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View Full Version : Wines, wines, wines, lovely beautiful wines... aka "The Wine Thread"



kirigirisu
27th November 2003, 11:39
Okay, I've just taken stock of my collection.

Amongst other things, I am currently in posession of the following (in no particular order):

A case or so of '97 Chimney Rock.

2 bottles of '97 Edmeades Medicino Ridge Zinfandel

A case or so of various vintages of Edmeades from 1998 to 2001 (minus that which I've consumed with or without friends)

A case or so '99 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley

2 bottles '97 T-Vine Zinfandel

1 bottle '90 Opus One (a premature graduation gift from an Uncle)

2 bottles '95 Stag's Leap Wine Cellar Cask 23

1 bottle '82 Chateau Margeaux (inherited)

1 bottle '82 Chateau Mouton (inherited)

1 case or so '97 Silver Oak Cabernet (also inherited)

plus various other table wines and stuff I serve or give away on a semi-regular basis, including a shyteload of Zinfandels and Syrahs along with with some Shiraz and Petit Syrahs, and my particular old standby, The Fifteen (a grenache blend). Also keep a few Chateau neuf du Papes around out of curiousity.

Not a huge Cabernet or Merlot fan, as you can see. Pinots are very spare as well.

Keep a few bottles of Riesling and Chardonnay (as well as champagnes and icewines and a moscato or two) around for the chicks, but I don't know anything about whites. Don't particularly like them.

Know jack schitt about ports and apertifs and desert wines, so don't keep any of them around.

Not mentioning any of the single-malts I have in stock.

So, enough about what I gots. What have you gots, and what would you recommend?

KhawMengLee
27th November 2003, 12:03
We got 5 bottles of 1999 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee Conti somewhere in the celler.

monkeyboy_ssj
27th November 2003, 13:07
I do believe I have got the Asti Martini and the 2003 Babysham from the southern province of Slough...plus I have a rare vintage of Safeway Chenin Blanc 2002.

I thank you :D

Richard Price
27th November 2003, 14:32
I'm a bit of an expert....I always buy at around the £4 mark rather than £3. :D My favourite wine at the moment is called "Old Git"

monkeyboy_ssj
27th November 2003, 14:33
Originally posted by Richard Price
I'm a bit of an expert....I always buy at around the £4 mark rather than £3. :D My favourite wine at the moment is called "Old Git"

Was that purchased at Budgens by any chance? Lovely vintage...

Ja

Shitoryu Dude
27th November 2003, 15:26
I've got about 100 bottles of stuff from all over - primarily premium bottles of Merlot & Syrah/Shiraz from Washington. A couple cases of a Super Tuscan that I like from two different years (one year needs a bit more aging), a smattering of Spanish wines (prime stuff), some Late Harvest Reisling, and few Chardonnays and a collection of "that looks good" reds from all over.

The only French wine is a bottle of Moet Champagne that we received as a present.

:beer:

Soulend
27th November 2003, 16:13
I have heard a lot of good things about Washington wines, but have yet to try any. :(

Unfortunately, I don't keep a cache of wine on hand, as I partake only rarely. When I go to Europe I will generally bring back a few bottles of various Italian reds and some Portuguese Porto, maybe a bottle of Spanish Sangria or two. I certainly envy William's collection! One of my Thanksgiving guests is bringing over a bottle though...have to see what she brings. :)

StanLee
27th November 2003, 16:33
Old git from budgens is great tasting wine!

There's also old bastard I think from Waitrose.

kage110
27th November 2003, 16:51
'Old Git', and its companion 'Old Tart', from Tesco's are fine wines for the table. We gave a bottle each to my GF's parents for their wedding anniversary this year.:D

I have a red, a couple of whites and a rose on my kitchen bench or in the fridge. I wouldn't have a clue what vintage they are - I just drink the stuff!;) Ask me about whiskey though and maybe then I could have a meaningful discussion about years/vintages/etc.:toast:

Iain
27th November 2003, 21:05
I wine-bonged an entire bottle of Hochtaller in under 5 minutes once... I couldn't drink red wine for 6 months. Does that make me an expert...?

Steve Williams
27th November 2003, 23:07
Originally posted by StanLee


There's also old bastard I think from Waitrose.

There is one called "Fat bastard", they sell it in Sainsbury, but it is not exclusive to them ;D

Shitoryu Dude
28th November 2003, 01:10
Washington wines are all premium and higher grades - there are no "box wines" produced anywhere in the state, and I think Oregon is the same way though Oregon does not produce as much wine overall. Last time I checked California only had an extra few thousand more acres of wine grapes planted than Washington and the harvests were getting very close to being the same. California has the advantage of a more mature industry and produces more super premium wines than Washington currently does, but that is changing rather quickly.

I could list good wines from Washington all day, but if you buy Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue Cellars, and Columbia Winery, you won't be dissapointed for what your dollar.

Wine Press Northwest (http://www.winepressnw.com/)

:beer:

Dean Whittle
28th November 2003, 02:35
And of course we can't let the fine wines from Australia go unmentioned. My personal red wine preferences would include:

Penfolds' Grange, Bins 707 and 407 (both Cab Sav), and Bin 389 (Cab Sav Shiraz)
Lindemans' Limestone Ridge (Shiraz cab)
Peter Lehman's Mentor (Cab Sav Shiraz Malbec Merlot)
Wynns' Coonawarra Shiraz
Wolf Blass' Black and Grey Labels (both Cab Sav Shiraz)
Yalumba Signature (Cab Sav Shiraz)
Turkey Flat Butcher's Block Shiraz
Barwang Cab Sav
Glenguin Polkobin Vineyard Shiraz

Fine wine, fine food and good company is certainly the recipe for an enjoyable night.

Whites? Now that would require some more thought and another post.

Regards

Kobe
28th November 2003, 02:51
We can not consider Sangria as a wine, its normally prepare with the worst wine available and is basically a tourist and/or summer drink.
For white wines I will recommend 2 which are superb and most probably some of the best whites in the world.
Cloudy Bay from New Zealand and Viña Esmeralda from Spain, the last one is a rare combination of Gewürztraminer and Moscatel grapes.
enjoy.
;)

Mike Williams
28th November 2003, 10:22
While I was in France this summer I bought a case of Arbois Pupillin vin de Jura. A very, very unusual chardonnay - very appley tasting, very dark in colour. At times it almost reminded me of Fino Sherry. It's not what you could call refined, but it's extremely tasty. I bought it just because it's so radically different from the new-world chardonnays our supermarkets are flooded with.

I have one bottle left. Drink it or save it? Aaaargh, the dilemma.

Cheers,

Mike

monkeyboy_ssj
28th November 2003, 10:23
It's got to be drank at one point...send it to me if you're having trouble ;)

Cheers

kage110
28th November 2003, 11:35
I have one bottle left. Drink it or save it? Aaaargh, the dilemma.

Dilemma? What dilemma? Drink it man! :smash: :D

Soulend
28th November 2003, 17:29
Originally posted by Kobe
We can not consider Sangria as a wine, its normally prepare with the worst wine available and is basically a tourist and/or summer drink.

So what do we consider it then..a beer? Hell, some of the varieties available are simply damn good, and the connoiseur palate be damned. Portuguese "Porto" is the same thing..it is not a port, as the name would suggest, but wine and fruit. It is wonderfully refreshing and tasty.

Oh well, guess I'm not cultured enough. Thanks for the suggestions Harvey.

Shitoryu Dude
28th November 2003, 19:41
I make Sangria with premium wines, so I don't know what you are talking about. Even the stuff we bought in Spain was not the cheapest stuff available - and it was wonderful. You need to frequent a better bar. :D

For those of you out there who are only familiar with French, German or Italian style wines, you really need to explore Spain for wine. The La Rioja region is a great place to visit with bodegas scattered all over the place. You can also throw in a huge amount of historical tourism as you visit the castles and cathedrals that seem to be every couple miles. We stayed in the village of Haro last March and found world class wine being produced every time we turned a corner.

Spain has specific rules on labeling wine, primarily relating to how long it is aged in a cask. Anything labeled "Reserva" spent 3 years in an oak cask, and "Crienza" (sp) is aged at least 1 year. I never did get a glass of wine in Spain that was anything less than "damned good", even at the little bars in the middle of nowhere. Some of it was simply mindblowing.

One of the things that people will do is during the harvest they will band together and buy a cask that will not be ready for 3 years. Each cask will produce 600 bottles, so if 6 people toss in 500 Euros each they end up with 100 bottles of butt-kicking wine for 5 Euros a bottle. Hell, I could sell most of that stuff at 4 times the price without any effort at work and keep a couple cases for myself and a couple more for gifts and have the whole thing pay for itself and leave cash in my pocket. Needless to say, many of the better wineries in Spain do not have wine available to ship or sell - it is all bought at harvest time by a country of wine fiends. If you do not have a connection in Spain you will never see any of it. Fortunately, my wife and I have good friends in Madrid.

:beer:

Kobe
29th November 2003, 03:44
Originally posted by Soulend
So what do we consider it then..a beer? Hell, some of the varieties available are simply damn good, and the connoiseur palate be damned. Portuguese "Porto" is the same thing..it is not a port, as the name would suggest, but wine and fruit. It is wonderfully refreshing and tasty.

Oh well, guess I'm not cultured enough. Thanks for the suggestions Harvey.

The point that the Sangria is make with wine it does not mean Sangria is wine. Is a refreshment drink and no one will have a nice meal with Sangria but with proper wine. Which I mean is that in no way is a variety of wine.

Harvey, I´m astonish about you knowledge of Spanish wine, and I´m happy that step by step the spanish wine is getting the value and recognition that deserve because its outstanding quality. And yes, Haro is a kind of Mecca for wine lovers, no doubt that La Rioja have some of the best red wines in the world. Besides, is beatiful place, with honest, strong and straigthforward people.
You see, we finally agree in something!;)

If you like spanish wines you should taste the red and whites from Rueda(Denominación de Origen) and the whites from Pènedes(another Denominación de Origen) I´m sure you will love it.
Enjoy.

Shitoryu Dude
1st December 2003, 23:22
I found Spain to one of the best places to visit on the planet. If it wasn't for all the walking we did as tourists we would have put on a lot of weight from all the great food and wine.

I just wish more of the wine was available here in the US - what little you find tends to be expensive, which is a shame considering that wine is cheaper than water in Spain.

:beer: