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Mad props to 4/20 NEVER FORGET for putting up a decent wine post!pork never goes bad posted:http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/ Thanks for the shout out, and sorry for the weirdness of the aborted wine post here. Lots of confusion, and I'm not going to bring it up again. If anyone checks out my blog, please check out some of the links I've got to sites like Dr. Vino, Vinography, and others. I think goons might enjoy the irreverent wit and pop culture references of my friend Joe at Suburban Wino. For any women that are interested in wine and get tired of being around a bunch of old grey-haired dudes all the time, some of my favorite female winebloggers are Samantha Sans Dosage, Good Wine Under $20, and Wine & Walnuts. If you happen to be from the South/Southeast like I am, and find that you're the only wine lover in a state full of beer drinkers, I've compiled a list of local wine bloggers in the region. Sometimes they focus on the wines of their state (like most of the Virginia bloggers), but in most cases they're writing about wine in a place where you can't buy it on Sunday, can't purchase it online, and get weird looks when folks hear you're a fan. It's hard out here in flyover country for Winebloggers in the South.
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Sep 21, 2011 03:12
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There's a solution to the price/quality perception when it comes to wine. Attend a private tasting where you go through a few dozen bottles, and then later help the host pour a few thousand dollars' worth of wine down the drain. Go to industry events where you swirl and spit a hundred times in an afternoon, and watch entire buckets poured down the drain every half hour. Repeat a few times. Use some of the leftover bottles to make Boeuf Bourguignon at home, with $10 of food ingredients and $90 of wine in the Dutch oven. Also, learn what goes into the price of a bottle. Sometimes it's hype, sometimes it's justified. A lot of times it's small production or expensive real estate. Sometimes it's pricy because it required 15 years of careful storage before it could be properly enjoyed, and you've got to pay the back rent and air conditioning. I've had delightful $15 wines and $200 wines that I thought were a joke. I've also had 45 year old Cognac that was way expensive and was like a kiss on the forehead from God. I've always recommended folks taste as much as possible, and try out various food pairings, even if you're breaking "the rules". I've always thought rare roast beef and an oaky Pouilly-Fuisse (a Chardonnay from France) was an amazing combination. Coq au vin is a chicken stew, but it's made with red wine, so go ahead and enjoy it with a spicy Zinfandel or something.
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Sep 23, 2011 03:24
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Sometimes ethical considerations come into play. South African wines used to be produced pretty cheaply because of slavery, followed by the "dop system" in which poor black farmers were paid in leftover cheap wine rather than cash. Then you've got a workforce of addicts who relies on you for their fix, and labor costs are nonexistent. If you pay migrant workers to pick the grapes, that would be one price level, if you pay full wages and health insurance and everything, that's another price level, and machine harvesting can be another price level depending on the equipment and the scale of the operation. If you're making Kosher wine, you have to let the particular vineyard lay fallow once every seven years (pick no grapes), you can only hire men to pick grapes, and you have to pay for the Kosher certification. Or the organic, biodynamic, vegan, or other certification. Logistics plays a role in wholesale price as well as carbon footprint if you're interested in that. If you live in New York, the shipping costs and carbon footprint is lower for French wine delivered by boat rather than California wine delivered by truck or airplane. Oh, and occasionally the region, or government, or some association can set prices, either to maintain a prestige name or prevent competition in the market. Again with South Africa, the KWV was a cooperative/cartel that eventually controlled all wine and brandy prices in the country. And are you going to use high quality corks, or the cheap ones full of holes that nobody else wanted? Pretty basic label or do you have something die cut with foil embossing? How much did you have to pay the estate to get Marilyn Monroe on the label, or to have your wine featured in The Devil Wears Prada? Are you an independent operation or are you owned by Pernod or Constellation? Lots of things impact the price of a bottle. benito fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Sep 29, 2011 |
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Sep 29, 2011 01:04
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pork never goes bad posted:This is a great point. As an example, Ken Forrester Wines is a good South African producer that is quite inexpensive, quite easy to find in California, and are a member of a South African body that certifies wineries as ethical (WIETA). I've got a longer post on this, with info about Partnership Vineyards in South Africa. Not only are they ethical, but they also pay their workers in shares in the company, so even the grape pickers become part owners in the operation. I got to participate in a webinar session and tasting with the head winemaker: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-approach-to-south-african-wines.html
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Sep 29, 2011 01:25
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I like NZ Sauvignon Blanc with grilled prawns or salads that include some citrus, but the really brassy ones have a great function: If you have friends or family members that are new to wine and a bit curious, put a highly acidic one in front of them. Ask them to sniff it, and they say, "It smells like wine." Then ask them to sniff it again and look for the grapefruit, and it's so overwhelmingly obvious that they freak out and learn the first step in separating the generic wine aroma from the many possible descriptors. Later you can pull out other bottles and point to pencil shavings or lychee or more subtle notes, but they'll trust you that you're not just making things up, and that if they spend enough time with the wine they might discover these things. When I've hosted online tastings for novices, I've talked about the background of the winery and the grape composition of the wine, and everything else, but I don't offer any of my own tasting notes. I always ask them what they're smelling or tasting. If it smells like band-aids or an old church* or that magical trip to Burning Man, go ahead and list that as your tasting note. *I've only encountered this a few times, but I always love it, and have verified the association with a few friends in different states. Your mileage may vary in other countries, but there's this style of oaked Chardonnay that occasionally has the perfect combination of oak, old books, a hint of pine oil, and candles that immediately puts me in the 5th pew at the 100 year old Presbyterian church I attended as a child.
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Sep 30, 2011 22:18
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At Halloween, I like to purchase very stupid wine glasses. Cheap plastic out of China, but sometimes fun to throw on a table for a party. As I said on Facebook, imagine Vincent Price saying, "Oh my... this wine is... a SCREAM!"  And I will always love this Champagne flute: 
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Oct 11, 2011 04:47
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Had kind of a belated birthday dinner this weekend at the home of an old family friend who introduced me to wine back in the 90s. Started out with a 1998 Lenoble Blanc de Noirs... Then an Amontillado.... Next was a 1998 Trimbach Pinot Gris in a magnum, which looks absolutely ridiculous... 1995 S. Anderson Cab Sav from Napa, and then... Mike surprised me with something I've never had: a wine from my birth year, the 1976 Faiveley Morey-Saint-Denis. Yes, the bottle had survived 35 years, and yes, it was amazing. I've had older wines, and I've had a few from the late 70s, but getting to hit that 1976 was something I finally got to check off my (spit) bucket list. Photos of the food and bottles and more notes
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Oct 25, 2011 01:22
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I've had the 1986 Ridge Zinfandel from Geyserville as part of a vertical. 1984 was gone, but 1985-1989 were great. If there was any sort of climate control, this is your best bet. I agree with Subtlet; trade with a friend who can let you know if they're any good, or see if you can attend a local wine event where people in the know can evaluate them. You're probably not going to be able to sell them. Laws vary by state, but the biggest issue is the storage situation. Without any knowledge of the temperature (and swings), it's not a good gamble if real money is involved. Sometimes people setting up a home bar like a few novelty bottles for decoration. (If you're crafty, attach a pump and spigot to the white wine bottle and fill it with a golden dish soap. Nonchalantly explain to guests that you wash your dishes with 32 year old wine. A friend of mine does this with old Sauternes bottles.) You can probably sell the empty bottles and corks on eBay or elsewhere, so be careful not to spill any drops on the label while pouring (or dumping). You can either sell to a collector or to an unscrupulous fraudster who will refill the bottle, recork it, and try and sell it to an easy mark. I'm not advising the latter, who will surely burn in hell, but there is a big market out there for empty old wine bottles in good condition.
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Oct 25, 2011 01:35
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pork never goes bad posted:Also, Benito, just read your blog post about your 3rd birthday dinner - that sounds like a lot of fun Thanks! It was pretty cool, and since I'm usually the one providing the wines and cooking the food it was fun to take a back seat for a moment. I also got to try an English gin flavored with the fruit of the baobab tree and a Kentucky all-wheat whiskey. There was a 15 year old Scotch at the very end but I was pretty much carried out of the house clutching the empty '76 and that monstrous Alsatian magnum. For those who are interested in the life of the wineblogger (and I'm not trying to overstate the importance of my simple hobby), this is the time of year when things get insane. Usually the samples start heavily flowing in around late October for "the perfect wine for Thanksgiving", closely followed by your perfect Christmas and New Year's wines. This year things have started early with Halloween themed wines, or anything that might possibly be connected to something spooky or mystical. I've even gotten wines based around a push for Arbor Day.
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Oct 27, 2011 05:33
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Walked posted:Anyone care to give me a rundown on Wine Tasting etiquette? If you want a quick etiquette lesson, sit down for a minute or two with each wine and write about what you thought about each wine. Be honest with the host and say, "I don't know a lot about wine, and most of them smell alike to me. Can you tell me some of the things that you get on the nose, and what you think about this bottle?" A lot of the answers will be foreign, but they might say something like pineapple or peach or cedar or plum that will resonate with you and you'll form a connection. Be patient. Don't try to get drunk. If you really like something, politely request a second pour and explain what you like about it. It's awesome that you had fun, and the next step is to build on that. Take notes. Start figuring out which grapes and regions you like. Always be polite to the hosts. The more you attend, the better questions you'll be able to ask. If you're going back to the same place often, they'll remember you and will be honest with you. They'll dive in and say, "This is terrible, but we're trying to get rid of it because we had to take three cases as a package deal. Try this one that we're hiding under the table. It's way better and is half the price." Don't beg. Don't complain (wait until you have more experience, then you can complain with authority). Depending on the venue, offer to empty the spit jug or refill the water jug (don't get them confused). Show a genuine interest in learning more about wine and the hosts will be really excited to talk to you, not just in an attempt to sell but because they'll be delighted to talk to someone that wants to learn about good wine.
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Dec 21, 2011 06:06
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The Oncoming Storm posted:So, wine goons, what can I find that's kind of like that Roscato? Because in my state, the OG's liquor license requires them to open the loving bottle and serve a glass before they let you take it home, and I don't want to drive around tipsy with an open container. Nor do I want to waste any. >.< Availability will vary by state, but if you want a sweet, red, fizzy, Italian wine, there's a ton of Lambruscos out there that are very affordable. There's also something called Brachetto d'Acqui that's a popular dessert wine in that category. Additionally, think about adding some crème de cassis liqueur to inexpensive white sparkling wine. You'll get a similar flavor and can brag that you're enjoying a classic kir pétillant cocktail.
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Jan 24, 2012 03:17
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The Oncoming Storm posted:Welp, I never said I was anything but a noob (both in forums and in wine.) If you're interested in wine, go to a bunch of public tastings and keep at it. You'll encounter a lot of things you don't like, and at some point certain things will click. Keep an open mind and enjoy what you like, but don't be afraid to try something new once in a while. I've tried thousands of wines, but I wouldn't say that I have a perfect palate. Keep searching, and you'll figure out some interesting styles to follow. As I'm typing this, I'm sipping on a 2004 Super Tuscan. I don't know why people get angry about this style, but the age and grape combination is making me very happy. Il Borro 2004, 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot. If this were a Sonoma or Paso Robles red blend people would be praising it rather than grumbling about French grapes in Italy.
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Jan 27, 2012 05:23
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Lolcano Eruption posted:I tried a couple different Texas vineyards around here in the Hill Country. None of them were particularly amazing. I suppose I'd better give them a few more decades to refine their techniques or something, I just really like supporting local businesses. Thanks to pork never goes bad for the mention. I haven't had a lot of Texan wine (I'm far more impressed with Mexican wines from Baja California if we're talking about some unexpected places in the region), but I do have a sister site that lists a lot of wine bloggers from around the southeast and the south. Plenty of Texan writers listed at Winebloggers In The South who write a lot of reviews of local wines, interview the winemakers, etc. Ditto for Virginia--for some reason, if you're writing about wine in Virginia, you're mostly writing about wines from that state. Get to a place like Tennessee or Florida, and you spend 99% of your time writing about wines from everywhere else in the world. I try wine from all sorts of weird places (Moldova most recently), and sometimes things are surprisingly good (New Mexico) and sometimes things are really bad (Belarus). Wine has been made in Texas for a really long time, but I don't think it's found its special grape variety (or blend) that really works. The Bordeaux-style blends are interesting but it's a bit too hot.
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Feb 15, 2012 02:47
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AriTheDog posted:Anyone have any suggestions for decent but not terribly expensive glassware? I'm finally getting too sick of the various inherited wine glasses I have, and I'm looking to get new ones. Depends a lot on where you are and how you like to shop. You can get perfect matched sets of Riedel or whatever online, but wine glasses break and eventually you're going to have a weird assortment of stuff. My sister-in-law was drinking from a Spieglau I'd just bought and a huge chunk fell out of the side. She wasn't cut, but it was odd. In the U.S., you can get a neat collection of individual glasses at resellers like Tuesday Morning and T.J. Maxx. Other times you can find good deals at Kohl's or Target. I kind of like to fiddle with the glasses, see if I like the feel and balance, and if the price is right I'll take them home, knowing that out of a set of four I'll lose one or two within a year. Dishwashing accidents, gesturing too quickly, tripping over a dog, etc. I try not to get too attached to any one glass. Garage/estate sales can also yield some interesting glassware. When doing proper tasting, you want something crystal clear that doesn't have a lip on the rim and allows you to do a proper swirl, but for parties or other gatherings it's fun to have some weird stuff from the 70s and 80s that was never unpacked after it was received as a wedding present. By the way, all of the above advice goes well for cocktail glasses. I like the short and stubby martini-style glasses for everyday cocktail use, but I also have absurd cactus-stemmed margarita glasses and a variety of highball glasses. And while you're at it, pick up a handful of cordial glasses and brandy snifters. They come in handy when you get into the spirits and fortified wines.
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Mar 6, 2012 06:35
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paradigmblue posted:I have a quick question. I'm putting on a tasting in a couple of days focusing on white wines from Germany, Austria and Hungary, and haven't had a chance to taste some of the selections. I would like to order the tasting from dry to sweet. Here is the order I had placed them in, any advice would be appreciated. Seems like a pretty good lineup, but you'll probably swap around a few at the last minute depending on age and temperature and mood. If it were me (and this is just personal preference), I'd do the Austrians first, then the Germans, and finally the Hungarians in Furmint-Mad-5 Puttonyos. For a guided tasting I prefer to keep similar grapes and regions together to better show the contrasts from "same grape, same soil, different productions". For dinner parties I'm more concerned about a progression of flavor sensations based on what the dishes are. I've had most of these... The Mad Cuvée is a lot of fun, and while it's not a true Tokaji it's a great introduction to the style and it's fun to see reactions to first time sippers. The Laurenz V wines are similarly good intros to dry Austrian white. A bottle of Grauer Burgunder showed up at the house today. Curious to try my first German Pinot Gris, though depending on how you classify Alsace throughout the centuries...
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Mar 21, 2012 02:04
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Crimson posted:A little of both. Their markup is a little high, I'd say about 3.5-4x cost. Most places do 3x these days. What I'd like to mention though is that although people tend to think places like this are overpriced, the reality is that they're likely not turning a large profit at all. I can't speak specifically for French Laundry, but generally fine dining restaurants like these are lucky to break even. Margins are razor thin, with insane food costs and payroll. In terms of overpriced for what you get, your local Applebee's is generally marking things up more as a percent than fine dining. They can easily mark up beer and liquor 5x or more. I (silently) grumble about wine markups in restaurants. I see a boring Pinot Grigio that retails for $10 and is on the wine list at $40. Not only is that bottle not going to provide $40, of pleasure, but it's also going to encourage the occasional wine drinker to think that wine is expensive, not that great, and something only for special occasions or to impress a date. On the other hand, wine is a big gamble for a restaurant. You're also paying for storage, fragile glassware, and as you move up into the higher end, that you happen to have a customer with the right knowledge, enough money, and great timing to purchase the bottle at its optimal age... assuming that it didn't get corked, oxidized, or dropped on the floor. Cleveland was a great place to drink wine. Because of some local laws (which I'm sure the restaurants hated), a bottle of wine was capped at 2X retail, or they would sell it to you unopened at 1X retail. I always thought that latter part was a neat idea, because if a table really likes a wine they had with dinner, instead of having to direct them to a separate shop (who probably won't have it), you can make a small sale right on the spot, move some inventory, and create a positive customer service experience. Michael Symon's restaurants even had pretty reasonable and very fresh wine-by-the glass options, and those lists had fun, affordable wines like nero d'avola.
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May 22, 2012 01:06
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For another take on weird restaurant wine sales, the industry juggernaut is The Olive Garden. As someone really interested in building a middle class, everyday wine culture, I admire what they're doing. As someone passionate about real Italian cuisine, I weep a little inside.
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May 23, 2012 02:13
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I'm sure I've said this on a prior thread, or in a dozen comment threads, but it's a useful approach to the whole conventional/organic/biodynamic/vegan/sustainable arguments. I've had really bad kosher wines and I've had spectacular kosher wines. Since I'm not Jewish, I don't really care whether or not the grapes were picked only by men, not on the sabbath, and that one out of seven fields are left fallow every year. Ultimately the quality of the wine for me depends on the region, grape, weather, and skill of the winemaker. If you are Jewish, I'm not bothered that these things are important to you, and will hope that you seek out the better bottles that are available. There's great kosher Bordeaux, for instance. There is a real market out there for people that are into all-natural or organic or vegan wines. And again, I've had good and bad representatives of all of them. I'm not that target demographic, but I don't get bothered by it. I have argued in the past that small production wines tend to produce really unique bottles (not necessarily better, but interesting), and these operations tend to be pretty small. So you'll see a lot more variation between vintages and occasional surprises. For me, that's fun and exciting. But if you want more predictability (certainly not a sin when you're plopping down $20-80 a bottle), there are plenty of big producers on the market.
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Jun 1, 2012 03:53
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Insane Totoro posted:Dear goons, please vet my wine choices. I am trying to find my wife for her birthday some dessert wines. She really enjoys ones with a viscous-y thick feel in the mouth and a smooth but very sweet taste. While I enjoy a very dry wine, she is sort of my polar opposite. But she usually drinks the wine as a dessert in itself after a meal. I've had that Bual Madeira, and I love it, but it's got more of an earthy, beef bouillon flavor to it. Banyuls is a great suggestion, and you should be able to find various California and Australian "Ports" that are quite affordable. If you have any Tokaji or a related product like Mad Cuvee (Hungarian dessert wines), those are phenomenal. You might also find a good deal on a Sauternes from France or a Vin Santo from Italy. You can also find some late harvest muscats and rieslings that are pretty high on the syrup scale.
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Jul 7, 2012 01:27
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WanderingMinstrel I posted:Then I should have a great trip, as most of my family are wine dorks with above average general knowledge. Anyone have any experience with Jessup? That name got brought up to me last night at work from some nice people with amazing taste in pinot noirs, and it seems like the sort of place I might actually be able to afford a case from. Hope you have a blast, and keep a list of alternates in case some places are too full or you end up wanting to stay in a particular subregion longer. There are so many different winery tasting experiences... Sometimes it's just cold and clinical, other times you show just the slightest bit of knowledge and humanity and the next thing you know you're hanging out in the back eating sandwiches with the winemaker and playing with the vineyard dog. Most places don't require reservations, but if you're showing up with a group of 8-10 and are planning on actually buying stuff, it wouldn't hurt to contact them ahead of time. You might get a special tour out of it or they may have a side room where it's easier to serve a group like that and doesn't keep the various individual visitors waiting.
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Jul 15, 2012 22:39
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You can take this really seriously and go the deep academic route, or you can go for a more amateur appreciation. Both are valid, but it depends a lot on how much time you have to devote to the topic and your resources to purchase the materials. One simple step that can really help out in the early days is to always buy two similar (region/grape) bottles from different producers. Like two bottles of Aussie Shiraz or two Petite Sirahs from Paso Robles. Make notes about what you like and dislike about the two and why. This works for pretty much any region around the world, and it shouldn't be too hard or expensive to do these double sets. You're always going to like one more than the other for some reason, and thinking about that and jotting down the notes will help you form trends of your own palate and wine education. Don't rely too much on label info or other reviews, just explore why you like one more than the other.
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Sep 25, 2012 04:57
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After a heavy December of tasting samples, I'm currently enjoying a little break in the action in the New Year. Thought you all might find this classic Vallejo painting amusing: Also, free avatar if anybody wants it.
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Jan 11, 2013 04:56
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that Vai sound posted:Fish seems to be hardest for me to pair wine with The suggestions for Pinot Noir with salmon are spot on, but if you ever want the greatest seafood/wine pairing, go for oysters and Sancerre. Don't like oysters? Try scallops or shrimp. It's an amazing shellfish pairing, though I've also enjoyed it with sea bass and other white-fleshed fish. A lot of it comes down to preparation, sauces, side dishes... Fried fish & chips goes great with inexpensive sparkling wine like Cava or Prosecco. I think that Grüner Veltliner and trout go together particularly well, and a lot of squid dishes go well with crisp Italian whites like Vermentino. For salted and pickled seafood dishes, I'd probably go with Spain. An Albariño will go along with damned near anything on a tapas bar.
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Jan 17, 2013 04:16
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I can't tell from the pictures, but can you see any sediment? When you tilt it can you see a thin black layer caked to one side or a thicker black layer at the bottom? A flashlight will help with this, and it will let you know in which orientation it spent most of its life. Additionally, if/when you decide to open it you're going to need to decant it or be willing to sacrifice the last few ounces. If it turns out the stuff is terrible, you can save the bottle and cork and refill it with cheap Bordeaux. Impress a series of first dates with the casual opening of a sixty year old wine. (I kid, I kid, but like CleverHans mentioned if you sell the empty bottle on eBay it's going to be used to defraud a novice collector or drunk restaurant goer somewhere down the line. Better to keep it around as a nice decoration.)
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Feb 19, 2013 01:35
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Crimson posted:Who would buy the empty bottle is my question. If there's a market for empty bottles of expensive wine I'm gonna be rich. This is from just tonight. Not pictured is 02 DRC Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Duvault Blochet and 99 Chateau Lafleur. There's a story on the Freakonomics blog about it with some links to actual studies of the phenomenon. A quick glance shows that somebody paid $125 for an empty bottle of Burgundy. The Telegraph newspaper reported on the trade in empty bottles of famous French vintages in China. If someone had a flexible moral compass and access to great bottles (I'm thinking a sommelier* with gambling debts or something) it could be possible to make some quick cash. Given this type of fraud and other scandals, I don't know if I'd ever have the stomach for the auction side of the wine world. *Edit: Just saw that you work in a restaurant. This was not meant to imply you would do such a thing or have gambling debts. Just a hypothetical situation.
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Feb 20, 2013 01:13
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It's a beautiful spring day and I'm about to try these three beauties: Going to pair them with the following courses: yellowfin crudo with Wente vineyards olive oil and sea salt, an asparagus-goat cheese-spring onion tart, and duck/bratwurst/bacon cassoulet.
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Apr 13, 2013 17:33
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I can comment a bit on the video but not on the technique. I got to taste with the Movia guys in NYC a few weeks ago and they do some crazy unfiltered, rustic wines. Their Lunar Ribolla has a ton of thick sediment in the bottom of the bottle and they were proudly showing off the gunk next to the decanter. The wine itself was orange-tinted and cloudy (it looked like chicken stock), and surprisingly tasty. I also tasted the Puro Rosé they show in the video, and the end result is a far more conventional sparkling pink wine.
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Apr 15, 2013 01:16
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SERPUS posted:Do I need to grab another dozen wine glasses to match the color of the wine, or are my non-college educated friends from northwestern Kentucky full of poo poo? You probably don't have a dozen fish knives or pickle forks either, and since you don't have the staff of Downton Abbey stocking all of these things there's no reason to buy them. If your friends can't enjoy a red wine from a standard wine glass then they don't actually know that much about wine or about how to be polite at a party. I've attended one wine tasting where the host guzzled the remains of a $200 Napa Cab straight from the bottle. I taste about a dozen wines a week as samples come in. There is a joy of having the perfect glass (I've got a Riedel Malbec glass that is gorgeous and perfect with Bordeaux blends), but most of the time the decision is based on "what do I feel like washing later?"
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Sep 8, 2013 23:29
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gay picnic defence posted:Nah get one of the bad boys I got to check out one of these made by WineEmotion when I did a recent piece on a local wine bar. Like the Coravin, argon is pumped in as the wine is poured (also, convenient buttons for a 2, 4, or 6 oz. pour). I got to taste a few wines that I was familiar with, and even though the bottle had been open for a few days, it was just like a freshly opened bottle. So far they don't serve anything particularly old or expensive, and keep in mind if it's something that needs decanting, you're going to have to let it sit in the glass for a while. I'm also curious as to how the system deals with sediment/cork debris, not really a problem with the fairly young wines that were on tap that day. They already had one dessert wine available, and are considering a few Ports.
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Oct 24, 2013 21:58
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Baudolino posted:I really like wine made from other fruits than grapes, such as blueberry and cherry and so on. My family used to maked gallons of the stuff every year when we had a big garden. These days I have to buy it. Anyone got some suggestions for wine made from something other than grapes ( that you could find in a store) ? Due to my fondness for being willing to taste almost anything when it comes to wine and spirits, I have had wines made from: strawberries, blackberries, dandelions, rhubarb, corn, apples, plum, peach, elderberry.... Since I don't really like sweet wines, most of these were not entirely to my liking, but were interesting. I actually enjoyed the dandelion, apple, and corn. Right now I'm sipping on the 2009 Poggio Valente Morellino di Scansano. Nice, pleasant, and affordable Tuscan wine.
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Oct 24, 2013 23:06
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Strange Matter posted:Hey wine goons, I'm getting married in a couple weeks and I want to buy a gift for my fiancee's brother-in-law, who's helped us out with a lot of the preparations. He loves wine and has a reputation for being kind of a snob, and meanwhile I know jack-all about wine. Any suggestions for a bottle? I'm not looking to spend more than about $30.00 on it. Bump up your budget to $40 and get a set of at least four nice wine glasses. Ridel, Spiegelau, something decent that doesn't have a thick rounded lip on the top. If the guy is a snob (or perceived as such), it's going to be impossible to figure out his particular tastes without asking him directly. Nice crystal is always welcome, and it will always be useful. Don't go crazy wondering whether you need the Burgundy glass or the Oregon Pinot Noir glass, and skip the little stemless tumblers. Just good, classic wine glasses from a respected producer.
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Nov 13, 2013 23:12
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Loud Mouse posted:I have recently decided to get more into wine. I've always enjoyed drinking wine, and last summer I spent a lot of time "wine tasting" (aka spending a lot of time in tasting rooms with my friends who were talking about things like "fruity note" and "floral qualities" and "hints of butter and mango" and me going "uh huh, yup this one is delicious" or "this one is gross and gives me heartburn, where is the cheese? oooh! Look, they have breadsticks!"). But now I am looking at it more seriously and think it would be fun to learn about. Definitely take notes. It will help you out tremendously even when you don't know all the details. Nobody's going to yell at you for breaking out a notebook in the middle of a tasting, if anything it demonstrates that you're taking the subject seriously and aren't just there to get drunk. Smartphone tasting notes are kind of fun because you can get a shot of the label and add your comments, which makes it easier to find the wine later in a shop or to push it through an app like Delectable. That's how I started in wine blogging almost ten years ago, and it's matured into a great side job that includes selling articles and paid trips to wine regions. I can't promise the same success, but keeping organized notes (whether digital or manual, public or not) will really help you keep track of what you like and what you don't, and it will also be interesting over the years to see how your tastes change. Wine shops in my town were going through an Alto Adige binge a few years ago and I thought they were boring. Now I've got a handful of Gewürztraminer samples from that region sitting downstairs and I'm really excited to try them. Have fun. Don't let the haters keep you down. Enjoy wine with food as often as possible and drink plenty of water.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:53
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Loud Mouse posted:Also, I am putting up shelving in my dining room, and can't afford a wine cooler, but want to be able to store a couple bottles of wine. Do they need to be stored on their side/at an angle, or am I fine to store them upright if I am going to be drinking them in a few months to a year? Don't worry too much about storage at this point. Most bottles you buy under $50 are released when they are ready to drink. Certainly some can improve under proper conditions, but many will lose positive characteristics in a less-than-ideal environment over time. (I always hate going over to someone's house and they store a "special" bottle of wine vertically beside the stove.) Also, as you learn about wine, your tastes are going to change, and developing the skills to appreciate properly aged wines (and to spot flaws) takes a while. I've had Barolos from the 60s that were really boring because they'd been held onto too long. I had one from 1978 last year that I found disappointing, while the ones from the 80s were spectacular. However, if I buy a new release Barolo, it's not really going to be ready to drink for another ten years assuming that I keep it properly. It's not decorative, but my favorite low-cost solution is an ice chest (no ice in it) in a closet. It's not going to keep the wine at a specific temperature but the insulation will protect the wines from wild swings in temperature, which are really damaging.
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Mar 29, 2014 16:21
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Lucy Heartfilia posted:I got Sowietskoje Igristoje (COBETCKOE ИГPИCTOE) sparkling wine from Latvia as a birthday present from a friend's friend. Does someone know if this a wine I can inflict on others? Or should I use it as fuel for my alcoholism? One of the worst wines I ever had was Советское Шампанское, "Soviet Champagne" from Belarus. Smelled like a sour beer but was also grossly sweet. I would recommend trying it in a safe environment where you've got some backup wines (and fresh glasses, and some mouthwash), but it's not the kind of thing I'd save for a special occasion or romantic dinner. I got hate mail one time for pointing that out, but to be fair I'm really willing to try anything and have very much enjoyed wines from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, etc.
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Apr 22, 2014 21:58
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Lucy Heartfilia posted:Ok, thanks. I'll prepare my friends for what they have to expect then. Heh. I'm really curious though, cause it's wine from Latvia. Didn't even know they could produce wine so far up north. People grow grapes and make wine in Scandinavia. If you're willing, you can make native wine anywhere in the world (like my home state of Tennessee). However, just because you can doesn't mean you should (Tennessee).
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Apr 22, 2014 22:30
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gay picnic defence posted:Yeah, some of then non-vinifera grapevines are pretty cold tolerant, they just have that overpowering foxy, grape jelly flavour as opposed to the flavours of traditional grape varieties. I guess some people just like the idea of the winery/vineyard lifestyle despite living pretty close tot he arctic circle. There's also that argument that British Columbia is going to be the new Napa, England is going to be the new Bordeaux, and Paso Robles is just going to burst into flames amidst legions of post-apocalyptic refugees from climate change. One of the things I love to show to people is to take a map of the world, and show them Australia and Sicily. One is huge and the other is tiny, yet they make comparable amounts of wine each year and sometimes the tiny Sicily is ahead. Yet all of Sicily is perfect for making wine, while the vast majority of the landmass of Australia is not. There was also a book a few years back about African wine--aside from the well-known South African wine industry, wine is made in various places that are serious about making local communion wine only (similar to the settlement of the Americas), but of course it is difficult to make wine in North Africa due to the Muslim majority. The story of the Algerian wine industry in the 20th century during the French colonial period is crazy: Wikipedia posted:The high point of the Algerian wine industry came in the late 1930s when over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) was producing more 2,100 megalitres (550,000,000 US gal) of wine. By the 1950s, together with Tunisia and Morocco, Algeria wine accounted for nearly two thirds of the wine that was internationally traded.
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Apr 23, 2014 02:05
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caberham posted:Can't we just turn bad wine grapes into cognac or whatever grain alcohol? That used to happen in France, with hundreds of millions of bottles of unsold wine being converted into ethanol for cars and other industrial applications. The wine industry was subsidized, so farmers would produce as much wine as they possibly could. The system has since been reformed. While it's better than just dumping it, if you want to make pure alcohol, there are far cheaper, faster, and better ways to do it than making wine first.
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Apr 23, 2014 21:59
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I spent last week on a press junket in Lodi. Lots of in-vineyard tastings off the tailgates of pickup trucks with the winery dogs. I had a blast. Cool stuff going on there--the winemaker from Bokisch mentioned that he had 20 acres of Dornfelder, and he's got a buyer for all of it. Who knew?
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May 5, 2014 22:24
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Overwined posted:I love that picture for a lot of reasons. It was a little hot in Lodi last week, and a crisp glass of dry rosé at 9 a.m. was a welcome refreshment. Vineyard tasting was kind of crazy. The sixth-generation growers are talking about 150-year old vines, and we're spitting on the ground and the dogs are chewing on the trunks of the same old vines... For anyone that likes dogs and wine, I have a brief roundup of some of the vineyard dogs. People give Lodi a lot of crap, but I was really impressed with their white wines. Albariño, Vermentino, a few Rhône blends... It's not just Old Vine Zinfandel out there. The rosés were spectacular but are made in limited quantities and often don't leave the region.
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May 5, 2014 23:07
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idiotsavant posted:Did they talk about the season at all? I can't imagine drought questions didn't come up. Afaik everything's moving even earlier than last year, which was also an early year. Gonna be picking in July at this rate. Drought really didn't come up, in fact they're situated where they can rely on nearby snowmelt. Many of the premium vineyards we saw were pleased with their dry farming methods, since their old vines tap into the water table 10-25 feet underground. When you've got the same family working the same plot of land since the 1850s (and actually flourishing during Prohibition), they're pretty good at dealing with odd weather. (I know that's nothing by European standards, but impressive for the US.) Also lots of fun looking at the competing economic interests of growers (who get paid by the ton, and are incentivized to plump up the grapes) vs. winemakers who are looking for quality over quantity.
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May 16, 2014 23:36
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