Wine!

[bae]

Tell us about the wine you like.

I used to not know anything about wine. Then I learned a bit. Then I became a wine snob. Then I bought part of a winery/vineyard, and help run the place, and now know that I don't know anything.

Except that wine is one of the proofs that the Creator loves us :-)

[Pokeguyjai]

I can appreciate wine but as I know from food and drink, a palette has to be developed over time. I am still working on mine, but it is not easy since wine is EXPENSIVE!

The wine that I can currently appreciate are whites. I am an avid tea drinker but I for some reason the tannins in reds do not agree with me fully. Except in sangria which I love.

My favorite go to are any of the German Riselings, particularly the Mosels. California Riselings are OK... but I love the flavors that come out in the German Riselings.

[AlexSpartan]

Ha! It's about time someone brought up wine. I used to be big into whites, but I've lost my taste for them. I want stronger, more flavor, and not too sweet. I like Merlots and Pinots, nothing too expensive. I won't spend more than $15 on a bottle of wine. I've had bad expensive wine, and I've had good cheap wine, and I've pretty much settled on a few favorites.

So, my absolute favorite wine right now is called Apothic. It's a blend of Zin, Merlot, and Syrah. Just a little bit sweeter than most reds, but it's not sweet, if you know what I mean. It's damn good for $12 a bottle.

Also, I absolutely love Mead for dessert wines. Honey wine is awesome. I drink mead when I listen to Alestorm's "Wenches and Mead." Awesome.

[JHawk]

bae...... thanks for starting this. I chuckle at your "and now I don't know anything". The more I am around wine, the more I realize what I don't know. I equate it to a similar journey with good books and good authors.

At one time I could have probably been called a wine snob (although a humble one :sly:). Yes, I have a cellar and a few trophy wines but I have moved beyond this phase. In fact I display in a conspicuous location in the wine cellar a few cans of vintage J.R. Ewing Beer from the 80's. I get a kick out of telling my friends that they can share it with me any time.

I enjoy the challenge of finding a great wine that I have never experienced at a reasonable price. Its easy to spend money on big names and get a good wine. I can navigate a wine list at the best of restaurants and love to learn. My current path is experiencing the wines from the Pacific Northwest. I very much enjoy the big reds from Washington and the Pinot's from Oregon.

No one favorite wine. Same as my AK's - I enjoy my Fuller and Krebs but not at the same time as my wine.

[lightfighter]

Some tasty wines I have had recently: a 2008 Turley Cinsault, some Tenuta delle Terre Nere from Etna and my favorite champagne, Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs 'Les Crayeres' VV

All from Michael Skurnik's portfolio: http://www.skurnikwines.com/prospects_by_country.html

[Bill Lindsay]

You know, just about any group can have their own wine club with monthly bottles sent to members. How cool would it be to have membership in the Warrior Bon Vivant wine society via Warrior Talk?:thumbsup:

[John Chambers]

I really enjoy Concha y Toro Carmenere. Very flavorful, excellent with venison or a fine steak.

[Steve Paulson]

I know nothing about wine, except that I like a good one. The biggest surprise came from a $6 bottle of Columbia Crest Merlot, 2004 (Washington). The local grocery store had a number cases a couple years ago and when I tasted it I went and bought several bottles. I have one left, saving it for a special occasion (a $6 "special occasion" bottle... :lol:). My brother found a gold mine in Herding Cats...think it was a Merlot/Shiraz blend. Cheap & wonderful--even a connoisseur friend thought so.

I'll usually ask for the "house" cab or merlot at any half-decent restaurant (the local Olive Garden is great). Sometimes I'll mental note the names on a wine list & look for them at the store. At higher end restaurants (rarely find myself there, but when I do) I'll ask for a glass of whatever the chef recommends to accompany what I've ordered. He/she knows more than I do, and I'm not all that hard to please. Home run every time.

[Mike Erwin]

My favorite wine's are the Australian Shiraz and Merlot's. My wife's favorite is a Francis Coppola Chardonnay as long as it is from the Russian River Valley.

Mike

[ReconScout]

How many of us got laid springing for the Boones Farm Strawberry Hill on date night?

Boones Farm and the Night Train Express was my aphrodisiac of choice:naughty:
The classy ladies got the Arbor Mist.

[HamburgO]

Big fan of Argentinian Malbecs, Chilean Carmenere and Cab, Spanish Rioja. Been a while since I had a white worth mentioning, but I've liked a good bottle of Chablis of Pouilly Fuisse in the past...

There are great Californian reds - my taste runs to Syrah and Cab, occasional big Pinot - but compared to the above I find them slightly overpriced. On CA whites - why do they have to make all their Chardonnay so heavy on the oak these days?

[Gabriel Suarez]

Apothic is a currently favorite of the XO and I. I tend toward the Cabernets and Merlots, but also appreciate the Reislings.

C....you brought up some interesting memories.

[Alex Nieuwland]

I'm slowly making my way through a case of Biltmore Estate White Table Wine. I tasted all of their white wines when we visited, and this one definitely stood out from the rest of the pack.

One of my favorite recipies calls for chicken and ham simmered in merlot. So good!:thumbsup:

[Gabriel Suarez]

I'll tell you what....a nice filet marinated overnight in a hearty Merlot is to kill for.

[Fitpro]

+I don't know what number Big C. Fun times!

John, you are spot on about the Concha Y Toro wines from Chile. Their Cabs and Merlots are usually really good and at a reasonable price. My favorite "Special Occasion" wine is Mount Veeder Cab from Napa.

[foxmeadow]

When I wander into the wine aisle, I usually go with Meridian Cabernet ($7-9) for a red and Walnut Crest Pinot Grigio($6 at TJ's). for a white. I have an "unsophisticated" palate, and don't care for Pinot Noirs at all. They taste too watery and weak. +1 on the Chilean reds, too. I had a Merlot from Viu Manet a few years ago that spoiled everything else for a while. I found some of their Malbec recently and it was really good also. All for under $10..

[fldback]

I like the Casillera del Diablo Malbec and Merlot from Chile.

I've also had a Malbec from Argentina that I really liked, but I don't remember the name of the vintner.

I also really enjoy Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages.

I've never been able to acquire a taste for white wine though. Although I have had some German Reislings that were ok.

[jcart]

How many of us got laid springing for the Boones Farm Strawberry Hill on date night?Those where nice some good nights in the countryside.

[Kansas Volunteer]

I've always been partial to Pinot Grand Fenwick.

[TNVolunteer]

I've gone through different phases with wines. For a while I like this, then I'm into something else for a while. Right now I'm into blow your face off Zins. Big, massive, coming at you with a 2x4 wine. Though they make a number of varietals, Bella out of Dry Creek Valley is making some good stuff. One thing I've really liked during this summer is vinho verde. All sorts of different makers out there but its a white wine from Portugal, some of it is lightly/naturally carbonated, not even close to sparkling. Very crisp and refreshing.

TNV

[AlexSpartan]

I just had a glass of Apothic tonight. Goes amazing with blueberry Noosa yogurt, I've found.

[Tom Cornelius]

Plump Jack Merlot. With an excellent ribeye steak.

[Chris Upchurch]

I've developed a taste for muscadine wines. They're made from a species that's native to the eastern U.S. and have a very distinctive taste.

[TACC]

Ha! It's about time someone brought up wine. I used to be big into whites, but I've lost my taste for them. I want stronger, more flavor, and not too sweet. I like Merlots and Pinots, nothing too expensive. I won't spend more than $15 on a bottle of wine. I've had bad expensive wine, and I've had good cheap wine, and I've pretty much settled on a few favorites.


I am with you I have become fond of the Piniot's myself, and still ove to experiment with others as I can find them.

[Stoop]

1. Pomerol
2. Saint Emilion
3. Chateauneuf du Pape

But my everyday (!) drinking wine is Copolla Claret

[bmp_sbi]

I like deep reds. Mostly Zins and Cabs. I usually only drink wine with hearty foods like steaks and italian....so I dont get into whites much. I'll cook chicken with white sometimes. Trying to cut carbs precludes much wine drinking on my part but the reds have the most health benefits I believe....so I'll drink a glass once in a while.
I dont spend much on wines. I've had $9-14 bottles that were as good as $60 bottles. You find that the older something is the more it takes on the flavor of the container.....such as whiskey...same deal with wine. If you want more woody, smoky, and complex flavor...go with old and expensive. If you just want a good bottle of wine to have with your steak there is no need to spend over $20.
I dont get into Pinots much anymore because they are so hit and miss. Its hard to get a good Pinot and if you do it seems that consistency from year to year is a little more sketchy.

Brands like Bogle, Dancing Bull, Mirrasou and Red Guitar are my favorites.

[Shdwdncr]

Some of the best wines I've ever had have been from Mendoza, Argentina.

Read about them here: http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=mendoza+wines&pbx=1&oq=mendoza+wines&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=21263l24087l0l24492l13l8l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=422aca6f1b1d5ac1&biw=1366&bih=552

S.

[blackballed]

My wife likes reds, and for some reason I want to also.

What does one do, just start buying and trying, or is there a proper way to break yourself in? Have always liked the idea of a specific drink going well with my over-sized steak or the wife's fish.

[TennDECA]

My family has been one of the largest importers/distributors of wine in the US for over 100 years, starting with my great-grandfather. I have a LARGE family, and I'm the only one that doesn't drink wine.:facepalm2: Oh the shame! You should see our family parties :cheers: . I'd like to start drinking it, however, and having such a family is an invaluable resource for learning about wine, it's history, it's chemical properties, the history of various wine makers/vineyards, etc.

Funny story:

A few years ago, an ex-girlfriend (still best friend) and I drove down from Tahoe to San Francisco for a weekend. On the way home, we decided to make an unplanned detour to Napa. We stopped at a few of the smaller winery's, then decided to stop at BV. Now, my family and the de Latour family have a LONG history together, going back to my great grandfather and George de Latour, the founder of BV. The two men basically started out as small, one man shops. When Prohibition hit in 1920, my great grandfather and George de Latour were two of just a small number of people in the wine business who were smart enough to secure one of the few licenses the government had for supplying wine for sacramental purposes (de Latour to make the wine, my great grandfather to distribute it) and when most other wine related businesses went out of business during Prohibition, they flourished and through their business partnership, grew into what they are today. In fact, George de Latour is godfather to one of my uncles.

In any case, there we are at BV doing a wine tasting (me, of course, not drinking any wine - my GF drinking *plenty* :wink: ). So the nice lady who was hosting the wine tasting started talking about the history of BV, etc. My GF, of course, knows all about my family, so I look at her and tell her not to say anything. Well, that lasted about 3 glasses of the good red stuff, until she heard my great grandfathers name mentioned in the history, and couldn't contain herself any longer and blurts out "That's his family!"

The nice lady said, "Really? I'll be right back!" So, she goes and fetches the general manager of the winery and tells him what's up, and the guy ends up knowing almost more about the history of my family than I did. He ends up taking the GF and me on a private tour of the ENTIRE winery, including parts normally off-limits to visitors. It's interesting being in the old, deep, dark part of the basement cellar and having someone tell you that "your great grandfather and Mr. de Latour spent many nights in this room talking family and business."

He concluded the day by telling us to have free reign at the gift shop, putting us up in the winery's private B&B, and giving me a friendly scolding for not drinking wine ("Coming from your family, that's BLASPHEMY!!!"), and telling me that since I now lived only a few hours away, he expected to see me there as often as possible to drink wine.

Well, I haven't been able to take him up on his generous offer yet due to time constraints with school. But rest assured, once school is over, I SHALL LIVE UP TO THE FAMILY NAME!!! :finger:

A few pics from that trip:

Me, with George de Latour
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/TennDECA/Tahoe058.jpg

Deep, dark cellar
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/TennDECA/Copyofpic024v3.jpg

Driveway to BV B&B
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/TennDECA/pic058v2.jpg

Front of BV's oldest cellar
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/TennDECA/pic062v2.jpg

George de Latour
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/TennDECA/Copyofpic021v3.jpg

[blackballed]

Wow, that's a pretty good story, sir. Its fun to learn family history about yourself.

[PistolWhipped86]

I'm quite partial to a good Spanish Albarino for white, and Spanish Rioja or some of the Italian Super Tuscans for reds.