Great wine thread

[Top Cat]

I feel extroirdinarily fortunate. I live right in the heart of world class wines. Presently I write you from Hood River, OR, a mere 3 hour drive from where I live. Woodinville WA is but an hour with its 170 tasting rooms. . So many of the wines are world class.

If you are looking for a great wine destination. Consider WA and parts of OR.

Absolutely amazing. And way more affordable than Napa. Way more.

If you're heading this way...pm me. More than happy to share with you some pearls...

 

[Chomsky]

Here's our everday wine, at 16 bucks a pop.

It's a great little grape called Nero D'avola. Morgante is our fav producer of this grape, but there are others (all small Sicilian producers).

This grape wasn't much known outside of Southern Italian circles, besides Corvo bringing it to the attention of the American market in the seventies, where it still stayed mostly amongst Italians. Then a coupla' years ago Rachel Ray started pushing it on her cooking show, shoving it right up to the camera so everyone in TV land could clearly see the label! Then the NYT wine section (very positively) reviewed it! And finally this year, The Wine Spectator rated my producer's 2013 batch at 89 points with a glowing review!

And so now, the wine my family drank for decades and generations, that was little known outside of Sicily and Southern Italian circles, that used to be 5 or 6 bucks a bottle, from a little known lSicilian grape and producer, now costs 16 bucks a bottle! And everybody's talking about it!

And if that's not enough, YouTubers are now doing Nero D'avola tastings! :doh

It's enough to make a grown man cry!

(but it's still worth the money)

 

[Mr Person]

A few off the top of my head......

Vietti - they do various italians. Nebbiolo, etc.
Marques de Vargas - Rioja (reserva). Not usually imported.
Rocca di Frassinello Maremma, Ornello
Twenty Bench, Cab. (CA)
Cloudy Bay (Sauv. Blanc, NZ). They also do others I haven't had.




Best port ever: Delaforce, 20 year tawny.

 

[justabubba]

Chateau Ste Michelle - anything white or red - is sure to be good

hope this turns into a bunch of recommendations for (and against) particular vintners and their goods

 

[PoS]

If its red and hasnt gone flat I'd drink it. :drink

 

[Mach]

Chateau Ste Michelle - anything white or red - is sure to be good

Sadly, I saw the thread and was going to say Chateau Ste Michelle Merlot is one of my easy favorites.

 

[Dragonfly]

Blind tasting proves pricey wines are a rip-off | The New Daily

Be careful what you buy. :mrgreen:

Expensive Wine Is A Waste Of Money, Experts Say

Freakonomics Radio: Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? - Freakonomics Freakonomics

 

[SMTA]

Blind tasting proves pricey wines are a rip-off | The New Daily

Be careful what you buy. :mrgreen:

Expensive Wine Is A Waste Of Money, Experts Say

Freakonomics Radio: Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? - Freakonomics Freakonomics

Vegan wines are much better for you. :lamo

 

[justabubba]

in another forum, there were a number of positive mentions of black box wine
anyone have a positive or negative experience with that brand, and if so, do you recall the type of wine you tasted



intrigued that the wine can remain drinkable for up to three weeks. despite what my posting history may indicate, i don't drink much at any one sitting. if i open a bottle of wine, chances are good i am going to have to throw part of it away because it has sat too long

edit: as i type this realize it would be easier to just pick some up and see for myself. returned with black box pinot noir which is drinkable. that is all i will say for it

for comparison, also picked up bota box nighthawk black (selection made only because it had the most shelf space devoted to it and was the least stocked ... hoping that means it is in more demand that some of the other offerings). will get back to this thread when i knock off the pinot and compare the bota black. hope it is more word-worthy

 

[Skeptic Bob]

in another forum, there were a number of positive mentions of black box wine
anyone have a positive or negative experience with that brand, and if so, do you recall the type of wine you tasted

View attachment 67211356

intrigued that the wine can remain drinkable for up to three weeks. despite what my posting history may indicate, i don't drink much at any one sitting. if i open a bottle of wine, chances are good i am going to have to throw part of it away because it has sat too long

edit: as i type this realize it would be easier to just pick some up and see for myself. returned with black box pinot noir which is drinkable. that is all i will say for it

for comparison, also picked up bota box nighthawk black (selection made only because it had the most shelf space devoted to it and was the least stocked ... hoping that means it is in more demand that some of the other offerings). will get back to this thread when i knock off the pinot and compare the bota black. hope it is more word-worthy

I am really hoping more and more good wine makers start boxing. The wine keeps so much longer. It is great for those of us who don't finish a bottle in a night. I'm a Shiraz guy and the Blackbox Shiraz isn't bad. Not great, but not bad.

 

[justabubba]

I am really hoping more and more good wine makers start boxing. The wine keeps so much longer. It is great for those of us who don't finish a bottle in a night. I'm a Shiraz guy and the Blackbox Shiraz isn't bad. Not great, but not bad.

thanks for that shiraz mention

trying to kick soft drinks ... looks like wine will be the replacement

 

[MaggieD]

Blind tasting proves pricey wines are a rip-off | The New Daily

Be careful what you buy. :mrgreen:

Expensive Wine Is A Waste Of Money, Experts Say

Freakonomics Radio: Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? - Freakonomics Freakonomics

I usually pay between $20 and $30 for a bottle of wine at the liquor store. I drink reds and, when we're eating out, I'm generally up for the most expensive red glass on the menu. No more cheap wine for me, as they say. If I like it a lot, I photo it with my phone and generally find it runs in that price range at Binny's. My fave right now is Rodney Strong merlot. UNBELIEVABLY, it's only about $15 a bottle. I like Coppola cab, too. That's around $22.

 

[beerftw]

I feel extroirdinarily fortunate. I live right in the heart of world class wines. Presently I write you from Hood River, OR, a mere 3 hour drive from where I live. Woodinville WA is but an hour with its 170 tasting rooms. . So many of the wines are world class.

If you are looking for a great wine destination. Consider WA and parts of OR.

Absolutely amazing. And way more affordable than Napa. Way more.

If you're heading this way...pm me. More than happy to share with you some pearls...

the best wine destinations in the us are in cali and texas. Cali is known for the best wines in the world(opinion) and texas is known for its wine as well(also opinion) but seriously it all comes down to taste. The best wines I have had were ones I made or ones from people in east texas who lived on a farm and had them aging in their basements.

Muscadine wine is my favorite, but I live in centex and no one west of east texas sells it, so I go into the lot in the transmission shop I work at and pick muscadine and mustang grapes that grow wild on the fence to make my own, with help from experience redneck winemakers.

Muscadine and mustang grow wild here, muscadine makes awesome wine, mustang wine is meh.

 

[Top Cat]

the best wine destinations in the us are in cali and texas. Cali is known for the best wines in the world(opinion) and texas is known for its wine as well(also opinion) but seriously it all comes down to taste. The best wines I have had were ones I made or ones from people in east texas who lived on a farm and had them aging in their basements.

Muscadine wine is my favorite, but I live in centex and no one west of east texas sells it, so I go into the lot in the transmission shop I work at and pick muscadine and mustang grapes that grow wild on the fence to make my own, with help from experience redneck winemakers.

Muscadine and mustang grow wild here, muscadine makes awesome wine, mustang wine is meh.

Texas is a very small player in the wine market. When it comes to premium wines, WA is 2nd only to CA

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wine

 

[beerftw]

Texas is a very small player in the wine market. When it comes to premium wines, WA is 2nd only to CA

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wine

Oh your link means quantity, I am referring to quality. Ca leads the pack because the states armpit has growing conditions that yield exceptional grapes. Texas wines tend to have extremely good growing conditions as well. My favorite wine muscadine actually grows wild all over the us south and is good in any range of it's natural habitat.

If it was a non muscadine, I would say cali first, texas second when it came to taste.

 

[Top Cat]

Sadly, I saw the thread and was going to say Chateau Ste Michelle Merlot is one of my easy favorites.

Chateau Ste. Michelle is an excellent winery. They own and operate Columbia Crest wines as well.

Both brands offer superb quality at an excellent price. The Grand Estates label from CC is frequently under 10 bucks and usually rated by Wine Spectator in the high 80's and low 90's.a few years back one of its Grand Estates wines was rated in the top 100 of the world by Wine Spectator.

Woodinville, WA is an awesome wine destination. Uber and Lyft are both there. There are over 150 tasting rooms there. All within close proximity to one another.

The wife and I do Airbnb near there and take Lyft to the respective wine tasting districts. Great food in the area and more great wines than you can taste.

 

[Top Cat]

Oh your link means quantity, I am referring to quality. Ca leads the pack because the states armpit has growing conditions that yield exceptional grapes. Texas wines tend to have extremely good growing conditions as well. My favorite wine muscadine actually grows wild all over the us south and is good in any range of it's natural habitat.

If it was a non muscadine, I would say cali first, texas second when it came to taste.

No I was quite clear. Quality.


In 2015 for example NW wines made up 10 of the top 50 wines in the world. That's 20 percent.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.grea...ctator-top-100/amp/?client=ms-android-verizon

 

[beerftw]

No I was quite clear. Quality.


In 2015 for example NW wines made up 10 of the top 50 wines in the world. That's 20 percent.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.grea...ctator-top-100/amp/?client=ms-android-verizon

Yeah I do not follow any wine tasters votes on best, it has already been proven cheap wines are often better than top rated wines anyways. I go simply off what tastes best, cali grows the best grapes save muscadine which are my favorite, texas grows probably second best.

Seriously I have not ever seen a single bottle of wine from washington and maybe a few from oregon, you can go anywhere in the country though and find cali wine on the shelf, which says alot about how much more people like it.

 

[Top Cat]

Yeah I do not follow any wine tasters votes on best, it has already been proven cheap wines are often better than top rated wines anyways..

Well there you have it then.

 

[beerftw]

Well there you have it then.

Pretty much sums it up, the best wine is what tastes best to you, not what some guy who claims to be an expert says is best.

 

[Master PO]

 

[Top Cat]

Pretty much sums it up, the best wine is what tastes best to you, not what some guy who claims to be an expert says is best.

Give it a rest. You're embarrassing yourself.

 

[jimbo]

I am really hoping more and more good wine makers start boxing. The wine keeps so much longer. It is great for those of us who don't finish a bottle in a night. I'm a Shiraz guy and the Blackbox Shiraz isn't bad. Not great, but not bad.

Same with Black Box Cab. I've got a couple wine referigerators full of pricier wines, but my house everyday wine is Block Box Cab.

Wines in bladder containers stay fresh longer because they are never in contact with air.

As for expensive wines, I've had my share but find a lot of $10-$20 bottles beat expensive wines hands down.

 

[jimbo]

I feel extroirdinarily fortunate. I live right in the heart of world class wines. Presently I write you from Hood River, OR, a mere 3 hour drive from where I live. Woodinville WA is but an hour with its 170 tasting rooms. . So many of the wines are world class.

If you are looking for a great wine destination. Consider WA and parts of OR.

Absolutely amazing. And way more affordable than Napa. Way more.

If you're heading this way...pm me. More than happy to share with you some pearls...

A few years ago I made a wine trip starting at the California border and ending in the Tri-cities area of Washington. Hit all the tasting rooms we could find. The NW wines are hard to beat.

 

[matchlight]

Here's our everday wine, at 16 bucks a pop.

It's a great little grape called Nero D'avola. Morgante is our fav producer of this grape, but there are others (all small Sicilian producers).

This grape wasn't much known outside of Southern Italian circles, besides Corvo bringing it to the attention of the American market in the seventies, where it still stayed mostly amongst Italians. Then a coupla' years ago Rachel Ray started pushing it on her cooking show, shoving it right up to the camera so everyone in TV land could clearly see the label! Then the NYT wine section (very positively) reviewed it! And finally this year, The Wine Spectator rated my producer's 2013 batch at 89 points with a glowing review!

And so now, the wine my family drank for decades and generations, that was little known outside of Sicily and Southern Italian circles, that used to be 5 or 6 bucks a bottle, from a little known lSicilian grape and producer, now costs 16 bucks a bottle! And everybody's talking about it!

And if that's not enough, YouTubers are now doing Nero D'avola tastings! :doh

It's enough to make a grown man cry!

(but it's still worth the money)



View attachment 67211309

I agree about Nero d'Avola. There are quite a few of those sleepers--Albarino, a crisp, dry white from Northern Spain, is another one. So is northern Italian Barbera, and the red table wines from the Douro in Portugal.