Author Topic: The Fine Wine (Read 404 times)

echo008 · « **on:** November 25, 2006, 06:28:23 PM »

I know we have some Beer afficianados here, But what say the Wine Drinkers, not to say that I dont like beer ... I certainly do!

My wife and I sometimes open up a bottle at meals and also on weekends when time permits. We actually just bought a small wine fridge that holds 12 bottles and we are digging it.

Recommend me a good wine
Here are my first three from $13-$20 seems to be a good base price, at least for me
Ridge 2004 - Sonoma California (Three Valleys)
Hayman Hill - Chardonay
Navarro Carrces - Cabernet (from Argetntina)

- Tom

hifiguy · « **Reply #1 on:** November 25, 2006, 07:27:02 PM »

Tom:

Any Ridge Zinfandel - especially the Lytton Springs and Geyserville. That's the sort of wine that tastes you back. BIG and POWERFUL the ebony laminates of red wine.

Chateau Gloria, a non-classified Bordeaux (St Julien) that would be a third growth if classified today. Simply stunning wine. About 40-50 a bottle but drinks 2-3 times as expensive

Nobilo Marlboroough New Zealand sauvignon blanc is simply wonderful and a steal - I've seen it at Trader Joe's for $10. I've had some NZ pinots (sadly mostly in NZ) that hold their own against superb Burgundies. If you can find Te Karainga NZ pinot, it is mind-fogging and rivals some $100-200 per bottle Vosne-Romanees I have tasted.

For $10-12 a bottle, nothing beats Rosemount Estates Diamond Label Shiraz. The Aussies have murdered California in that price range.

Cheers!

Paul

bsee · « **Reply #2 on:** November 25, 2006, 07:27:17 PM »

Tom,

Price ranges are different for different varietals. You should find a lot of excellent table wine for about $15 per bottle. A lot of great wine comes from within a few miles of Santa Rosa as well. In general, you should find some really nice Zinfandel, Shiraz, and Bordeaux-varietals in your range. Australia and Argentina both produce well for the money with very few disappointments.

There are, however. a couple types you'll have to pay a little more for. I haven't found a Pinot Noir below about $18 street price that is worth the money. I'd rather drink something like a Greg Norman Cab-Shiraz than any $15 Pinot. Some more obscure whites, like Viogner, also tend to hold a higher price tag. One problem area is that many 100% Cabernets in the teens tend to be quite tannic, but blends help to tame the acids.

The movie Sideways has been responsible for an elevation of Pinot prices and a depression in Merlot. As such, there's a lot of good value Merlot floating around. It is quite funny that the movie had this impact.

Locally, there's some good wine coming from the North Fork of Long Island. Places like Lenz, Paumanok, Pellegrini, and Osprey's Dominion produce some really nice Bordeaux-style wines. Lenz also makes a really nice Gewurztraminer.

If you can make it to Niagara, there's some great Cabernet Franc up there. Along the way, you'll find some interesting wines, mostly white, through the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes regions.

One other thing that I would say is that yo ushould occasionally step outside of your price range. There's a lot of very good wine to be had for $20 per bottle or less, but I can't think of any that knock your socks off. While I don't particularly recommend paying restaurant prices for a nice bottle, I also don't recommend racing home with a highly-rated 2003-2005 Cabernet with high expectations. Seek out some well respected wines in the 7-15 year old range at your local trusted wine shop or winery. A few of the wineries on Long Island still have older bottles available for $50-75. These are more worth paying for than the top rated 2005 Cabernet for the average wine drinker. The problem here is that few people are willing or able to properly store that 2005 Cabernet for 8-12 years until it is truely ready to drink.

One final recommendation I will throw at you is the Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut. Generally under $20, it is one of the more interesting domestic sparkling wines for holiday celebration. Wine drinkers will like this bubbly better than the casual toaster, and you won't get the full taste sensation if you drink it too cold. At Chardonnay-type temperatures, though, it really shines. It's getting to be that time of year.

I could go on all night, but I better take a break...

bob · « **Reply #3 on:** November 25, 2006, 07:46:13 PM »

Well, this took off faster than I could reply, progress indeed! I'll drink beer, and enjoy it, but only if wine isn't available (specifically, red :-).

If I'm not mistaken, the Ridge Three Valleys you mention is a zinfandel, which is the type I've sort of latched onto. I really enjoy good cabernets and merlots, but (a) I'm lousy with names and can't keep track of too many, (b) I tend to prefer spicier meals and zinfandels seem to hold up better, and (c) for a buy it and drink it tonight kind of guy, I can find something in a zinfandel at a more reasonable price that I may actually enjoy more.

Back to the Ridge, one of my Thanksgiving bottles was a 2004 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel, and I prefer this to the Three Valleys. Not quite tart enough to stand up to the turkey meal, but nice for sipping before; though also maybe 4-5 bucks beyond your price range.

Anyway, I'm not an expert by any means. I just enjoy wine with meals, much prefer red, have no interest in building (or populating) a wine celler, but would love to have more recommendations.

And I like your price range, Tom. It seems you can get some decent stuff here, without breaking the bank, though it may be more of a challenge on the chardonnays (probably because I rarely like them, so they have to be really good).

Anyway, thanks for starting this, hope it proves popular - especially given how many people we have here with impeccable taste.
-Bob

(Message edited by bob on November 25, 2006)

bsee · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2006, 07:55:29 PM »

Ridge is good stuff. I have a '91 Lytton Springs in the cellar that's going to have to come out soon. There's an '01 Paso Robles as well and we'll probably open them on the same night for a comparison article. I may even run out and pick up a current vintage to make it an even three bottles.

I should throw a plug for our website as well, www.WineIntro.com.

echo008 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2006, 08:52:03 PM »

Wow. thanks guys great info so far, Im going to read over this again tomorrow morning as its a little late here now and Im a bit groggy.

Yes the Ridge is a blend mostly Zinfandel, the bottle says 68% Zin/ 11% Carignane/ 10% Syrah/ 7% Petite Syrah/and 4% Grenache... not that I really know what that is, but its very good I think we pay like $20 a bottle over here in NY I guess thats pretty standard. Im not stuck to that price range but in general thats what we have been trying to stick to.

We have a few names now finally that we tend to pick up on a more consistent basis, mostly Merlots/Some Pinot noir. The Hayman Hill I mentioned earlier also makes a very nice Pinot for not too much.
- Tom

keavin · « **Reply #6 on:** November 26, 2006, 08:07:14 AM »

As we speak I'm drinking some California chardonnay along with my bacon&eggs breakfast & some Fine Weeds Too & im Buzzing pretty hard right about now!

(Message edited by keavin on November 26, 2006)

lbpesq · « **Reply #7 on:** November 26, 2006, 09:04:41 AM »

Keavin:

Is it white with sativa, red with indica? LOL

Bill, tgo

keavin · « **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2006, 09:10:25 AM »

Dude I'm soo f#KED-up I Caint Remember!!!!!...............But it's some Good shit!LOL!!!

echo008 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 26, 2006, 09:45:28 AM »

I should throw a plug for our website as well, www.WineIntro.com.

Hey Bob, This is your website? Looks great. Ill go through it when I have a chance.

You know I do want to get into the local wines meaning Long Island wines,I have tried a couple of local wines and have not really liked them too much, In Union Square they sometimes have an outdoor market and some of local vineyards come down to sell bottles, so I've had a chance to try a few. If you know of a particularly good LI wine I would like to know.
Thanks
- Tom

bsee · « **Reply #10 on:** November 26, 2006, 09:59:55 AM »

It's actually Lisa's website. I take a lot of the pics and she does all of the writing. The tasting notes and other stuff is collaborative. It's a good excuse for a fair amount of travel and to drink some decent wines.

By the way, how does that 12 bottle cellar work? Can you keep the temp in the mid 50s? We have tested a few of the 30-40 bottle versions and they often use a compressor that seems made for a dorm fridge. Temps in the 50s are at the very high end of the range for them.

While I am not a wine snob in the traditional sense, I am very temperature conscious when it comes to storing and drinking wines. It is a truth in this country that people tend to drink their reds too warm and their whites too cold. Room temperature for most reds really means low to mid 60s, not 74. Whites should generally be served in the 50s rather than at the 38-40F temp of the fridge. Also, it is always better to serve a wine a few degrees too cold as they will come up to the best drinking temps in the glass. I recommend that everyone do some experimentation to find the serving temps they prefer for various wines, especially those that they like enough to buy more than one bottle.

echo008 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2006, 10:09:38 AM »

There looks to be alot of great info there....

here is the model we bought, it looks likle a Dorm fridge but there website gives alot of info on the units
http://www.haieramerica.com/product.php?menuid=6&productid=20

The temp control is not very specific, theres a dial on the unit that simply points to either Red or White on opposite ends. I usually keep it set in the middle or maybe favor the Red Side of the dial more as we dont usually buy alot of White wines, the unit itself leaves a small footprint and is way better than just leaving the wine out in an ordinary rack. At least I like to think so.

Heres some info from the website:
Ideal For Both Red and White Wine
Available in both electronic touch or manual dial controls, all of our units are equipped with an adjustable thermostat. Electronic models can be set for red or white at the touch of a button. Two cooling zones are created by an approximate 8 degree variation in temperature from the top rack to the bottom making it simultaneously perfect for red and white wine.
- Tom

(Message edited by echo008 on November 26, 2006)

bracheen · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2006, 12:47:16 PM »

Tom
I'll have to try the Ridge as I like Zinfandel a lot and my favorite single varietal is Petit Sirah. I'm also in the under $20 range and the wine that I like the best is a Petit Sirah/Zinfandel/Mouvredre blend by Bogle Winery called Phantom. It gets a Good Stuff rating from me.

Sam

bracheen · « **Reply #13 on:** November 26, 2006, 12:49:45 PM »

Bob
I've had that website in my favorites for a long time now. I didn't know of your connection. There's a lot of good info there.

Sam

bsee · « **Reply #14 on:** November 26, 2006, 01:51:50 PM »

Sam-

Thanks for the kind words, Lisa will be pleased. Lisa was the Wine Host for About.com from the start of their website (originally TheMiningCo.com) until a couple years ago when she split from them and put it all up on her own site.

We paid a visit to David Bruce in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2003. Lisa wanted to do an article about a famous wine tasting/contest that was held in Paris in 1976. A dozen California wines were tasted against French wines by French experts and California was voted to have both the best red and the best white. We chatted with David about his participation in the event and he was very animated. In any case, the 2001 Petite Sirah we tasted there was extraordinarily saturated. The stuff looked like ink, but fortunately didn't taste like it at all. I thought it was a great wine at a reasonable price. He has a few different Petite Sirahs and they still start at or under $20.