Jodi said:
Some Shiraz wines can be quite tannic. This is one of those things that makes wine exploration so daunting; there can be a lot of variance among grape types, vintners, years and areas.
Living in California among an embarrassment of riches it is difficult to advise those out of state concerning wine.
Tommy The Cat mentioned one of my favorites;
Ravenswood Vintiner’s Blend Zinfandel
This wine kicks butt in the under $10.00 bracket. It measures up well against wines costing much more.
Korbel Brut Natural
This Champagne is out in front of many low end French champagnes costing twice as much or more than the ~$10.00 that it goes for.
Louis Jadot
A bit over priced but extremely dependable French house.
For fun, try a white Burgundy from France. While the Burgundy region is known for its reds, when someone bothers to produce a white, it is usually very good in my experience.
Sadly, most of the California Chardonnays are priced at stratospheric levels well beyond their worth.
Vichon Chardonnay
This was quite decent, they have switched to a coastal appellation that may not have the quality of its earlier Napa domaine. For fun try;
Fetzer Sundial Chardonnay
This wine is made without oak casking such that the bouquet and fruit stand out much more than they would if accompanied by wood notes. Fetzer wines in general are very dependable although I would not bother to age any of them.
As Jodi mentioned, drink what you enjoy. Do not be hidebound to tradition. Champagne with pasta? You bet. It is far more important for you to find pleasure than toe some imaginary line set by others.
For outstanding results purchase some $10.00 red wines and put them into proper storage for a couple of years. You will suddenly find you have an incredible wine of smooth and delicate character. Just a few extra years can make an immesurable difference.
A final note, we used to have blind tastings at the home of someone who made his own wine. People who had lived in France attended as well. The bottles were bagged and numbered and poured by a non-particpant. I once won first place in a Chardonnay competition against $10.00 - $20.00 Firestones and Kenwoods. The cost of my entry?
$3.50
The lesson is that good wine does not have to cost an arm and a leg. Find out what you enjoy and drink it when you feel like it.
Spend about $4 more, and pick up a bottle of Concha Y Toro’s
next highest offering the Cassillero del diablo. If you’re feeling wealthy, plop down about $30 and get yourself Concha Y Toro’s finest Don Melchor.
Villa Canepa, another chillean, will also not dissapoint.
I’m currently on an Italian Sangiovese kick, most any sangiovese (Italian, stay away from the Californian) will surely please.
I’m sorry, Zenster; you’ve just hit my pet peeve. You’ll have to be smecked, you realize.
:smeck: :smeck: :smeck:
I usually choose beer, but I do like dry wines. I prefer white wines, especially Chardonnay (particularly Kendall Jackson VR or Robert Mondavi). When I was back in Georgia, I visited the Fox Winery in Social Circle. They had some 1987(!) Seyval and 2000 Cabernet Savignon, both of which I really liked, so I bought a bottle of each. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the Cabernet Savignon, since I typically don’t care for red wines. It had a very smooth taste.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignons (California), almost any year.
It’ll cost you at least $40-$50 @ bottle.
(You can get really decent Australian and Argentine Cabs and Chardonnays for a reasonable price.)
More proof STRAINGER and I were separated at birth.
Well in that case, Jodi, you’ll have to try some 1987 Seyval or 2000 Cabernet Savignon from the Fox Winery.
Regarding the Dave Barry article you mentioned, I especially liked the part where he stated, “‘Nuances of toast!’ I bet the pretentious phrase people were high-fiving each other over that one!” Or something like that; I’m going from memory.
I am not refering to their normal dreck. Please try the green label brut, it puts their other products to shame. My personal faves are Cordon Rouge and Dom Perignon but those are somewhat out of discussion here.
One of the best bottles I ever had was a 1975 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Things were improved slightly by the fact that I aged it for another 20 years. What a silken and perfect flavor completely free from any after tastes. I heartily recommend that you splurge at one point in your life and try their wine, it is outstanding.
You mean to tell me that you were able to wait 20 years?!?! Now, THAT is Zen in its purest form…
(Oh man, Alexandra Valley!!!). 1974 was an exceptional year. I didn’t even know of Silver Oak’s existence then, much less tasted one of their bottles from that vintage. Must have been superb.)
Sorry: got to end this. Can’t see the keyboard because of the tears.
Make that Alexander Valley.
(See what I told you about the tears…)
I was thinking about the Dave Barry article regarding “pretentious wine phrases” last night, and it occured to me that all you need are some fancy-schmancy nouns and adjectives with some prepositions thrown in. Specifically, I think the best (or perhaps only) formula is, “fancy-schmancy adjective in its fancy-schmancy noun, with a fancy-schmancy noun of fancy-schmancy noun.” An example:
“Antique in its jurisprudence, with a bouquet of spina bifida.”
Hey! I think I can do this!
Fontana Candida has a very nice and inexpensive Pinot Grigio. Ruffino’s Ducale Reserva Chianti (1994) is somewhat expensive but absolutely wonderful. I don’t know if you’d be able to track it down, but Penfold’s Bin No. 5 Merlot (1995) is exquisite. Those are a couple of my favorites.
Zenster, I wasn’t so much bashing Korbel as quailing against the use of the term “Champagne” to describe what Korbel makes.
That said, I’m not really against any wine, per se. I figure if it gets people drinking wine, that’s good enough for me.
Slight hijack here. A friend had a bottle of Sakonnet red that was improperly stored for about 8 years. It went through two moves and a flood (yes, the bottle was in the flood water). For grins and giggles we uncorked it, expecting it to have turned, and it was fabulous! Nicely aged, with a velvety texture. Great stuff.
I highly recommend wines from the Cote d’Rhone region in France. Great stuff and not too expensive (~$15-$20 bottle). And Chilian wine can be pretty good too.
Just stay away from anything with a screwtop, and you’ll be OK.
Well, speaking as a purchaser of the occasional box o’wine, I’m hoping someone here with a tad classier palate can offer some advice and/or education. As further background, I like sweet wines rather than dry, usually over ice, generally when I want to have a good night’s sleep… You’re not dealing with any kind of wine expert here by any means. Soooooo,
Hubby came home with a couple of bottles that were a gift from a vendor they deal with. Both labels are in Spanish, and near as I can determine, they’re Chilean wines. Both read “Reserva” at the top, and the brand of both is Montes. One is a Chardonnay (fermentado en barrica) 1998, and the other is a Sauvignon Blanc 1999.
Are either of these likely to be sweet? Would either of them be good in recipes? Anyone got any good recipes that would use them? OK, that was a silly question. But, to be somewhat serious, since I don’t like to drink dry wines, should I even bother to open either of these?
Don’t bother opening the Sauvignon Blanc which is, typically, a dry wine (even though I’m not familiar with that specific brand). Chardonnay usually has a more fruity taste; but there again, you can’t expect it to be sweet. Sweeter than Sauvignon Blanc, but not sweet. You’d better go for White Zinfandels (so-called blush wines), or ‘Late-Harvest Zinfandels’, which are not widely available. There are also dessert wines, like Sauternes.
If all else fails, there’s always Manischewitz:D.