Piano World Home Page Forums Restricted and Archives The Coffee Room What wine are you drinking now?

We need a wine thread like the music and dinner threads!!!

I don't know a lot about wine and would love to hear from everyone what they've recently enjoyed. I also recently subscribed to Food and Wine magazine hoping that'll give me some leads.

I've recently bought these three wines which I enjoyed quite a bit. Can't give details now since it's been a few weeks. In the future I'll try to say more specifically what I liked about a wine if possible.

At any rate, please feel free to say that you enjoyed such-and-such without the pressure of having to give a detailed analysis. I'm just looking for names to look up the next time I'm in the liquor store (No, NY does not sell wine in the grocers!).

I believe the first 2 are California and/or Washingston state, can't remember:

Smoking Loon, Pinot Noir, 2002. Good.

Bogle, Merlot, 2001. Really good.

Casillero del Diablo, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002. (from Chile). Really good. This wine has got "fire" in it. Very spirited wine. It warms the soul. Love it. Just the thing for a cool autumn evening. It's mid August now, but the air conditioner is on!!!

Charles Shaw. (2-Buck Chuck)
$1.99 a bottle at Trader Joes.
Mostly Merlot

Also Shiraz and Gamay Beaujolais (a Pinot Noir)

Someone said the Shiraz won some award.
Sorry if my spelling sucks, it's late.
Nitie Nite!

Bernard, that wine must've been a little too good. I double checked, and it's still only August 1st for you (July 31 way back west here). I'm definitely buying some of what you're drinking!

I buy wine from the Okanagan Valley here in British Columbia. I can't speak for all the vintners on the link below, but I have never been disappointed with those I have tried. These include the Gehringer Bros, Hester Creek, Sumac Ridge, and Jackson-Triggs.

<a href="http://www.visittheokanagan.com/promo/wineriessouthok.htm">Okanagan wineries</a>

Who knows if you'll ever come across a BC wine in NY, but if you do, it might be worth a taste.

Cheers!

HaHa . I told you it was good!

Now I'm trying to figure out what I'm so looking forward to in mid-August!? Well, it feels like mid-August anyway. The dew-point this evening is around 77! (That's more like Louisiana, Alabama, etc.)

Last night, the offerings with dinner were:

2001 Sterling Vineyards North Coast Sauvignon Blanc (California)

and

2000 Barton & Guestier Tradition Pouilly-Fuissé (Burgundy, France)

I'm not a great aficionado of white wines, but these went really well with our meal, the sauvignon blanc teamed up nicely with the appetizers and salad, and the Pouilly-Fuissé matched the main course (a pasta with cream sauce) quite nicely. I was pleased that the Pouilly-Fuissé wasn't anywhere near as tart as most of the other white wines I've had, a characteristic that I find a bit objectionable with food. I was also glad that, despite it being made from chardonnay grapes, it wasn't subject to second fermentation like most California chardonnays. I truly dislike those buttery-tasting chardonnays.

The sauvignon blanc bottle cost $12, the Pouilly-Fuissé was $19. Both were fairly good values, in my opinion.

I've tried Okanagan wines - Gewurztraminer from Hawthorne (which they claim is their specialty), which was very nice and a chardonnay from Red Rooster. I've never seen them stateside, which is too bad, because they are good wines. However, I don't think I'd be interested in trying the highly touted ice wines from the region.

Bernard, great thread!
If you have cable, watch the show called, "Simply Wine" with Andrea Immer. You'll learn alot.
I've recently been really enjoying white wines. One of the best is from the vineyard that you mention above; Bogle. I like their Chardonnay.
I love the Roert Mondavi Fume' Blancs.
Grgich(A California vineyard) puts out a great Fume' Blanc as well.
I also love the Reislings from New Zealand and some of the Australian wines as well.
Washington State puts out some great wines as well. I want to try Eroica Reisling from Washington.

I did have the pleasure of drinking the world's finest 'aged to perfection' Bordeauxes.

yummmm... nothing I could ever afford would compare to the depth and complexities I savored weekly for a year or two.

Right now, it's:

2002 D.H. Lescombes Syrah (New Mexico)

Nice, luscious red and black fruit flavors reminiscent of Australian-style Shiraz (Shiraz and Syrah are the same variety of grape), but with a much lighter body and less astringence. A perfect match for grilled chicken or pork.

Not available via retail outside NM, but can be ordered online or via phone. $13.00

Hi, Bernard.

As a po' musician, I don't like spending a lot on wine but do have a taste for decent stuff. So these are on the low end of the price scale.

Right now: 2000 Chateau La Decelle Cotes-du-Rhone. Med. to full-bodied, fruity, nice enough that we bought a case. Best part: only six bucks at Warehouse Wine & Liquor in Manhattan (no case discount, but a good price still.)

More commonly, we have drier, denser Portuguese reds, some of which can be picked up at bargain prices ($4 to $8) in Elizabeth, NJ. Of course, they can go higher too, especially since they've been "discovered."

Can't beat Marques de Caceres white Rioja as casual summer & dinner wine: crisp, tart and only about $5.

Would like to know other good values that are still "under the radar."

P.S. Oddly enough, I scarcely think twice about dropping $20 to $30 on a 1/4 pound of top-quality single-estate tea. Weird, huh? Well, tea does go further...

I get my tea from a sister-in-law in Hangzhou.

I don't drink much (you know us Injuns and firewater.....) but I was given a bottle of wine made in French Lick Indiana. I don't know the name of it, all I know is that it came in a blue bottle, was white, and made with concorde grapes. It had to be the best tasting white wine I've ever had. I wish I knew what it was, because I'd like to have a few more bottles of it.

Did it look like the bottle in this picture (the second one down)? French Lick Winery Home You could call them up and ask them what it was.

And check out this link: French Lick Winery Move guess what building they are moving their winery to!

Jodi

Larry - was that a dream,,, or did I read that french lick was mentioned in another room?

That's it, Jodi! The pretty blue bottle, second from the left. Thank you! I'm going to order a case of the stuff tomorrow!

Dude -- hook me up!!

Bernard, some others that I've tried recently;
Gary Farrell "Redwood Ranch" 2002(Sonoma County)
$22 Sauvignon Blanc.
Whitehall Lane 2002 (Napa Valley) $15 Sauvignon Blanc
Cypress Merlot J. Lohr 2000 $9(California)
A good hamburger wine. Blackberry, with hints of chocolate.

R.H. Phillips Chardonnay 2002 (Dunnigan Hills) $8


Penfold's from Australia puts out some great wines as well. They have a certain stock that comes from the original vine that is considered a good starter wine. They can get VERY expensive.

Today, I'm going to buy a good Reisling. Any recommendations?

Let me second (third?) Matt G.'s and johnmoonlight's endorsements of riesling and sauvignon blanc (AKA fume blanc). Both are often great values and unfairly neglected in the shadow Chardonnay. They can be excellent.

John wrote: Today, I'm going to buy a good Reisling. Any recommendations?

I just read in the paper that Heron Hill winery in western NY state won some major award for a riesling. Not cheap at $25 though. From their website:

07/16/2004 Heron Hill Riesling Wins Best White Wine
San Francisco, June 13th &#8211; Heron Hill Winery's 2002 Finger Lakes Ingle Vineyards Johannisberg Riesling was voted Best of Show White Wine at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, which included over 3,800 wines from around the world. Held on June 12th & 13th, the San Francisco competition is one of the largest and most prestigious wine competitions in the world.

Thanks RealPlayer. I'll look for Heron Hill Johannisberg Riesling. Have you ever been to the San Francisco wine show?
Speaking of wine shows/festivals; what is the best one you've ever been to?
I went to one while in Las Vegas for a medical conference that blew most others away. Entrance fee was 50 dollars but they had over 500 different wines to sample. They also had food and it was all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink. I certainly got my 50 dollars worth!

Alas, johnmoonlight, I do not have cable. Decision based on the fact that I don't watch TV too much and can't justify the expense. But when I was in NH last month I caught some fantastic programs on cable. There's one station where they do all these house and apartment makeovers... I could easily get addicted to that!

At the moment I'm drink Dancing Bull Zinfandel. It was a special at the store, $9.99. I'm pretty ignorant about Zinfandel, Merlot being my usual red. Zinfandel is certainly less robust but there's a smooth quality to this wine which I think would add elegance to a nice meal. The bouquet is easy on the nose.

The label says "...bright, zesty and bursting with flavors of black cherry and raspberry." I wouldn't put it that way, but there is definitely a strong cherry and raspberry component. I think I would choose the word "zing" as opposed to "zesty" because to me zesty implies citrus and I don't perceive any zesty citrus in this wine.

The label also says: "Playfully Zinful".