# Wine questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [October 23, 2018, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380 "2018-10-23T11:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/81 "2018-10-26T00:41:54Z")
There’s a local viognier that I buy once a year… …because I have a wonderful recipe from Martha Stewart, wherein she covers her Thanksgiving turkey with cheesecloth and keeps it saturated “with butter and a full-bodied sweetish white wine”. So another vote for “a wine I’d cook (and make the house smell wonderful) with.” ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/82 "2018-10-26T04:55:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The 15% - that would include _Cuvee Reserve Chateau Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga_? But the Grange is in the 5%, a true big red needs time to rest. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/83 "2018-10-26T06:05:46Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [https://www.wine.com/list/wine/california/screw-caps/7155-106870-44](https://www.wine.com/list/wine/california/screw-caps/7155-106870-44) > > Here are a couple hundred of screw tops to choose from. Well, well, ignorance fought! It looks like just over 8% of that selection are screw tops, though I bet none of them are exported to Canada. I really have never seen a California wine with a screw top, while they’re plentiful in Australian wines and among some Canadian wineries. ---
**Author:** ![Batano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@Batano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batano)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/84 "2018-10-26T06:38:28Z")
My two cents. Yes, people can taste flavors like tobacco, vanilla, lychee, raspberry, etc. My wine buddys can often identify really specific things like which clone of pinot noir was used, not just that it was pinot noir. American wines are generally over priced, bit they can hold their own against France, Spain, and Italy. I buy a lot of Spanish wine because it is a good value. Next time you make steak at home, go to a wine store and ask them to recommend a good Cabernet or a Bordeaux (usually a blend of Cabernet and something else)to have with it. Let them know you will be drinking it soon, not putting away. To me, a great wine is one that makes you want to take a bite of food, and the bite of food makes you want to have a sip of the wine. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/85 "2018-10-26T14:09:59Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’m really arguing against the more common way of saying it, “if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it.” While true in some cases, it isn’t across the board. My standard practice when I open a bottle that isn’t to my taste is to freeze it in an ice cube tray for future cooking rather than dump it out. I always understood the admonition to center around the idea of “Don’t use cooking wine, dumbass!”, because cooking wine is typically very low quality wine and intentionally salted all to hell so winos and bums don’t drink it. But there’s absolutely no reason to take the saying and make a leap to thinking that you can’t cook with Two Buck Chuck because \*\*\*you \*\*\*prefer to drink higher dollar wine. Or that you have to cook with Pinot Noir because you won’t drink Malbec. That’s absurd, because in most cooking applications, you’re just looking for a grapey flavor, acidity and sometimes alcohol. Variety doesn’t matter either, other than the broadest red/white/rose category. Chicken piccata with red wine would be wrong, but it doesn’t matter if you use Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris or even old white vermouth that’s not good for cocktails any more. Basically the admonition should be “Don’t cook with wine that you couldn’t drink.” not “wouldn’t drink”. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/86 "2018-10-27T03:24:49Z")
> [@Batano](#): > > To me, a great wine is one that makes you want to take a bite of food, and the bite of food makes you want to have a sip of the wine. I love this. We’re having an informal home wine tasting to choose wines for my daughter’s wedding. Everyone’s bringing their two favorite (affordable!) reds and a white, and we’ll do a blind taste test. Your _bon mot_ makes me want to provide more than just crackers in between tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380/87 "2018-10-29T19:47:00Z")
> [@Batano](#): > > To me, a great wine is one that makes you want to take a bite of food, and the bite of food makes you want to have a sip of the wine. Oddly, for me a truly great wine makes me want to wrestle the sommelier to the ground and shove my tongue down their throat. I resist the urge. My last Opus One was so good it made me flip a table! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wine-questions/823380.md?page=4)