're bringing natty juice with a kid's crayon drawing on the front. My favorite comic sans label is  The bear is SPARKLY like a sticker from the 90s. Also for $20 it’s a pretty darn good Syrah!
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May 21, 2021 14:39
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Crimson posted:What town are you guys in? The somm world is small, wouldn't be surprised if I knew your friends. I’m in San Francisco. I know none of them are Master Sommeliers, I think they’re level two CMS and maybe a level 3 in the WSET? Speaking of older wine, I’m not too sure what it is about old wine, but I find myself not ecstatic them most of the time. At most, I can appreciate them for what it is, but most of the time I’m just shrugging my shoulders. I’m never excited for them. There is some sort of nuance I’m not getting from older wine. It just doesn’t connect in my brain the same way younger wines have. I’ll check out the website but I don’t think I will pick up anything past the early 2000s.
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May 21, 2021 17:40
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Oh awesome, I worked in SF for several years, and moved up north to Healdsburg to open a restaurant about 5 years back. I'm gearing up now to open a wine bar up here focused primarily on coastal CA, Burgundy and Champagne, although we'll have stuff from all over the world. Gonna be hosting lots of dope tastings, seminars, etc. Working on the site, I'll post the link here when it's done. Hoping to be open around September/October, but the construction industry is poppin' off right now. Everything is so backed up, so we'll see how it goes. If you make it up this way I'll pour you a splash of something fun once we're open, as long as you don't ask me if I have stairs in my house.
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May 21, 2021 22:56
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“excuse me, garçon, do you have stairs in your cave?”
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May 21, 2021 23:01
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Ever since discovering in this thread that there's ageable Beaujolais, I've been on the lookout for cru-level Bojo that can be had in Southeast Asia without killing my wallet in taxes. Finally managed to get a few bottles of Château des Tours Brouilly at UK retail prices (already an achievement for me), and I'm very happy with the bottle I opened tonight. Gonna store the rest and open them a couple of years apart to see how this Bojo ages, and I'm already in anticipation lol.
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May 21, 2021 23:48
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Crimson posted:Oh awesome, I worked in SF for several years, and moved up north to Healdsburg to open a restaurant about 5 years back. I'm gearing up now to open a wine bar up here focused primarily on coastal CA, Burgundy and Champagne, although we'll have stuff from all over the world. Gonna be hosting lots of dope tastings, seminars, etc. Working on the site, I'll post the link here when it's done. Hoping to be open around September/October, but the construction industry is poppin' off right now. Everything is so backed up, so we'll see how it goes. If you make it up this way I'll pour you a splash of something fun once we're open, as long as you don't ask me if I have stairs in my house. Where did you work in SF? Also Healdsburg is is nice, I used to visit Guerneville once every few years or so. I'm very fond of Flowers, great Pinots. It's gotta be super exciting to be opening a bar. Are you building the wine list yourself? Post a link when the place is up. If I don't ask you about stairs, how will you know I'm a goon?
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May 23, 2021 04:36
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Wine Goons - My dad is set to retire in a few months and enjoys Malbec. He usually goes for the $6 to $12 range most times. To him $16+ bottle is expensive. I don't know poo poo about wine, but I'd like to get him a nice bottle or two (depending on final price) for his retirement. I understand expensive doesn't always mean good/better (or that a $100 bottle may only be minimally better than a $50 bottle, etc.) Are there any safe bets for a good bottle that will blow away what he's use to? I live in PA, so we have state controlled liquor stores (https://www.finewineandgoodspirits.com/) if that matters. Lets say final price not to exceed $100.
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May 23, 2021 20:17
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The Rev posted:Wine Goons - My dad is set to retire in a few months and enjoys Malbec. He usually goes for the $6 to $12 range most times. To him $16+ bottle is expensive. Okay I hate to recommend something that is stupid hard to find, but if you have a car, you could drive to Brooklyn and grab a bottle or two of 2011 Chateau Bayard “Cuvée l’Angelot” from https://www.shawnfinewine.com/ It's from St. Emilion but is 95% Malbec (and for you jerks out there it is drat ripe for 2011.) It's super good.
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May 24, 2021 00:23
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Crimson posted:Oh awesome, I worked in SF for several years, and moved up north to Healdsburg to open a restaurant about 5 years back. I'm gearing up now to open a wine bar up here focused primarily on coastal CA, (I am also a sucker for heat blasted poo poo from Lodi as much as premier Sonoma and Napa offerings so who knows my palate) I do know that Black Sage's 2018 Cab Sauv (South Okanagan/Oliver) is fantastic, especially at the price point. Had it the other day and am considering putting in half a case for now.
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May 24, 2021 05:06
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Skooms posted:Okay I hate to recommend something that is stupid hard to find, but if you have a car, you could drive to Brooklyn and grab a bottle or two of 2011 Chateau Bayard “Cuvée l’Angelot” from https://www.shawnfinewine.com/ A Cahors might be an interesting take on Malbec as well?
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May 24, 2021 05:17
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Bilirubin posted:A Cahors might be an interesting take on Malbec as well? Very true. I just finished off a bottle of Mary Taylor Cahors, which was very good for around $20.
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May 24, 2021 13:26
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Bilirubin posted:A Cahors might be an interesting take on Malbec as well? Cahors can definitely be a great expression, but from my experience the wines tend to be on the 'rustic' side with a lot of tannic extraction. I personally haven't explored more than a handful of producers. From memory, Chateau du Cayrou does. a good job bridging between the modern and classic styles. But not easy to find either.
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May 24, 2021 14:46
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Skooms posted:Okay I hate to recommend something that is stupid hard to find, but if you have a car, you could drive to Brooklyn and grab a bottle or two of 2011 Chateau Bayard “Cuvée l’Angelot” from https://www.shawnfinewine.com/ Brooklyn is too far, but it does look like the site ships "via a 3rd party" to PA. After tax and shipping it brings me to ~$75 for a bottle shipped, which is still within budget. I am a bit nervous to ship just in case it breaks in transit, etc. Any idea if shipping is no big deal, or best not to risk it? I won't be gifting the bottle(s) until September, so there's no rush on my end. For a road trip, Central Jersey is within reach. A few coworkers recommended hitting up this place which is doable, and seems to have more variety than most PA stores: https://lawrenceville.jcanals.com/wines/Malbec/ I appreciate everyone's help thus far!
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May 24, 2021 17:29
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The Rev posted:Brooklyn is too far, but it does look like the site ships "via a 3rd party" to PA. After tax and shipping it brings me to ~$75 for a bottle shipped, which is still within budget. I am a bit nervous to ship just in case it breaks in transit, etc. Any idea if shipping is no big deal, or best not to risk it? I won't be gifting the bottle(s) until September, so there's no rush on my end. We recently did a Malbec specific tasting and I was super impressed by Alpamanta's offering from Mendoza: my local shop is out but https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/products/774561 is their link. Big big taste, jammy lusciousness, with some sophistication and spice that gave a full, complex flavor. If you can find it near you, you really can't go wrong with it.
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May 25, 2021 04:33
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The Rev posted:Any idea if shipping is no big deal, or best not to risk it? I won't be gifting the bottle(s) until September, so there's no rush on my end. FYI typically shipping cost doesn't change until you go over half a case so you'll get your money's worth if you get 6 btls or so of whatever. A lot of places will also give you a nice discount if you get a full case. Buy some wine for yourself 
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May 25, 2021 22:31
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Going to a Cambodian byo spot on Friday - what should we bring? 4 bottles max. (There's no menu all I have is an instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/hermosachicago) Probably at least one riesling? A syrah for lok lak? I've also been looking for an excuse to open some nice champagne I have...
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May 26, 2021 16:28
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Re CA Merlot, Inconnu used to make a dope Carneros Merlot that was like $35 and nailed it for style, value, etc. Haven’t had it in a while tho & Laura moved up to WA for a vigneron project so idk if it’s changed. Also re: putting wine in fridge from earlier, it’s fine, worst case scenario you’ll get some tartrates precipitating out. Overheating wine is bad, but cooling wine isn’t that much of a problem. Still, always good to treat your older stuff with care & make sure temp changes are more gradual.
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May 26, 2021 18:51
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I tried sending back a volatile bottle of wine after a few sips. We had already bought two expensive bottles and a bunch of food. By the time the server returns it's also so mousy you can smell it. They complained we had tasted it on opening and accepted it. I say, that while I will pay for it no problem, I wonder if mouse, which often takes a while to present, would not also qualify for a returned bottle, because I need to know their policy before buying any more natty wines. The say it is only a bunch of VA and no mouse, that they have worked 13 hours and don't want to argue. I was being perfectly polite, we always tip well and my understanding is that wines with faults are comped by the importer no questions asked, so why make a big deal out of it? Maybe I should have been more attentive to the stress they were under, but I don't think I was out of line. I only brought it up because I respect their opinion, but apparently their view is some bottles have to be chugged on opening and that's to be expected (they actually said something to this effect). I like the vibe of the place, but now I am seriously reconsidering ever going back.
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May 28, 2021 22:08
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I’m curious what city/restaurant this is and what the wine was? I’d be pretty pissed if a server/somm/manager didn’t take back a flawed bottle. Also, if you’re drinking good wines at a nice place even if it’s a gray market or auction bottle that they can’t get credit from the distributor for, they can still sell it by the glass if they think it’s not flawed and at least recoup the cost of the bottle (unless you’re drinking DRC or something). I’ve also worked a shitload of close/open back-to-back doubles before, and that’s really not the customer’s problem… unless every other aspect of your experience was flawless the way they handled that bottle would be a deal-breaker for me ever going back.
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May 28, 2021 23:58
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obi_ant posted:Where did you work in SF? Also Healdsburg is is nice, I used to visit Guerneville once every few years or so. I'm very fond of Flowers, great Pinots. Was head somm at Saison and Michael Mina, before moving up to Healdsburg. And yes it's my own spot, opening in partnership with one of the somms from my team at the last space as well as with my wife. I've spent the past year gathering the investors and such. Putting the finishing touches on our website, which will just be a hype train and source of info for now, will throw up a link here soon. And trust me, I'll know you're a goon from a mile away. In all seriousness, the site has my pic on it, just mention you're from the forums. thotsky posted:The say it is only a bunch of VA and no mouse, that they have worked 13 hours and don't want to argue. I was being perfectly polite, we always tip well and my understanding is that wines with faults are comped by the importer no questions asked, so why make a big deal out of it? This is abysmal customer service, and yes, almost all importers will credit without question. The solution to not "argue" with you would have been to take the hit and get you something you enjoyed. This is exactly why I don't carry many natural wines at my establishments, and why I don't patronize places that are dedicated to them. This attitude is extremely common in the natural wine community. You just don't get it, it's supposed to taste like flawed garbage. I'd also love to know where this was so I can never go there, and tell others the same. Crimson fucked around with this message at 01:29 on May 29, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 00:55
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Penguinone posted:I’m curious what city/restaurant this is and what the wine was? Crimson posted:Was head somm at Saison and Michael Mina, before moving up to Healdsburg. I'm in Norway, so probably nowhere you have heard of. I'm pretty sure it was Zanotto Rude, the Norwegian importer of which is called Mousey Wines. Ironic names. It's a prosecco, but was almost completely flat. They recommended it, and looking here now it's among their cheaper bottles. I'll cop to part of the blame; I definitely should have sent it back the moment it was presented to me just for the VA, but we were drunk and having a good time. I also think it's okay to have a bad day, the matter did get resolved and it is better to just rise above. I do think it's a really bad thing that this place defends VA and mouse as acceptable expressions of natural wine. I believe that it's going to be harmful to the scene long-term. There's a lot to be learned from how the craft and sour beer world is handling this issue. That said, it's not my job to tell them how to do theirs, no matter how delicately I word it. I'll just frequent places that are more on the ball instead. thotsky fucked around with this message at 21:18 on May 29, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 20:37
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Natural wine is awesome in the way it expands the borders of what wine can be and how we can think about wine. OTOH it's dumb as gently caress when it comes to dogmatic gatekeeping bullshit. Too much VA is a flaw (literally a legal flaw here in the US iirc; can't bottle it if it's too high), mouse is a flaw. They're both the result of bad winemaking, bottom line. It's one thing if you're super sensitive to VA and you insist on drinking natural wine - you're kinda digging your own grave in that case. But there's too much natty stuff out there with unacceptable levels and making a customer pay for flawed wine is uh, yeah, I wouldn't bother going back either.
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May 30, 2021 02:42
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I've decided, for a variety of reasons, to move from my nerdy obsession with hard liquors to wine. I've enjoyed the odd wine here but always just kinda grabbed whatever red had a fancy looking label or boxed wine like Night Hawk Ive been watching various videos and reading how to read wine labels more accurately and trying to have a better understanding of the different styles. My idea of a "nice" wine was always like....maybe 20 bucks on the high end. Which is stupid considering how much I've dropped on scotch but whatever. I'm looking to buy a wine cooler to store bottles in. Leaning to the 50 to 100 bottle range. Trying to make heads or tails of that rabbit hole. Made the mistake of reading the past few pages here and someone mentioned garagiste. Now I have 9 bottles on order and waiting to fill out a box to have it shipped to me to try different things. I'm in the ABC state Utah so even if they won't ship to me, Wyoming has a place I can pick up shipments from at least. Down the rabbit hole I go. I'll post some reviews here soon. Got a trip to Maine and New Hampshire coming up and plan to hit up some wineries out there
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Jul 6, 2021 22:35
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2021 CA harvest is off to the races. Feels like 2020 but even earlier, hopefully minus all the smoke. Getting a bunch of white grapes today, looks like a lot of other people are picking whites, sparkling, rose already as well. 2020 made some really good wine, fingers crossed that this year is the same!
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Aug 14, 2021 17:53
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This was good wine weekend that could have been a lot better. I went to Park Hotel Vossevangen, which won Wine List of the Year 2020 by the World of Fine Wine, and which I have posted about earlier. The wine director Francesco Marzola puts on some great events now and then, long story short, I missed out on La Tache 04, Rousseau Chambertin 06, Mouton-Rotschild 2000 and more because I got a bad cold. I was lucky that Francesco let me off the hook, these events have been payment in advance before. Even worse would have been staying, pouring those wines down the hatch while barely tasting or smelling and spraying snot over the other guests. But anyway, that wasn't what I came to post. They have a huge amount of wines by the Coravin glass, including a heap of Burgundy PC/GC. On Friday we had a bunch of them, including a horizontal of 2006 Colin-Morey Meursault. Oh and Ao Yun, my first ever Chinese wine. All were in good condition, although my nose was in decline. Here's the restaurant list, by the glass first: http://parkvoss.bookvisitweb.com/sites/parkvoss/files/2021-10/Vinkart%202021_3.pdf Here's the full cellar list: http://parkvoss.bookvisitweb.com/sites/parkvoss/files/2021-09/Kjellerkart%202021.pdf USD/NOK is 8.37 if you want to do the math and consider a Norway vacation. Coravin has something of a bad rep, but Francesco has figured out how to do it. He stores them cold at 8C / 46F, in those display fridges that lean the bottle back 20 or so degrees. Customer display and preservation in one go. Once you've poured from a bottle, leave it standing upright for 20 minutes. The cork needs time to close back up but since argon is heavier than air it will stay put apart from maybe some overpressure. On one of the wines we could hear the hiss of escaping gas. But wines with lots of sediment is still a problem. We had a Jamet Cote Rôtie and got a bunch of smokey sediment in the glass. I'll go back some time this winter, even if there's no event on and get one glass of Mugnier Musigny and one bottle of Rousseau. e: by the way here are some articles about the place from Wine Spectator 2006. The contrast between the dated and slightly shabby hotel and the huge cellar is pretty funny. I've been in the cellar when it was a mess like described here but after a huge effort by Francesco it's now very tidy and well organized. Part 1: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/inside-the-restaurant-awards-hunting-for-fine-wine-in-norway-3155 Part 2: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/inside-the-restaurant-awards-hunting-for-fine-wine-in-norway-3156 Ola fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Oct 24, 2021 |
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Oct 24, 2021 08:31
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Good thing about having parents who grew up during a recession and see spending more than $20 on a bottle of wine as a luxury purchase is that you can get them something good but not ridiculous and it’s the best thing they’ve ever had. I bought my father a few bottles of 2010 Valenciso Riserva for his birthday and he’s beside himself.
Trimson Grondag 3 fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Nov 7, 2021 |
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Nov 7, 2021 01:22
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Trimson Grondag 3 posted:Good thing about having parents who grew up during a recession and see spending more than $20 on a bottle of wine as a luxury purchase is that you can get them something good but not ridiculous and it’s the best thing they’ve ever had. I bought my father a few bottles of 2010 Valenciso Riserva for his birthday and he’s beside himself. 2016 La Rioja Alta "Viña Alberdi" Reserva Rioja is another neat little bottle from Rioja.
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Nov 7, 2021 04:19
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