Lets Talk About Wine!!

[AJF_41]

When I lived in SF we used to go to Napa/Somona/RRV all the time.

I think my favorite wine was from the Armida winery....their Poizin. It's fantastic.

Anyone ever had it?

[AJF_41]

Originally Posted by boarderx5423

So far, Merlot sucks, Cabarnet is alright, Pinot is awesome. Haven't gotten into any whites yet.

This is where I started....I slowly moved from drinking 80%+ Pinot to 80%+ Cabs...

I still dislike whites...

[ShotgunDMB]

Best kind of wine? Answer: Any.

[CrushLive]

If you live in the Northeast and a trip out to Napa Valley is too expensive for you, you should really consider a trip to the Finger Lakes region of New Yorks. Probably around 100 wineries in a beautiful setting in either the summer or fall.

[Tiduwho]

Originally Posted by ShotgunDMB

Best kind of wine? Answer: Any.

You must not have been treated to the perils of Mad Dog 20/20.

[ShotgunDMB]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

You must not have been treated to the perils of Mad Dog 20/20.

"Mad Dog" wine? Sounds classy.

[PleaseOrAppease]

So classy.

[dmbgodagirl41]

Mad dog makes me gag and vomit at the same time...makes me gavomit.

[Dads_obsessed]

Originally Posted by AJF_41

When I lived in SF we used to go to Napa/Somona/RRV all the time.

I think my favorite wine was from the Armida winery....their Poizin. It's fantastic.

Anyone ever had it?

Sonoma.

The only time i'll be a grammer cop is when you misspell my hometown.

[PleaseOrAppease]

Originally Posted by dmbgodagirl41

Mad dog makes me gag and vomit at the same time...makes me gavomit.

That's the classy party about it. That and the colors it comes in.

[PinkFloydDudi]

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

Wow, that's a great response. I've wanted to get into official wine & food pairings, but I've never really heard that kind of descriptions before. Makes good sense.

What I described is the basics behind food/wine pairing. The more focused the flavor is, the "wetter" you want the wine. Now that is a very high level explanation so don't go to some wine pro and argue with him based on it!

Originally Posted by Tiduwho

I wish I could afford to drink fine wines and foods....

Amateurs!!!! Do not think that the price of a bottle of wine has a lot to do with the flavor. Well, it does, but only in spurts.
(When I talk prices, these are NOT restaurant prices)
A $12 bottle of wine at a store can very easily be "as good" or have as good of a rating as a $25 or even upwards of $40 bottle. Just like you can buy Nike for $150, or some other brand that looks and is made the same for $40.

Now is a $15 bottle of wine as good as a $70 bottle, usually the answer is no. A common misconception is that you can't have a very good bottle of wine without spending a good amount of $$.

First you need to find what wines YOU like, then start with the cheap stuff! I mean, you need to know what tastes bad in order to know what tastes good right?

Originally Posted by boarderx5423

I recently decided to try out some wines. I have no idea what the difference between different styles is, so I bought a few bottles of each and have been trying them. So far, Merlot sucks, Cabarnet is alright, Pinot is awesome. Haven't gotten into any whites yet.

This is a typical "new wine tasters" approach to it...Pinot is a lighter red wine. Takes some acquired tastes to get into the cab's and merlots. But once you get into it more, you realize the flavors in both of those are usually much "deeper" than any other wine.

Originally Posted by CrushLive

If you live in the Northeast and a trip out to Napa Valley is too expensive for you, you should really consider a trip to the Finger Lakes region of New Yorks. Probably around 100 wineries in a beautiful setting in either the summer or fall.

Absolutely love wine trips down to the finger lakes. It is absolutely gorgeous there.

[funktabulous]

Originally Posted by dmbgodagirl41

Mad dog makes me gag and vomit at the same time...makes me gavomit.

[PinkFloydDudi]

Perhaps I can lend a helping hand to people who are new or interested in wine tasting. To clarify, I'm no pro. My training consisted of a credited course in college on wine tasting.
(last quarter, senior year: Wine tasting, Beer tasting, Golf...+ 2 regular courses)
Here are some basics regarding wine tasting that will help you at least look the part and possibly impress your date that night.
(please note I'm avoiding using the word "conesseiur" because I have no idea how to spell it and am too lazy to look it up. I also don't know how to spell all the wines...sorry.)

-So much wine, so little $, what do I do?
If you nor your date are professional wine tasters then you shouldn't really be spending more than $35 or so on a bottle of wine. Simple rules to follow as a guideline:
The darker the food, the darker the wine.
If you are going for a fish dinner, or an alfredo sauce pasta, chicken...a white wine such as a chardonnay, pinot grigio, etc...all good choices. Stick to the dryer white wines. Things like Reislings and such are for sweeter dishes.
Steaks, red pasta, things like that are better for the red wines. For pasta and such a Pinot Noir would be good, and of course, a nice glass of Cabernet with your filet or prime rib!

CONGRATS, you ordered your bottle, now what?

A good waitor will NEVER bring you a bottle that was opened in the back room. That is almost immediate grounds for telling him to take it back and get you another one. The bottle should be opened for you, in front of you, and if you want to be technical it shouldn't touch the table and the label should always be facing you.
ALWAYS look at the label. Make sure it is the year and kind you ordered.

-Glasses!
Ever wonder why they have so many different wine glass shapes? White wines have a very light aroma compared to a deep red wine. Because of this, white wines are served in glasses which have smaller circumferences. This focuses the smell into a smaller area, allowing you to smell more of it which adds to the flavor. Red wines have stronger aromas that don't require it being as focused. Because of this, red wines are served in more fish-bowl style classes with wider openings so as not to have too much of the aroma hit you when you drink.

-The Cork
I can't stress this enough...DO NOT SMELL THE CORK
At many restaurants, they will hand you the cork. You want to know what you get when you smell the cork? It smells like fricken cork. You want to LOOK at the cork, and make sure that there are no obvious cracks in it that would allow air into the bottle before it was opened. There should be a moist small layer of the wine on the cork, which means it had a good seal. (Wine should be stored on its side to keep the cork moist for this reason).
If the cork is bone dry that is a bad sign. If there is no color of the wine on the cork that is a bad sign. If the color goes up even 1/4 of the way up the cork that is a bad sign.
Please, for the love of wine lovers everywhere, do not ever smell the cork.

-The first glass
In any restaurant, whoever ordered the wine will most likely be given the first taste. You should do 4 things at this point. Tilt your glass and look at the color, swirl it to look like you know what you are doing, bring it to your lips and smell, and then taste it. More on each of those in a moment.

-A "bad" wine"
Yes, there are bad wines. In "wine world", its usually called a bottle that is "corked". This means air was introduced to the wine while it was aging. There is a very definitive taste to a "corked" bottle of wine. It sort of tastes like cork! (go figure). If you think you taste this, do NOT hesitate to tell them. They owe you a good bottle of wine.
Side story: My uncle was at a restaurant with some clients. They ordered a $600 bottle of wine. Upon tasting it, my uncle told them to send the bottle back and get a new one. The restaurant actually called their official wine guy in to taste the bottle and he agreed it was a bad bottle. It happens! Don't be afraid to say something.


-What to look for
I could write (well I have written) about a 10 page paper or even a full book on what to look for in a wine. I'll try to stay very basic. These are GENERAL guidelines. I dont' want to hear "dude I saw this 2001 bottle and it wasn't yellow".

-color
Red wine generally loses its color as it ages. A 2008 bottle of Cabernet will look like a very deep blood red almost. However, a 2001 bottle of that same Cabernet will look like a redish/orange. The color goes from deep red to almost a deep burnt orange color.
White wine does the opposite and actually gains color as it ages. A 2008 Chardonnay will be very light, with a hint of some yellow. A 2001 bottle of Chardonnay will be a much deeper shade of yellow. Wines age and color differently depending on the wine. But its a general rule of thumb. If you order a glass of 10 year old Cabernet...when you take that first look at it, it should be slightly orange in color and not bright red.

-Contrast
Don't even know if thats the right word. Ok, so you have that first taste of wine and you swirl it a bit. At that point, tilt the glass a good bit. Look at the very edge of the where the wine stops. You will see a color gradient. The very top layer will be clear. How QUICKLY it goes from being clear to red (for red wines of course) is something wine tasters make note of. I don't remember the significance of this, but again, it makes you look the part.

-Smell
If you are serious about wines even slightly, this is where a beginner should really start paying attention. Breathe in through your nose and mouth when you smell a wine. (People swirl their wine because it releases the "bouqet" (official term, probably wrong spelling)).
Try to think of what you smell.
If in tasting or smelling wine, anyone says it smells or tastes like "grapes", smack them and promptly follow up with "no shit"
You are looking for OTHER smells. Mainly fruit smells, flowers perhaps, candy? There is NO official "this wine should smell like _____". This is why most wine lovers go for red wines more...they are usually much more complex in smell and taste.
(Swear to god if any of you smell the cork...so help you)

-Taste
Ok, when you taste wine, also inhale as you do so. Wine is meant to be tasted and part of tasting is the smell. Breathe in through your nose and take a sip. Again, what flavors do you taste (yes, wine is made of grapes, what else?). Apple? Black Cherry? Vanilla? Oak? Cat pee?
Yes, I said cat pee. That is actually a professional term used to describe the smell and taste of certain wines (i'll let you smell which on your own, its pretty distinct). It isn't a bad thing necessarily either!
People also smell things like "nature", or "dead wood", or a whole host of other things.
There are many parts of the taste, and the more experienced you get the more you can pick up on the subtle parts.
-taste when it first hits your mouth
-taste as you are actually drinking it
-the after-taste
-the after-after-taste

In our class, a typical description for one wine would be:
At first I got a strong taste of vanilla and cherry. During the consumption I tasted more earthy flavors mixed with that vanilla, the cherry dropping out a bit. On after-taste, the cherry again came back with a bit of acidity. The lasting taste was one of tanins again mixed with vanilla.

(that was simplified, we used to have to hand in page-long reports on the taste alone of a certain wine).


-wrapping it up
That is about it for a basic overview. Find flavors you like, and then find wines that have those flavors!! Certain wines are "better" from certain locations. I don't remember the exacts for each one, but for example Shiraz is mostly an Australlian wine. Sonoma and Cali have very good Cabernets.

To get a bit more in-depth, certain countries have a government-regulated system (France and Italy come to mind). Each has its own system, but I belive France uses the 3-tier system.
Also there is the "reserve" system.
All of these systems really just rate the grapes that were used for the most part. When harvesting grapes, they will first go out and grab the BEST of the best grapes. There you have your grand reserve. Ok they do it again and grab the best of whats left, there is your next level...and then they pick the rest and make the "table wine".
Want to know more about it? Look it up. There is a TON of stuff out there.


Happy wine tasting!

(p.s. If you find a wine you really like, write the name down on something and pick up some more bottles of it!)

p.p.s. Only certain wines age well. Don't think you are going to keep that $10 bottle of Shiraz sitting somewhere for 30 years and it will then be worth $1,000. Most likely what will happen is 30 years later you will open a now-bad bottle of $10 wine. A typical age is 2-3 years for younger wines, 4-5 for middle wines, and then the price jumps up after that.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by boarderx5423

I recently decided to try out some wines. I have no idea what the difference between different styles is, so I bought a few bottles of each and have been trying them. So far, Merlot sucks, Cabarnet is alright, Pinot is awesome. Haven't gotten into any whites yet.

Just taking a look at what the wine stores around you have, I'd recommend one of the following Spanish reds:

Schaefers
1) BODEGAS SOLABAL CRIANZA 2003 - $18.95 (Item#21688)
2) Muga Reserva 2005 - $23.97 (Item#20104)
3) MARQUES DE CACERES "RESERVA" 2002 - $29.95 (Item#8915)

WineStyle
1) Marqués De La Musa Tempranillo 2001 - $13.99 (Item#08427997768)
2) Laguna de la Nava Gran Reserva 1999 - $24.99 (Item#89991100097)

Why bother with whites?

[Jake]

My grape of choice is carmiere (I think I misspelled that). Its grown in Chile now, but its a French grape in the noir family. I tend to drink it on its own, but its featured in blends often. Primus is one (with cab & merlot), and jib jib rocks makes another blend that is nice. I recommend them all if you want to try want to try a different red.

[Dads_obsessed]

PinkFloydDudi, Nice post.

I will add just a few basics keeping in mind that i'm a Sonoma/Napa guy.

Here is a basic guideline for the big California varietals from my area, Cab, Merlot, Zin, Pinot Noir, Chard, and I think we can know add to the list Syrah.

The Bigs reds like the heat, Cabs and Zins do well in Napa valley, Sonoma valley, Alexander Valley.

Chards and Merlots can be grown just about anywhere, probable why they are the #1 white and #1 red drank in this country.

Syrahs can take the heat, but also do real well in the cooler climates. In fact most Sharazs come from hotter climates, But the winner of the best overall red at the California state fair on '06 was a cool climate Syrah. BTW, Sharaz and Syrah are the same varietal. The Assies, New Zealanders and South Aficans call it Sharaz, we here in the US call it Syrah.

Pinot Noir needs the cooler climate. The thin skinned grape would fry if it never got relief from the heat. Thats why Carneros (Southern Sonoma and Napa counties and at the northern end of the SF bay) Russian River Valley, parts of Oregon, and of course coastal regions in So. Cal produce killer Pinots, they all have one thing in common, cool coastal influence.

Also, when when talking about climate influences, especially in reds, hotter areas tend to produce spicier wines, and cool climate softer wines.

So if you know you like, and you take the time to learn the different climate influences you can match the two and find so really great wines.

[OlivePoet]

Originally Posted by whodat

It sounds odd to age chardonnay in something other then oak. But I am telling you, this wine is great. If you are a big oakey chardonnay person, then you might think differently. I tend to prefer a more crisp finish to my whites, so it suits me fine. In the end, it is still wine. No matter how it was aged.

I only enjoy chardonnay when it's unoaked.

[Lcsulla]

I like my wine like my politicians and foreign governments;

better dead than red!

[PinkFloydDudi]

Originally Posted by OlivePoet

I only enjoy chardonnay when it's unoaked.

Thats called Pinot Grigio!

=P


Edit: Another favorite wine for me is Cabernet Franc. For those unfamiliar, its like a typical cab except it has more of a pepper flavor to it!

[evjens]

http://throk.net/blog/337/sweet-berry-wine

I love all drinks and especially, wine.

[DrinkNoH2O]

Originally Posted by PinkFloydDudi

Thats called Pinot Grigio!

=P

No it's not. Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are two different grapes entirely.

[CrushLive]

Originally Posted by PinkFloydDudi

What I described is the basics behind food/wine pairing. The more focused the flavor is, the "wetter" you want the wine. Now that is a very high level explanation so don't go to some wine pro and argue with him based on it!


Amateurs!!!! Do not think that the price of a bottle of wine has a lot to do with the flavor. Well, it does, but only in spurts.
(When I talk prices, these are NOT restaurant prices)
A $12 bottle of wine at a store can very easily be "as good" or have as good of a rating as a $25 or even upwards of $40 bottle. Just like you can buy Nike for $150, or some other brand that looks and is made the same for $40.

Now is a $15 bottle of wine as good as a $70 bottle, usually the answer is no. A common misconception is that you can't have a very good bottle of wine without spending a good amount of $$.

First you need to find what wines YOU like, then start with the cheap stuff! I mean, you need to know what tastes bad in order to know what tastes good right?


This is a typical "new wine tasters" approach to it...Pinot is a lighter red wine. Takes some acquired tastes to get into the cab's and merlots. But once you get into it more, you realize the flavors in both of those are usually much "deeper" than any other wine.



Absolutely love wine trips down to the finger lakes. It is absolutely gorgeous there.

Went last weekend to Seneca Lake (only got thru one side of it). I definitely want to go back sometime very very soon, maybe do Keuka or the other side of Seneca.

[Dads_obsessed]

Originally Posted by DrinkNoH2O

No it's not. Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are two different grapes entirely.

I'm pretty sure that was sarcasm, Pinot Grigios are typically aged in stainless, so you get no oak.

[davet7462]

I like anything D'Arenberg....and for $9/bottle - 'The Stump Jump' is a great wine. For a little more - go with 'Laughing Magpie.'

Also - Molly Dooker puts out some good wines. 'Two Left Feet' is a great blend - and for something different (and pricey) - they've got a sparkling shiraz called 'Goosebumps.' Really, really good.

If you want to do about $30/bottle - Villa Creek's (Paso Robles) 'Willow Cuvee' is wonderful.

[MAM2STEPN]

Originally Posted by whodat

It is getting warmer, so I am getting ready for some nice chilled whites on a summer night. Trader Joe's has a cheap, and decent, Pinot Grigio that I like. Other then that, I go for a viognier or this killer steel-aged chardonnay from a vineyard in Santa Ynez, CA. Oh how I love wine. It makes me so happy.

Hey Ben, I get my fav Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's as well. I don't like Chards, too oakey for me. I like the nice fruityness of pinots.

[MAM2STEPN]

Originally Posted by Beckat916

One of my favorites of all time is FRANK FAMILY VINEYARDS (Napa Valley) They make great whites, reds, and believe it or not.....damn good sparkings as well. They are also one of the only places in the entire Napa Valley that still taste for F R E E ! ! ! Ya

Does search on location of said Vineyard.

[Dads_obsessed]

Originally Posted by MAM2STEPN

Does search on location of said Vineyard.

Hi Mary Ann,

If its free tasting to want you should go here:

http://www.russianriver.com/wineries.htm

Smaller crowds, more laid back, and supposedly Westside road has a string of free tasting rooms.

'course there's a tasting room in Sonoma where you never have to pay..

[lieinourgraves]

I LOVE RED WINE!!! Im about to open a bottle of "Masi - Modello Delle Venezie - 2007" from Italy.



Rog

[Tiduwho]

Originally Posted by Carbon Copy

like a ........state farm is there

I just got it.

[Tiduwho]

Okay, I need a good White Wine stat!


Looking for either a Riesling, Pinot Grigiot, or Chardonnay that is not dry and slightly sweet. I like crisp too. I'm about to head out right now to the International House of Wine and Cheese.


Help! What's something really good? Oh, for $20 or less if possible.