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crazyfish posted:Can anyone suggest a good wine shop in Chicago that might carry orange wines? Binny's doesn't carry them (at least not some of the bigger name producers I searched for) and most liquor stores I've been to are likely to never have even heard of them, so I really need a specialty wine shop that might have someone off-the-wall enough to stock them. I'm hoping to try something under $30 a bottle but unfortunately I'm at the point where I may just have to get something shipped from California. Doing a little internet searching, The House of Glunz sells or used to sell them. Red & White also looks to be the sort of place that might have some. I have no direct knowledge about either of them, though. You may have to recalibrate your expectations for cost. These wines are pretty expensive, with most starting around $45. Pheasant's Tears out of Georgia (the country) is okay and inexpensive, but isn't as good as many of the others IMO. Coenobium Rusticum, which is made in a monastery to the north of Rome, might be a good option for you at around $30. I'm not aware of many other wines that fit your price point goal, though. As for "weird" wines... that's a tough subject. Plenty of wines start fermentation without yeast inoculation, but that doesn't make them "wild" in the sense that it does with beer. Even the most eccentric wine makers aren't purposefully adding the sorts of wild yeasts you see in sour beer production. It's odd, but I love wild, funky flavors in beer, but HATE them in wine. consensual poster fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Nov 27, 2013 |
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Nov 27, 2013 06:48
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crazyfish posted:And thanks for the heads up on wild yeasts' role in wine. I guess it's something I'll just have to try for myself. I don't mean to discourage you from seeking these wines out. They can just be a bit difficult to find because wine culture absolutely does NOT celebrate the presence of "wild" yeasts in wine. You will never find a wine person praising a wine for being loaded with flavors from Brettanomyces or Lactobacillus, even if they love these flavors in the resulting wine. Instead, you will probably get some blather about how "natural" or "alive" the wine is. Someone will almost certainly mention terroir and everyone around them will nod sagely. You should probably look for tastings of "natural" wines in your area. Some of these will be clean, delicious, and absolutely NOT what you are looking for.  Others will taste like stagnant pond water, or perhaps like grapes fermented inside of a pig's anus, which they could very well be given that "natural" has no agreed upon meaning. The craziest wine I had recently was by a producer called Clos Ouvert in Chile, made by a Frenchman, that was fermented in an ox skin. A wine maker who tried it at the tasting I was at joked that it had every wine flaw known to man, but they all managed to cancel each other out. It was funky and "wild" as hell. I didn't like it, but I suspect that you might. Also, you should look for the wines of Frank Cornelissen. If you don't like those, then you probably don't like wildness in wine. I think they suck.
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Nov 27, 2013 07:58
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crazyfish posted:So whoever when I asked about orange wine you recommended coenobium rusticum, thank you! It was a huge hit among this NYE party group that aren't all even wine drinkers. It reminded me a lot of a really good lambic. You're welcome. Happy New Year!
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Jan 1, 2014 09:45
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that Vai sound posted:Anyone else here subscribe to Garagiste? I'm fairly new to the mailing list, but so far I'm liking the wines I've bought and I find myself agreeing with Rimmerman's descriptions of them. I'm still hesitant to be fully on board with it, just because I've tried so few wine offerings at this point, but it's looking promising. Rimmerman can be kind of shady, though. There was a "Mystery Wine" offer on an Oregon Pinot that he flat out lied about the details of. Given that people buy those wines sight unseen based on the clues and details he gives, that's incredibly lovely. Even worse was the way he blew people off when they called him out on it even though he was clearly in the wrong.
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Jan 11, 2014 16:42
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Overwined posted:Kasumeat, you have very strong (and strange) opinions that many people here do not share. One way or another, I would ask that you take the absolutism that is reeking from your posts and reconsider the impact it may have on the more impressionable readers here. It is in no way appropriate for you to dissuade anyone from trying and exploring any wine region so that they can form an opinion of their own. I totally second this. Kasumeat, your post almost inspired me to write a long post defending two things I generally don't like: Malbec and Bordeaux. Fortunately for everyone here, it was late and I was tired, so you don't have to read my ramblings. The tl;dr version is that there are some really solid wines being made in Bordeaux for $20 - $30 particularly in some of the lesser known appellations. There is are mountains of poo poo being produced, too, but that is true almost everywhere.
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Jan 27, 2014 18:34
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Murgos posted:Cava, Cava, Cava. Did I say Cava? Oh, yeah, Prosecco too. A $30 bottle of Cava is going to be a better 'bubbly wine' than a $60 (or even higher priced) bottle from Champagne. I enjoy sparkling wines from all areas and at a lot of different price points, but 95% of Cava is not worth drinking at any price IMO. It's not that I think the wines are flawed, I'm pretty sure I just hate the grapes that go into Cava. YMMV.
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Feb 28, 2014 23:36
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Rurutia posted:Oooh, Wikipedia certainly has an interesting endorsement for NZ Sauvignon Blanc: NZ Sauv Blanc: passionfruit, grapefruit, fresh cut grass, cat piss. Can be enjoyable and it's a good wine to break in wine newbies. Not sure what it says about that dude's first time though.
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Apr 30, 2014 07:17
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My locker.  mattdev's locker, too
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May 5, 2014 13:57
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Stringent posted:So a friend of mine has a hook up on a bunch of bottles from France (I'm in Japan) and I went in for 6. I know a lot of them are a little short on details (price for one), but I'm trying to get together an initial list to send him. You have no producer names on that list. Going to be hard to recommend anything without that bit of info. 19 would be a very good bet, though.
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Sep 18, 2014 04:15
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pork never goes bad posted:17 and 18 are Bernard Baudry. Solid choice, if you like that sort of thing. 2 is Egly-Ouriet? 4 appears to be Domaine Arlaud 13 is Alain Graillot 14 is Clos Fantine 19 is probably Huet So, definitely go for 13 and 19. I've had 14 and it is weird as hell. I'm not sure that I like it, but it is definitely interesting.
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Sep 18, 2014 06:23
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Kasumeat posted:13 is not Graillot, 11 is, and I would strongly recommend the latter over the former. You're probably going to have better luck with the village Burgs (3, 5, 7, 9) than the more general ones, but who knows. 17 and 18 are top-tier Chinon, although Chinon isn't everyone's thing... Oops. You're right. Got the two Crozes Hermitage numbers mixed up. Graillot is really good. Kasumeat posted:You're probably going to have better luck with the village Burgs (3, 5, 7, 9) than the more general ones, but who knows. I would avoid the Burgs altogether without producers and vintages listed. Too big a chance to spend a lot of money on a dud IMO. Kasumeat posted:17 and 18 are top-tier Chinon, although Chinon isn't everyone's thing... Absolutely worth a try unless Stringent already knows that he/she does not like Chinon.
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Sep 18, 2014 09:36
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himajinga posted:On the same note, how pissed would a restaurant be if I brought like 3 bottles of wine? Is that a sign I should just host a dinner at my place if I have 3 bottles that I want to drink in 1 sitting? Overwined posted:The number one absolute rule with bringing wine to a restaurant is to call ahead. Try to talk to a manager and gauge how irritated they sound. It is 100% unacceptable to bring the same or very similar wine to one they have on the list. There are some notable exceptions regarding restaurants (some are VERY outside wine friendly and some the exact opposite). So again, call ahead. benito posted:Like Overwined said, call ahead, each place has its own rules and some restaurants don't allow it at all. You may have to pay a corkage fee on each one. You still need to tip based on the service you're receiving. Etiquette suggests offering a partial glass of the wine to the somm or the chef. I generally tell people that unless it's really rare or really old, it's not worth taking your own to restaurants and is often rude. Check on the corkage policy, either on the website or by phone. If there is a stated corkage policy and you are acting within the bounds of that policy, then you should feel 100% percent comfortable about bringing wine. Be aware that you will have to either pay full wine-list price or won't be able to open a bottle if it's the same as one on the restaurant's wine list. Do your research (most restaurants have their lists online) and don't bring something they already have. As benito said, it's good practice to offer a pour for the somm or kitchen, though not necessary. If anyone at said restaurant acts irritated that you brought wine or suggests that you are rude for bringing it in spite of the corkage policy, that's shittiness of the highest order and you should not return. Overwined, I seriously hope you aren't suggesting that a manager's annoyance at getting corkage fees rather than a 200%+ markup on wine list bottles should ever influence one's decision to bring wine. "We allow you to bring wine and we'll charge you for it, but we're going to be dicks about it," should never be tolerated. Himajinga, keep in mind that corkage usually runs in the $15 - $30 range for a mid-level restaurant. Are the wines you are opening really worth an extra $45 - $90 in corkage fees? Something to consider.
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Sep 23, 2014 05:07
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Admirable Gusto posted:Reading through the last 10-15 pages of the thread, it sounds like people don't like Sauternes that much, which makes me sad because I love how they taste (or maybe I'm just a big babby that likes sugar). I will readily admit that I've had lots of indifferent Sauternes that taste like sugar water but I think they can be amazingly satisfying when things come together (aromatic, viscous, enough acid to balance things). I don't consider myself a wine expert or anything; could you guys please enlighten me as to why We don't?! That might be the opinion of a few here, but not many. I'm on the fence with them. I've had amazing ones, but there are aspects of Botrytis that I find off-putting at times.
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Dec 13, 2014 03:53
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Kasumeat posted:It would indeed be great to see some actual scientific study of this. Until then, I'm giving the benefit of the doubt to the believers. Krug, I believe, will not allow their wine to be shown at tastings unless it's rested x number of weeks since transport. And they're not alone. They only stand to lose by making such a demand if it's nonsense, so I'm inclined to believe the vibelievers, if with a healthy sprinkling of salt. Nearly every wine merchant I've spoken to believes in "travel shock" to some degree. I tend to think of that as being far different than just exposure to vibration. There are lots of different stresses involved in shipping: vibration, agitation, swings in temperature, etc. That's different than saying a wine will be ruined by vibrations if it sits inside your refrigerator for a week.
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Apr 6, 2015 09:40
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Furious Lobster posted:Just had some Gerard Mugneret 2013 les suchots for dinner and it's truly fantastic. The wine transmuted into this ethereal layered liquid with a delicate fruit core and a hint of spiciness that faded at the beginning. I'm going to have to re-up for a case of this. Oh God! You've had one of those Burgundy experiences. I see a lifetime of  and disappointment in your future, punctuated by just enough  experiences to keep you shelling out crazy amounts of cash.
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Oct 19, 2015 04:58
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I'll be in NZ for two weeks and will probably spend one day touring wineries. Does anyone have recommendations for good wineries to visit? Haven't had much NZ wine and from what I can tell they are only really well known for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. I am not a huge fan of NZ Sauv Blanc, so I guess I'm asking about producers and regions known for their Pinot and other varietals. I've read that the area north of Canterbury in the Waipara Valley has some good Pinot and Riesling. Any specific winery recommendations or good day trips would be much appreciated. Edit: I should mention that I live in Portland and my taste in Pinot leans more toward Oregon and Burgundy than California. So, more aromatic, earthy, and high in acid. consensual poster fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Dec 19, 2015 |
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Dec 19, 2015 07:29
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Thanks for the NZ suggestions and the  argument.Looks like Kumeu River would be an easy 30 minute trip from Auckland, so I could probably do both a quick trip there and a full day in Waipara when I'm on the south island.
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Dec 22, 2015 08:28
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LongSack posted:I have heard good things about Beaujolais nouveau... You've been lied to. Buy Cru Beaujolais.
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Feb 5, 2016 06:49
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Stringent posted:Isn't a lot of Chinon pretty light on tannins? Nah, Cab Franc is not really light on tannin and I've not had one made in Chinon that was particularly low-tannin. There are some blends from the Touraine AOC that have a high percentage of Gamay and Pinot Noir that can be pretty light on tannins. Problem is that many others in the region contain a large proportion of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and/or Côt (Malbec) which can make them quite tannic.
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Feb 5, 2016 07:07
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AriTheDog posted:There was an article in Serious Eats called "The Case for Bad Coffee"... That article is a well-written, emotionally compelling piece of sophistry. What complete bullshit. He really pulls out all the stops here, like repeatedly making appeals to old-school masculinity to support his love of bad coffee. It's a lot of emotionally manipulative window dressing surrounding an idea that is rather self-evidently wrong: that the pursuit of quality, whether it be in coffee, food, wine, etc., is a barrier to forming connections with people while enjoying cheap crap somehow leads to emotional bonding with friends and family. He's presenting a false dichotomy. I sincerely hope that every one of you in this thread has bonded with people over excellent wine. I know I certainly have. His failure to have memorable moments with friends and family over a good cup of coffee is a personal failing and not a result of his choice of beverage. pork never goes bad posted:I suppose in contrast to the author, for wine at least I won't drink what I consider "bad wine", but it's definitely cheap natty juice (idiotsavan'ts brought up Raisins Gaulois's a few times, that poo poo is perfect - or something like Tami Frappato) that does for me in the wine world what AA coffee does for the author. You're right, that's not bad wine you're drinking at all. Folgers is the coffee equivalent of drinking Gallo Family Hearty Burgundy. I'm sure we all have our go-to inexpensive wines that are simple but delicious and great for a party.
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Feb 9, 2016 10:50
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Kasumeat posted:Yep those indeed are unusually low and I would recommend avoiding them unless they come with a good return policy. Those fills seem a bit low to me too, but how could any leakage occur in a relatively young wine with a wax capsule?
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Mar 4, 2016 11:26
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Kasumeat posted:Americans: How much of a thing is South African Chenin on your market? It's a staple here and definitely one of the better budget whites to be had, but I've been told it's not widely available in the US. C/d? I have never seen a South African Chenin Blanc in Portland, Oregon.
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Mar 12, 2016 10:44
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Ola posted:Of course, that makes a lot of sense. The skins are exposed for a long time after all. It also explains the garrigue and lavender found in some Rhone and Provencal reds and why you only get those characteristics in red wines.
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Mar 19, 2016 22:00
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Verge posted:my mother is getting into red wine under the guise of health benefits but she hates every wine she swallows; tastes too tannin. can someone help me discern (from bottle or brand) a cheap sweet wine? The correct answer, for everything, is Cru Beaujolais.
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Oct 8, 2016 02:16
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Overwined posted:I've actually noticed that any Cru Beaujolais producer of any quality, regardless of the Cru, will not have those notes with any real prominence. Yeah, that's pretty much true. Any decent Cru Beaujolais will not have those banana and bubblegum notes which, if I understand correctly, are primarily a result of carbonic maceration. People associate those flavors with Beaujolais because the Beaujolais Nouveau is made using that technique. Aim on spending in the $20 range and you should be just fine.
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Oct 24, 2017 08:19
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pork never goes bad posted:So I won't claim to know the source of that note speciically. But I drink plenty of Bojo and most Cru Beaujolais that goes through carbonic doesn't have that note. I could definitely be mistaken. I've heard it from several people that I assumed were reliable sources of info on the topic. I've also had plenty of wines that went through carbonic maceration that didn't have the bubblegum notes. However, I'm pretty sure that nearly all of the wines I've had that did taste that way went through carbonic.  Maybe it's carbonic combined with other factors, like the super fast push to get it to market?Can any of our winemaker posters shed some light on this?
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Oct 24, 2017 10:21
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pork never goes bad posted:Lapierre's declared Morgon has a lot more structure/stuffing, if that makes sense. Darker toned fruit, more and tighter tannins, more body, maybe even more acid (though it drinks as if it has a little less, because there's much more there to balance). I opened a Lapierre Morgon a few years ago at Thanksgiving and was very disappointed. I left it sitting in a decanter overnight and went back to it the next day and it was the best Beaujolais experience I have ever had. Those wines are very structured and take a long time to open up when young. Kasumeat posted:Starting to get into a bunch of the European 2010s in my cellar now, and wow, am I going to miss this vintage. I wish I had the money a few years ago to buy more than I did. The quality of most producers' entry-level wines is just outstanding. It's sad to think that with climate change, we'll probably never see another vintage this uniformly excellent again, ever. 2015-2017 especially have all been monstrosities, and there's no reason to believe the trend will change. Cracked a 375mL pf 2010 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel for Thanksgiving and it was ridiculous. So much richness and density combined with so much acidity. I've enjoyed a lot of the 2015s I've had so far across Europe. I don't think they count as "monstrosities" the way that 2007 was in CdP or 2003 was. I think maybe a lot of wineries are starting to adjust their winemaking and vineyard practices to account for this new normal. consensual poster fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Dec 5, 2017 |
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Dec 5, 2017 09:00
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Kasumeat posted:That's exactly the incredible nature of the 2010s: ripe, but with incredible acidity. It was a cool, sunny, and dry year, the holy grail. Germany was particularly high in quality because they had bad frost in the spring, so yields were minuscule. Yikes. I haven't seen any Bojos that crazy. The few 2015s I've had (mostly from the Sunier brothers), were pretty ripe, but not unbalanced. I drink a lot of German wine and I wouldn't call either 2015 or 2016 atrocious, particularly 2016. Which European whites are you drinking that are bad? Burgundy?
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Dec 5, 2017 23:36
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Furious Lobster posted:I've been slowly learning about German wines, specifically GGs and I was curious if anyone had an opinion of the Donnhoff offerings? Is price the best denominator to guide a newbie through this area? I've only had the Hermanshole GG '12, '14 and '15 but saw some friends really enjoying '14 Delchen so, I think I'll try to assemble all of their wines from a specific vintage to establish some kind of baseline. Donnhoff is one of the best wineries in Germany and they make some very good Grosses Gewachs. Their overall reputation, and the additional demand that attracts, means that you will probably pay quite a bit more for their GG's than others of similar quality. They are a safe bet to make you happy if you don't mind spending the money on them. The Dellchen and Felsenberg GG's have been more approachable when young than the Hermanshole in my limited experience, so if you want to see if Donnhoff GG's are in your wheelhouse, it might be best to start there. Price will not necessarily be the best indicator for enjoying a young GG since these are wines that aren't structured to drink young. Give them some air and time to open up before you drink them.
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Dec 29, 2017 11:09
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Professor Shark posted:In the meantime, we got some good news today and would like to keep opening that bubbly- what are some opinions on Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut? Congrats on whatever the good news is. You should treat yourself to something much better than Mumm.
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Mar 8, 2018 00:24
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Professor Shark posted:I've never had before, is it not great? Everything I've ever had from Mumm has been bad to my palate, but I mostly drink Extra-Brut and no dosage grower Champagne, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You live in Nova Scotia and are limited to what the state-owned liquor stores can bring in, right? Makes it kind of difficult to suggest something really fun. The basic Bollinger cuvee is probably a lot better than the Mumm and only a bit more expensive.
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Mar 8, 2018 01:43
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Ola posted:Champagne. Ask for one that has a leesy, bready flavour, not a seafood-y oyster one. Leesy, bready Champagne under $50 is a tall order, especially to get one that doesn't suck. Jovial Cow, you could get a decent village-level white Burgundy for under $50 depending on where you live and that would be an excellent pairing, IMO. Something with some richness and a touch of oak, but still good acidity.
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Apr 13, 2018 21:44
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got off on a technicality posted:By the way for the N Rhone lovers out there - I recently tried a 2015 Xavier Gerard Cote Rotie alongside some heavy hitters (Allemand Reynard, Benetiere Dolium, Gonon, Jamet, Juge, Levet) and it more than held its own against bottles costing multiples more. Highly recommended Have you had any vintages other than 2015? Seems like a vintage where it wasn't difficult to make great wine.
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Apr 27, 2018 05:53
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Biomute posted:There is a Basque place that seems to have a lot of the Equipo Navazos lineup so I will remember to ask when I go back there. Cheers. Speaking of Basque wines, be on the lookout for Txakoli. It's fizzy, dry and low alcohol. Pretty delicious stuff. There's a wine bar I go to that has been serving a lot of Portuguese whites lately, including some delicious sparkling wine. I think they'd be in your wheelhouse: dry, mineral, saline, etc. Can't remember the names off the top of my head, but I'll look some up and report back. Re: Cava, my experience with it matched yours until I went to Spain this year. Turns out that a lot of the good stuff just stays in Spain and most of what we import (at least in the US) is mediocre at best. I've had much better luck with the various non-Champagne sparkling wines from France: Cremant d'Alsace, Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Loire, etc.
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Nov 22, 2018 22:25
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Biomute posted:I ended up buying a Bassermann-Jordan Hohenmorgen Riesling GG (2017) that I'm planning to save for some ribbe (Norwegian pork belly) the day before Christmas. You think that is going to work? German Riesling and fatty pork is a match made in heaven. Make sure you give it plenty of time and air. GG that young tends to be tightly wound.
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Dec 9, 2018 04:59
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Furious Lobster posted:02Krug was fantastic, totally blew Dom out of the water. The Krug must've been really special. Last time I had 2002 Dom, I went in thinking I hated Dom and came away a true believer. It's a great wine. Drinking a bottle of 2002 Andre Clouet Dream Vintage BdB tonight. Lovely, but starting to show its age a bit.
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Jan 1, 2019 08:17
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Biomute posted:Managed to get my hands on another two bottles of Cedric Bouchard Blanc de Noirs. Going to try to hang on to one of them for a while maybe. Are there any other producers like him in the <$70 range? The Val Vilaine or one of the higher-end cuvées? I didn't get the impression that the Val Vilaine is something that might age well. When you ask if there are other producers like him, what do you mean? All vintage cuvées (even if they aren't labelled as such)? Single variety? Single vineyard? Zero dosage? All of the above? Perseval-Farge "La Pucelle" Brut Nature might fit the bill except I'm pretty sure it's multi-vintage. I recently got a chance to taste some wines from a new producer I'd never heard of: Champagne Piollot Père et Fils. Didn't try a lot of them, but they were quite good and most seemed to be zero dosage, single variety, vintage Champagnes. I believe several were single-vineyard as well.
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Jan 6, 2019 06:39
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sivad posted:Bereche & Fils, Brut Reserve This is probably the best answer if you can find it in your city. Everyone from non-drinkers to wine nerds should enjoy it.
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Dec 4, 2020 23:56
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taco show posted:Just went to a champagne tasting! A lot of growers and no so many big negotiants featured. Highlights of the night: Mousse Fils SC owns. They have an SC rose, too, and it's terrific. Actually, most of their cuvees are great. Current favorite growers in the Cote des Blancs are Pertois-Morriset and Paul Launois.
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Dec 1, 2022 07:22
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