What's your favorite wine?

[AreaCode707]

I'm off my arthritis meds for a little while I switch doctors, and I'm taking advantage of the time off to try a few different wines. Since I grew up in one of the top three wine counties of CA (Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino), I've always wanted to develop a taste for good wines.

The count so far:
2001 Kendall-Jackson Cabernet. I liked it alright but it didn't grab my attention in a way that I'd want to get it again anytime too soon.
Fetzer Gewürztraminer. Nice sweet wine, and it comes out of a winery right down the road from my old house.

I picked up a good Columbia Valley 2001 Merlot but I haven't opened it yet. Anybody have any particular favorites? Who here is a wine fanatic?

 

[Zim Hosein]

Wine connoisseurs in ATOT!?! :Q



Cheers HotChic :wine:

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Wine connoisseurs in ATOT!?! :Q



Cheers HotChic :wine:

Cheers, Zim! :beer:

 

[Bryophyte]

Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Bullsh!it.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

Is that good? My guy's boss makes that but hasn't bottled his yet this year.

 

[shimsham]

mad dog 20/20

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

I don't have a favorite wine. I'm an uncultured swine.

 

[Colt45]

Thunderbird :thumbsup:

Actually I don't think they even sell it around here any more..

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

Is that good? My guy's boss makes that but hasn't bottled his yet this year.

All my homemade fruit wines are good (well, to me at least). Like condensing the fruit's flavor with a fairly potent alcoholic kick. Kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, peach, and berry blends are the best ones I've made. Prickly pear fruit wine tastes medicinal (not great.)

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

Is that good? My guy's boss makes that but hasn't bottled his yet this year.

All my homemade fruit wines are good (well, to me at least). Like condensing the fruit's flavor with a fairly potent alcoholic kick. Kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, peach, and berry blends are the best ones I've made. Prickly pear fruit wine tastes medicinal (not great.)

Raspberry wine sounds sooooooo good. You need to set yourself up an online store!

 

[DurocShark]

I only go for the good stuff... Ripple, Strawberry Hill, or Night Train.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

Is that good? My guy's boss makes that but hasn't bottled his yet this year.

All my homemade fruit wines are good (well, to me at least). Like condensing the fruit's flavor with a fairly potent alcoholic kick. Kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, peach, and berry blends are the best ones I've made. Prickly pear fruit wine tastes medicinal (not great.)

Raspberry wine sounds sooooooo good. You need to set yourself up an online store!

Heh, don't think that would be legal. I'd give you some if you were in the Portland area.

 

[Brutuskend]

My favorite WHine?

"Well Ok, but after THIS time, please let me get some sleeeep!"

 

[jadinolf]

Merlot.

 

[Descartes]

Like Bryophyte, I make a lot of fruit wines throughout the year. I have about 10 gallons of blackberry aging right now, and it's pretty good.

It's next to impossible to be as granular as you were with your recommendations, because there would be thousands of vintages, varietals, and vintners to name. In general, I favor the following:

I really love the Pinot Noirs coming from Willamette Valley. The '02 vintage was rated one of the best, and from what I recall the '03 and '04 are looking great as well. I buy cases of Argyle, Van Duzer, or Ponzi if I can find it. It's a great wine, but not like the Burgundys of France.

A Cru Beaujolais can be really good at certain times, and it's relatively inexpensive.

I like a dry Riesling from the Mosel. The Gewurtztraminer wines west of the Rhine and into the Alsace region of France can be really good too, but generally I don't favor whites.

Some of the Columbia Valley Gewurtztraminer is really good, although distinct from the French/German. Chateau St. Michelle produces a pretty good Gewurtz, and it's also relatively inexpensive. Michelle is a good value winery, imo, and they have tastings where they show their vintage quality wines.

I like a good Spanish Tempranillo from the Rioja region. The Rioja Alevesa is usually the most drinkable. My palate isn't advanced enough to detect much variance, but I enjoy them.

I like southeastern Australian cabs. Black Opal is a pretty good winery that produces a very good Cabernet/Merlot blend (80/20 I believe). It's inexpensive, readily available, the tannins aren't too pronounced, and easily drinkable. Their Cabernet is decent as well.

That's all that immediately comes to mind. There are so many fantastic bottles out there that it's really difficult to try and name just a few, but the above are ones that I drink on a regular basis. If I'm feeling frisky I might buy a Chateaneuf du Pape or something, but that's only a rare occasion.

 

[MithShrike]

Well there's a 1985 Portugese port that we used to get from Trader Joe's that I liked quite a bit. Normally though I drink some IronStone Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Mmmm, homemade blackberry wine.

Is that good? My guy's boss makes that but hasn't bottled his yet this year.

All my homemade fruit wines are good (well, to me at least). Like condensing the fruit's flavor with a fairly potent alcoholic kick. Kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, peach, and berry blends are the best ones I've made. Prickly pear fruit wine tastes medicinal (not great.)

Raspberry wine sounds sooooooo good. You need to set yourself up an online store!

It's often not as good as it sounds I only say that because when I give someone such a wine they'll often say something like this: "It doesn't taste like raspberry!" I think many people expect such wines to inundate their palate with fruit, and they often expect it to be sweet.

I made a tomato wine once because I had these incredible organic tomatoes from California. I was hoping to preserve some of that balance in the resultant low-alcohol wine, but... that wasn't to be

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Like Bryophyte, I make a lot of fruit wines throughout the year. I have about 10 gallons of blackberry aging right now, and it's pretty good.

It's next to impossible to be as granular as you were with your recommendations, because there would be thousands of vintages, varietals, and vintners to name. In general, I favor the following:

I really love the Pinot Noirs coming from Willamette Valley. The '02 vintage was rated one of the best, and from what I recall the '03 and '04 are looking great as well. I buy cases of Argyle, Van Duzer, or Ponzi if I can find it. It's a great wine, but not like the Burgundys of France.

A Cru Beaujolais can be really good at certain times, and it's relatively inexpensive.

I like a dry Riesling from the Mosel. The Gewurtztraminer wines west of the Rhine and into the Alsace region of France can be really good too, but generally I don't favor whites.

Some of the Columbia Valley Gewurtztraminer is really good, although distinct from the French/German. Chateau St. Michelle produces a pretty good Gewurtz, and it's also relatively inexpensive. Michelle is a good value winery, imo, and they have tastings where they show their vintage quality wines.

I like a good Spanish Tempranillo from the Rioja region. The Rioja Alevesa is usually the most drinkable. My palate isn't advanced enough to detect much variance, but I enjoy them.

I like southeastern Australian cabs. Black Opal is a pretty good winery that produces a very good Cabernet/Merlot blend (80/20 I believe). It's inexpensive, readily available, the tannins aren't too pronounced, and easily drinkable. Their Cabernet is decent as well.

That's all that immediately comes to mind. There are so many fantastic bottles out there that it's really difficult to try and name just a few, but the above are ones that I drink on a regular basis. If I'm feeling frisky I might buy a Chateaneuf du Pape or something, but that's only a rare occasion.

There we go, some good recommendations! I was pretty detailed in what I listed because it's really all I've ever had. Thanks for the suggestions.

And Bryophyte, I'm in Seattle. Next trip to Portland, yes??

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Descartes
Like Bryophyte, I make a lot of fruit wines throughout the year. I have about 10 gallons of blackberry aging right now, and it's pretty good.

It's next to impossible to be as granular as you were with your recommendations, because there would be thousands of vintages, varietals, and vintners to name. In general, I favor the following:

I really love the Pinot Noirs coming from Willamette Valley. The '02 vintage was rated one of the best, and from what I recall the '03 and '04 are looking great as well. I buy cases of Argyle, Van Duzer, or Ponzi if I can find it. It's a great wine, but not like the Burgundys of France.

A Cru Beaujolais can be really good at certain times, and it's relatively inexpensive.

I like a dry Riesling from the Mosel. The Gewurtztraminer wines west of the Rhine and into the Alsace region of France can be really good too, but generally I don't favor whites.

Some of the Columbia Valley Gewurtztraminer is really good, although distinct from the French/German. Chateau St. Michelle produces a pretty good Gewurtz, and it's also relatively inexpensive. Michelle is a good value winery, imo, and they have tastings where they show their vintage quality wines.

I like a good Spanish Tempranillo from the Rioja region. The Rioja Alevesa is usually the most drinkable. My palate isn't advanced enough to detect much variance, but I enjoy them.

I like southeastern Australian cabs. Black Opal is a pretty good winery that produces a very good Cabernet/Merlot blend (80/20 I believe). It's inexpensive, readily available, the tannins aren't too pronounced, and easily drinkable. Their Cabernet is decent as well.

That's all that immediately comes to mind. There are so many fantastic bottles out there that it's really difficult to try and name just a few, but the above are ones that I drink on a regular basis. If I'm feeling frisky I might buy a Chateaneuf du Pape or something, but that's only a rare occasion.

There we go, some good recommendations! I was pretty detailed in what I listed because it's really all I've ever had. Thanks for the suggestions.

And Bryophyte, I'm in Seattle. Next trip to Portland, yes??

You should have access to some fantastic wines for sure! You're in between some of the most prolific and progressive viticultural areas in the states. If I were you I'd have a few cases of Pinot Noir sent to me from a few of the vintners in the Willamette Valley. A lot of them are very small operations, and a lot of their wine doesn't even get to unfortunate states like mine.

 

[DingDingDao]

Anything from Stag's Leap winery.

Pricey, but worth every penny.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: HotChic
And Bryophyte, I'm in Seattle. Next trip to Portland, yes??

Oregon is actually producing some excellent wines these days. Had a Pinot Gris from King Estate that was surprisingly good for the cost (incredibly inexpensive). A bit more fruity than a Pinot Grigio.

I too am a fan of Pinot Noirs, from a wide variety of sources. Some not named above: Brazil, and New Zealand. Some truly superb wines from New Zealand, as well as Australia which was already mentioned.

Speaking of Australia, one of the stranger finds? Greg Norman Estates (Yes. The Golfer). Products include both a Sparkling/non Sparkling Chardonnay, as well as an outstanding Shiraz; although, truth be told, it is difficult to find a bad Australian Shiraz.

One point to pass on from my wine experiences: unlike many things in this world, cost is not always indicative of quality. I have had some truly memorable wines that were nothing short of dirt cheap ($10 to $15 a bottle), and have had absolutely horrendous wines that cost far more than I should have convinced myself to expend (too embarrassingly high to mention). Do not be afraid to sample from either end of the spectrum, and be open to dismiss/embrace the findings even if the wine elitists protest otherwise. In the end, all that matters is your own taste and no one elses.

 

[Slickone]

I like Cabs and Merlots, but my favorites are the Cab/Merlot blends. Also Shiraz, and sometimes Pinot. I usually get the cheaper ones. Some I remember liking are Rabbit Ridge Cab and/or Merlot, Francis Copola Russo, Yellow Tail Shiraz, Blackstone Merlot.
I suggest you go to a wine tasting event. I went to one last year and found quite a few very good wines. One I remember liking a lot was Genesis Syrah. I noted a few others in the booklet I got there if you're interested.

BTW, thanks for the tip on Greg Norman Estates. How is the Cab Merlot or Shiraz Cab?

Hmm, I'm gonna go buy some wine this week. I've been meaning to find one of the fancy openers cheap somewhere. Mine likes to eat corks.

 

[imported_Negative3]

MD 20/20 & Irish Rose

On second thought...all wine tastes like MD 20/20 regardless of price or age....

 

[djheater]

Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone

Available at Costco and most wine stores.... I've found it at Whole Foods...