On the way to wine snobbery: recommend ONE wine

[WillyBrandt]

OK, I went crazy yesterday, and added to my collection of undrunk wine. It was all under $15, and I now have--and I live by myself--12 bottles of wine, both red and white. I also bought one of those vacuum pumps, so that I don't waste a bottle immediately upon opening it.

Anyway, I recommend the first bottle opened: Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc 2003, a Chilean white. I paid $8 for it, and it is great: it's weak, sweet throughout, and ends on a fruity, not a tart taste.

It's extremely easy to drink, and an amazing deal for $8.

Which one wine (or more than one!) do you recommend?

(Great "Bum Wine" site: http://www.tcsn.net/rags/bum/ I, for the record, love Boon's Farm)

A GREAT online wine tasting course I just found: http://www.wineloverspage.com/taste/intro.phtml

[JVS]

1. Night Train!

Nothing like riding the big choo choo!

[Superfly]

2. Quintessa 2000

Sauv B.

$120 but worth every penny.

[1monster]

3. Blanc du Bois Reserve

from San Sebastian Winery http://www.sansebastianwinery.com/

But then again, their Vintners Red with their mulling spices is terrific too... and I prefer white wines to red.

[baldguy]

4. Only ONE?

Impossible. I buy a different type every time I go to the store. My preferences tend toward Italian reds; Molepulciano, Amarone, Brunello, and Chianti.

[nini]

7. yummmm Brunelo!!!

one of my favorites too

[northzax]

40. well sure

but good luck finding one in the 15 dollar price range (and I wouldn't suggest drinking it if you did!)

[baldguy]

44. Yeah, more like $40-$50

My palette has always been richer than my wallet.

[northzax]

46. and even that's cheap

which is why you should do what I did, drop everything and join the wine business, nothing like wholesale to improve your palate!

[Lars39]

5. C'mon Eddy. Let's go get a beer; Niles and Frasier won't miss us!

Couldn't resist. :) I'm bookmarking, though. I'd like to have some recommendations, too.

[Kellanved]

6. ok

If I had to pick exactly one it would be:
Assmanshäuser from the hessian state vineyards.
http://staatsweingueterhessen.de/domaeneAssmannshausen/

in the same league for me:
Bourgogne: Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Cahor : Appellation Contrôlée(can't name the vineyard; I haven't found that one outside France yet)


whites:
Bourgogne Aligoté (for mixing with cassis)
Kerner Vöglein
White Rioja (again: can't name the wineyard and grape; never brought a bottle home)
...

[WillyBrandt]

9. Assmanhaeuser?

It's hard enough to find German wine in the US--with a name like "Assman," I just don't give the wine good odds on this side of the pond!

[Kellanved]

11. lol

You do have a point there. Hadn't thought of that particular problem - explains a lot, I guess. The logo is probably a problem as well.

Call it Hessian State Vineyard Spätburgunder, if you like.

[WillyBrandt]

13. I just saw the logo: The Wine is doomed

This won't fly:



(Tangentially related: Right now, I'm watching the "History Channel" on cable which, in case you didn't know, has an amazing and well-earned reputation of showing about 10 Hitler documentaries a day. The rest have to do with Pearl Harbor or the Civil War! Though they sometimes through Nostradamus in there. A preposterous, but addicting channel.)

I went to a fantastic wine festival in Stuttgart--had some spaetlze--and just had one of the best times of my life

[Kellanved]

15. it is actually older than that other eagle

IMHO it is about time to replace it anyways.

[LynneSin]

8. I love Chilean Sauvignon Blancs, but New Zealand does them better!!

Try Branicott!!

[alfredo]

10. Forest Glen White Merlot - inexpensive but very good.

price is not a very good indicator of quality.

Beer? Meckeson XXX Stout.

Bourbon? Woodford Reserve.

[WillyBrandt]

14. Much better stout

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout

Cannot be beaten

[Habibi]

21. Ahhh!

*swoon*

I haven't tasted that since going on Atkins . . .

[WillyBrandt]

32. A fellow devotee!

It's SO HARD to find YLDCS... but always such a delight

[ET Awful]

12. Chote du Rhone

[supernova]

20. Umm.... Côte du Rhône

It's Côte du Rhône.

I enjoy them as well. Lighter in tast that some other reds but well worth it especially if you like reds with lighter dishes, like pasta.

[HuckleB]

30. It's a region, with many types of wine.

I've had my share of deep reds frome there, as well. Though granted, they are among my faves during summer for the reason you stated.

[ET Awful]

35. LOL . . . I didn't know how to make the accents sorry :)

Oh, and I had an extra 'h' so shoot me :) :) :)

[TXlib]

22. Try Goats Do Roam

the south african knockoff of Cotes du Rhone

[kanrok]

29. I hear Coat de bone is also pretty popular

not sure where it originates, but sounds like a pretty special place.

[VolcanoJen]

16. I'm a Sangiovese girl myself.

I adore Italian wines, and I think Sangioveses are better the younger they are.

Try Di Majo Norante 2002... only around $10.00, and a cool label, too.

:-)

[Whitacre D_WI]

17. 1999 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie La Mouline.

It will cost you $200, and you won't be able to drink it for another decade.

When you do open it, you will cry tears of joy.

[Obamarama]

18. Any Bordeaux from 2000 should be a good bet....

Best year for Bordeaux since 1961!

[supernova]

19. Opened that Ravenswood Zinfandel

tonight. The Vintners Blend. Pretty good for $10/bottle. Slightly sweet, much more so than the Cab I had last night. Good tartness and cherry overlaying a kind of chocolate flavor.

[baldguy]

25. Ravenswood Zins are G-R-E-A-T !

[TXlib]

23. Sin Zin

[Skittles]

24. no can do

it all tastes like bad grape juice to me

[SheilaT]

26. Then you've probably never had a good wine.

I could well be wrong, but years ago I noticed that people who hated champagne generally had only had Andre champagne, which is truly dreadful. Even a slightly better one, such as Freixnet is vastly superior.

As for wines, a lot of incredibly good and cheap wines are available right now from Spain and South America. Go into any decent wine store and talk to them.

One of my personal favorite reds is the Hungarian Bulls Blood, Egri Bikaver, but it's not to everyone's taste.

I rarely like whites, except for Louis Jadot's Pouilly Fuisse.

[supernova]

27. Egri Bikaver!

I didn't think anyone else knew about it! :toast: I love that stuff! I'll have to go get another bottle when all the Ravenswood is gone! :9

[Skittles]

47. give it up, SheilaT

I've tried all KINDS of wine, some of it VERY pricy. I hate it all.

[HuckleB]

28. Montecillo Rioja Vina Monty 1986 Gran Reserva

Absolutely incredible.

[soothsayer]

31. Kilikanoon Siblings (Shiraz/Grenache blend)

beautifully silky Aussie red---lovely! I didn't believe they had any decent wines there until I had this.

[Bertha Venation]

33. Caymus Conundrum

Mrs. V.'s the wine expert. This is her favorite.

[Shakespeare]

34. A Sonoma pinot noir

Especially the Russian River Valley or Alexander Valley. Lovely, lovely red. Clos du Bois will probably be the easiest to find, but don't be afraid to try labels from smaller wineries.

[Lost4words]

36. any wine not produced for or in the USA is wonderful!

wine produced by craftspeople not by profit only motivated corporations!
Drink wine abroad and you will never drink American swill again!

[HuckleB]

38. Please.

I've been all over the world. Some of the best wines in the world are made in the states. Please don't play on very old cliches.

[northzax]

39. right on!

now, can you give me the names of three French, three German, thrree Australian and three Chilean wines, avaliable in the United States, that are made by corporations that gross less than 50 million US a year? go ahead. You can do it!

I'd like a nice Bordeaux, can you point me to one that meets those criteria?

How about some Champagne?

a nice Shiraz?

a dirty little secret about most wine: it ia made by abesntee landlords. Or the grapes are bought and blended by a negociant. the US has led the way for the past two decades in returning to wine makers taking control of the whole process, planting vines, growing grapes,and making wine from their own grapes. There are many more small winemakers in the US than in France, Spain, Italy or Australia. And yes, there is a lot of what can generally be considered "poor quality" wine avaliable in the US. but you know what? there is just as much avaliable in France, Spain, Italy and the like (believe me, I've drunk it) wine is a function of place and time, as well as quality. You will drink Retsina sitting on a patio overlooking the Aegean and think it's wonderful, and then return to Chicago and realize you hate it. you will drink a weak pays d'oc merlot sitting in the Bois de Bolougne, but not in New York. Time and space.

There is an old joke in the wine business, if you visit a new world wine maker, you'll see a messy farmhand, but top flight equipment and production. If you visit an old world winemaker, you'll see a dapper, elegant baron, and dingy production equipment.

[trigz]

37. Scanavino of Barbarea d'Asti, a fantastic red (nt)

[northzax]

41. in the under fifteen dollar price range:

Rex Goliath Central Coast Pinot Noir (Monterey County, 6-9)
Chateau Fage Graves de Vrayes (Bordeauz, 7-9)

take a step up:
Chehalem Inox Chardonnay (from Oregon, unoaked, fabulous, 14-16)
Joseph Phelps Pastiche (white and red, Napa, 13-15)

enjoy.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

42. Australian wines are good and healthier...no cheronobyl trace fallout

unlike most european wines

red: Black Opal Cabernet Sauvignon, Mildara-Blass
white: Jacob’s Creek Cgardonnay and Black Opal Chardonnay, Mildara-Blass

[bif]

43. Concha Y Toro

Cab/Merlot blend from Chile. $6.50 for a 1.5L bottle.

[noonwitch]

45. Vinuva Pinot Grigio

It's about $10 a bottle, the bottle is a twisted, purple one and it is very good with shrimp in garlic sauce.

[afraid_of_the_dark]

48. Yellowtail

This Aussie company makes a great Merlot. It's an embarrassing choice, because it has a plastic cork (yes, yes, I know... bad form), but it really is fantastic and not too pricey.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

49. Marque de Cacera

Trader Joe's portugese (?) riojo..about 7 bucks a bottle

[TrogL]

50. Kressman

Brights Ruby Red is good also.

Generally anything under $10 CAN with a goodly bit of scum on the surface is best.

[TrogL]

52. Oh yea, and Baby Duck

can't forget Baby Duck

:puke:

[Mrs. Venation]

51. Caymus Conundrum n/t