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Wine talk 🍷

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    #76
    Mitrakas my wife and I opened that 94 SS for Christmas dinner this year. It was a beauty. Incredibly refined .... Although definitely time to drink it.

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      #77
      Had this 2012 Salmos from Priorat (Spanish wine making region) last night with beef ribs. I have to say it worked really .... Pretty robust and balanced red that could stand up to the fatty, smoky beef ribs quite well. If you see it in the store, it's a good pickup for BBQ evenings.
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        #78
        My BF needs to be on this topic, he was a Sommolier for a high end Italian restaurant in his mispent youth (in his 20's). When we go to Total Wine in Cherry Hill, he's like a kid in a candy shop. I'm happy with Crane Lake (a very inexpensive Sauv Blanc) as an every day wine. Now I did spend big bucks on a couple bottles of Dom, yes plural. I wanted some close to my college graduation year. We cracked one and it had survived pretty ok. The trick now is to find the other, though I think I put it in the fridge 3 years ago to celebrate buying a house.

        I tried winemaking a few years ago, not the best results. BF has his heart set on making wineberry wine. Supposed to be very good for you and antioxidants and all that there.

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          #79
          I just found a Sauvignon Blanc called Monkey Bay. It's a New Zealand Sauv, and fairly inexpensive at $8.99/bottle.
          One of my favorite everyday wines is Beringer White Merlot. It is inexpensive, has a good fruity flavor, but is not too sweet. It's a great hot summer day wine. Not classy or anything like that, but good.

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            #80
            Here is part of a blog from a top wine retailer in Bozeman, MT, originally written in Wine Spectator:

            The Wine Spectator website had an interesting essay recently by Matt Kramer where he posits that some folks have a prejudiced palate. He mentally calculates how rich he would be if he had a dollar for every time he heard:

            Ò€’ I never drink Chardonnay Ò€’ I don’t like Italian wines Ò€’ None of that!!@#*& Merlot for me! Ò€’ I only drink red wines
            Ò€’ Australian wine is all high alcohol fruit bomb stuff Ò€’ The French are the only ones who really know wine Ò€’ I never had a Washington State wine that was as good as a Californian Ò€’ How could anyone drink that dreck from California? Ò€’ I never spend more than $10 on a bottle of wine Ò€’ I never spend less than $20 on a bottle of wine Ò€’ I only buy wine if I like the label Ò€’ Organic wines taste so much better....

            His point is that if you keep trying different kinds of wine, you keep a broad-based palate. Exclusion is delusion when it comes to wine. For every prejudice, there is a wine which will change your mind. Kramer does not say you must always drink wine you don’t like but every once in a while, you should try a wine on your banned list and see ifyour palate has changed or if you just blindly rejected it. I agree! Keep trying and tasting.

            Exactly my sentiments, also. I wholesaled wine here for 12 years, had a ball and learned LOTS. Find a wine retail store, talk to the help for recommendations to pair with what you have in mind, if you get an "anal orifice know it all", tell 'em you want a second opinion from someone else in the store. None of us grew up being BBQ Gods or Goddesses- we had to learn the basics, make mistakes, discover new things. This goes for wine, too. If you're reading this you're a little bit internet savvy; use the internet, buy a wine magazine (not a book) and try a few recommendations. There are great wines from WA, OR, CA, South America, France, Italy, etc. Go explore!

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            • Huskee
              Huskee commented
              Editing a comment
              Ugh, that narrow mindedness drives me crazy too. Recently I heard something along the lines of 'Napa wines are so overrated and overpriced, I stay away from anything that says Napa'. If that isn't the epitome of this post! Thanks for sharing!

            • Potkettleblack
              Potkettleblack commented
              Editing a comment
              But Napa real estate is so expensive now and if you've visited, it's like all the major labels are owned by Bond villains. There's great wine in Napa, but there's not a ton of wines that overdeliver per dollar.

            #81
            Probably 80% or so of the wine I buy is something that I have tasted, either at the winery, a tasting room, or a wine bar. I look through the selection at the big liquor retailers, and may sometimes buy based on an employee's recommendation, but only after a bit of conversation leads me to believe he or she knows a good deal about the subject. I sometimes buy an unfamiliar bottle at a restaurant that is recommended (again if I get good vibes from the person) and if it is good, I may look for it in a store. All that being said, here in the SF bay area, I am so close to so many good wine regions that most of what I drink is from California. Although I have had excellent wines from all over the world, why pay extra for shipping (you know it is added into the cost) when I can be satisfied with something I can pick up at the source?

            As far as varietals go, I gravitate toward heavy Cab's and Merlot's, but have found many good wines outside that niche, including some fine whites that are nicer in hot weather. I don't care a whit about the red with meat and white with fish, though - I drink what I like! One varietal that I have a problem with is Zinfandel. There are so many styles of that around here that you never know what you are going to be tasting. Even from one winemaker you can get one that is great and one that I wouldn't drink on a bet.

            One of the greatest joys is sampling a wide variety of wines, and finding a real winner, from whatever category or region. So much wine, so little time....

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              #82
              I just visited modern craft in aues grey here in the mitten, huskee may be familiar with. Loved all the sweet fruity wines πŸ˜‹

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              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                Never been to it, and never had any, as sweet fruity wines aren't my bag...but there's a store here in Clare that sells it.

              • Juddlight
                Juddlight commented
                Editing a comment
                They actually had a good dry one called charity red...first dry wine i liked haha

              #83
              Absolutely awesome post DJBODA
              If I had a $1 for every time I heard "I don't like Italian wine" when I do tastings/wine dinners, etc., I would be able to cure my G.A.S. (MCS) and probably volunteer to help a few others with their BBQ gear ailments on AR. Good excerpt but the irony is the source. WS is major part of problem if not THE problem. Nothing hurts the consumer's curiosity more than the scoring systems by the supposed expect writers from the major rags; WS, RP, WE & W&S. My wines just received 90+ pts from a variety of sources (including very important critic James Suckling formerly of WS) and yet because the reviews were not WS's they were not relevant.
              And re: taste profile, the acidity of European styled wines conflicts with a lot of people's taste but they are intended for food not for cocktails.
              Come'on y'all. It's a luxury good after all. If (and when) my Aunt Gail puts a ice cube in my Amarone who cares?

              Don't think it. Drink it.

              Comment


              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                I hate reading reviews and seeing scores. Not because they're entirely worthless, but so many times I've thought a 92pt cab was mediocre and a 87pt was incredible, and when reading reviews you can tell snobs, wanna be snobs, and the ones who just don't like wine but pretend they do- all rendering their reviews worthless to me.

              • Potkettleblack
                Potkettleblack commented
                Editing a comment
                Many scoring systems are more about how long to hold than flavor in the present. Consumers do not understand numbering systems, and then have the 87 is better than 92 experience.

              #84
              Red wine, Cab, Malbec, and "on special", Northern Italy is my favorite but can't really afford these. We can't seem to keep a wine long enough to age though I have a friend which does age her wines, working specifically with one shop which suggests the prime aging time.

              My basement closet will stock around fifty bottles...month supply.

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              #85
              Potkettleblack (Too long for a Comment, so posting here) Usually the wines, at least from retailers I shop at, will say "best now and the next ten years" or "drinkable now, but better in 5 and best in 15 years" and I only buy the 'best now to 5 years' ones and have had this happen. It's hard for someone else to tell you if you should like this wine or not. I view it as rating someone's attractiveness. Different for everyone, we look for different things.

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              • Potkettleblack
                Potkettleblack commented
                Editing a comment
                Sure. Also, how consistent is anyone's palette from day to day. What I rated as an 87 today might rate as a 92 tomorrow or next week. Even the top rating guys drift day to day.

              • l'inferno
                l'inferno commented
                Editing a comment
                Word!

              #86
              I used the scoring system on myself today professionally and psychologically. I gave myself a 79. Tasting notes were "The disappointment of the initial fat and flabbiness is only matched by a mediocre mid pallette. No need for cellaring as development with aging is highly unlikely."

              But I'm having wine now and I may reevaluate. Hoping for an 80 qualified with "Good intentions."

              Have a good night. The comments on this post are rock-on. I'd drink wine with you dudes any day. And out of paper cups. -

              *(well... might need to be plastic) (jest)

              Comment


              • MBMorgan
                MBMorgan commented
                Editing a comment
                Hey ... plastic works! (been there, done that)

              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                I've got several hundred Red Solo cups in the garage, come on over

              #87
              There's a scoring system?

              I go by what appeals to me. I like some Chile, Australia, CA, WA, whatever. If the label appeals to me, or the price, or something that gets my attention. PA wines, IMO, are best if you go for the sweeter wines, when they try to go dry they're often off. I love touring wineries and tasting. I've been to CA twice, once to Sonoma and once to Napa. In Napa there was this persian palace (darioush) that was serious eye candy and as we walked up people coming up kept telling us to not even bother.

              Comment


              • Potkettleblack
                Potkettleblack commented
                Editing a comment
                Like I said, many Napa wineries are seemingly owned by James Bond villains.

              #88
              Some of the wineries are so outrageously fancy that 75% of the wine's cost has to be going for the building. I have seen some major price increases in some of the wines I like when they upgraded the tasting facilities. The wine didn't get two or three times as good, but the price skyrocketed. As far as reviews go, I read reviews on wines, restaurants, hotels, etc. and I have learned to take them with a grain of salt. I remember a review of a Michelin starred restaurant that I like, and the complaint was that they didn't serve a full eight ounce glass of wine with each of the five courses on a pairing menu. If they had, though, the reviewer probably wouldn't be capable of writing!

              Comment


                #89
                There's a good narrative about wine scoring in SOMM: Into the Bottle, the sequel to SOMM. If you're into wine in a big way, both very enjoyable watches.

                Comment


                  #90
                  As a retired wine distributor who sold small vineyard and small importer's wines, I found the numbers game fascinating. On more than one occasion one publication would score 200X Wine A at 93 points and another publication would score 200X Wine A at 78 points. I've seen wine critics working for a particular publication (although not at the same time) critique an identical wine with quite different scores. Although I'm not a numbers fan they have a place for someone new to wine who wants to be a serious student. The numbers are the writer's opinion period. Confusing? yes, but find a wine critic who you can agree with often and there's your start. I still advocate finding a good wine shop with knowledgeable staff and picking their brain. We all started with milk in some form of container and only learned about "adult beverages" later in life. Don't be timid and please DON'T BE INTIMIDATED; it's fun finding a wine you've never heard of from some obscure country that you can enjoy and share with friends.

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