Any wine snobs in here?

[UNCjigga]

Last weekend I had my first 10 year-old Saint Emilion - Grand Cru (Chateau La Mondotte). It was so good I almost cried. Now I know what I've been missing by sticking to bottles under $10. So now I'm looking for good recommendations in the $10-$30 range. The sommelier at a wine bar I frequent told me that I would like Bordeaux wines, as well as Languedocs (sp?) Of course, I'm not a snob so I will drink New World wines, but I have no idea which vineyards/regions are known for excellent cabernet franc, merlot or syrah grapes. Any help is appreciated!

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Actually....I've found it much more rewarding (and by FAR less expensive) to just brew my own wine. You really don't need to drop big cash on a kit and if you are interested in this path drop me a PM. Besides, you can use the same equipment to make root beer (and real beer!)

 

[jlee]

Tagged- I'm interested as well.

 

[Auric]

Not knowledgable 'nuff to even pretend being a snob but... I do like Aussie Shiraz (aka Syrah) and find the blends (cheaper) from the same vineyard can be even better for general consumption -i.e. me rikey both their Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon but their Shiraz-Cabernet the best. French, I would assume, is poorer value even before possibly higher tariffs.

 

[WildHorse]

I'm not a wine snob, but a wine appreciation person.

Some of the very best wines come from here. You can shop online at the many wineries' web sites.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

I grew up in San Francisco with my parents frequently taking weekend trips to Napa and Sonoma and we go back home with cases and cases of wines bought from those trips.

Having said that, I'm a snob, i.e. prefer California wines. My favorite red is Robert Mondavi's unfiltered cabernet sauvignon from the Napa valley. years 1999 - 2004 all are good.

You mentioned french....check out Chateau Marmot cabernet....especially if someone's buying coz its pricey.

Too many choices out there that I've narrowed down my drinking preference to:
Napa Cabernet
Sonoma Merlot
Australian Shiraz

 

[Fritzo]

I've been on a Riesling kick for the last few months. Late harvest Riesling is something I could drink with every meal.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I've been on a Riesling kick for the last few months. Late harvest Riesling is something I could drink with every meal.

You know, white wine precludes honest self-proclamations of health benefits.

 

[mikelish]

I like White wine myself (no racist) and Trader Joe ($3 a bottle here) is plenty good enough for me

 

[WildHorse]

SInce you like the Bordeaux wines

try some wine from Laetitia (like in LAetitia Casta) Vineyard & Winery

 

[Colt45]

Thunderbird. Maybe a little Nightrain.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Thunderbird. Maybe a little Nightrain.

You forgot Madog 20/20. Ahh the memories of downing a bottle of that in the high school parking lot some 15 years ago.

The best wine I've ever had was a South African Syrah. The only place that I know of that sold/sells it is a dedicated wine store here in Bellingham. I should go back and see if they can still source it. It had a peppery type aftertaste and not too dry.

 

[George P Burdell]

Two-buck Chuck

 

[Ophir]

Oh man, bad news. You've gotten bitten by good French wine. Stuff like that is very hard to come by in this country - at least at a reasonable price. A well aged, refined Bordeaux has such velvety smoothness with a subtle, perfectly balanced flavor. Unfortunately, in this country people are accustomed to fruity, tannic, young wines (<5yrs old). So they tell you a wine is great, but it ends up tasting like cough syrup. I've started to get used to it, and with extensive decanting (>1hr) many of the sub-$50 actually even out, but they never reach that level of refinement. Of course, at the higher end you do get some excellent European-style wines.

Just pray you never get your hands on a '90 Burgundy. You'll never be the same.

 

[Ophir]

As for a wine recommendation, for domestic wines in the $10-30 range, I've been drinking a lot of Oregon's Willamette Valley pinot noir (eg Cardwell Vineyards 2005 $17.99) and some nice California petit syrahs (eg Bogle 2005 $9.99). They're nowhere near as powerful or refined, but they taste good to me.

You may have the best luck with international wines which are generally better values than domestics. At the lower price-points I'd stay away from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, or Ribera del Duero, since you can't find a decent deal on anything other than young, aggressive wine. They'll mellow with age and be excellent, but you'll have to wait 5-10yrs. 2000 Bordeauxs, 1999 Burgundies would be the closest you can get, but will likely run +$40. There are still some 2000 Bordeauxs out there at great prices.

My best suggestion would be to find a good wine shop that has a tasting with a wide variety of wines, that way you get to find out what YOU like. Also, get a decanter. It makes a huge difference.

At sub-$30, I try to find a 1996-2001 Barbera de Alba or Barbaresco, some Oregon or New Zealand Pinot, or Australian Syrah and Cabernet. Trader Joes has a good Barbera (Che Storia) for $10 which is my favorite cheap(er) wine.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: Ophir
At the lower price-points I'd stay away from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, or Ribera del Duero, since you can't find a decent deal on anything other than young, aggressive wine. They'll mellow with age and be excellent, but you'll have to wait 5-10yrs. 2000 Bordeauxs, 1999 Burgundies would be the closest you can get, but will likely run +$40. There are still some 2000 Bordeauxs out there at great prices.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I find Corridor Wine (off BW Parkway in Maryland) has very reasonable prices. I found a 1995 Chateau de Ferrand (Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru) for $29.99. Haven't tried it yet--I doubt it'll taste as good as the one I sampled but it should compare well at that price.

Corridor Wine (their retail store is the size of a large supermarket, but all wine + beer!)

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Having said that, I'm a snob, i.e. prefer California wines.

You're selling yourself short. If you prefer California wines and have a few Australian, Kiwi, South African or Chilean bottles in your collection, then you're a wine connoisseur. If you only drink French or Old World wines, you're a snob!

I'm actually looking for snobs myself, since all my experience with wine to date has been with inexpensive New World wines.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
Actually....I've found it much more rewarding (and by FAR less expensive) to just brew my own wine. You really don't need to drop big cash on a kit and if you are interested in this path drop me a PM. Besides, you can use the same equipment to make root beer (and real beer!)

Um...you don't "brew" wine.

 

[new2AMD]

Im a wine snob in a different way. I make my own and prefer homemade over store bought. I dont use those kits either. I make it from the grapes and some from juice. So easy if you have the equipment. (i.e. barrels, press, crusher)

 

[SuperjetMatt]

Box wine FTW.

I am not a snob, but I do like to get buzzed off wine and I know that more expensive wine usually tastes better.

 

[Fiat1]

Cannanou di Sardegna

 

[Tiamat]

Cape Cod's Truro Vineyards Lighthouse series wines are pretty tasty (the cranberry goes really well with the typical holiday family gathering meals). They are about 16$ per bottle.

Product website

 

[Ns1]

From 'the manor' in NJ we got 2 of these


Guildoberto 2005 toscana tenuta san guido - good luck finding this. Dark, full bodied, crazy tasty.

 

[lokiju]

"Paging Syrch"

 

[MaxDepth]

Be a rea lsnob and go to the California wine country for a week or weekend. Or France...

Get to know folks through wine forums as well. You won't get much advice beyond Night Train with these rascals in the Anandtech forum.

ALSO: I too notice that you can drink nearly a whole bottle of a really great wine and not feel hung over the next day. As for the bad wines...

My personal favorite this year has been the Gruner Veltliner link