Wine-savvy

[bods1000]

Guest would be great, but distinguished? I'm a wino, remember? How distinguished could I be? 

 

Notes on BYOB at wine EBs - we have a regular wine/photo EB every Thursday here and we all tend to bring a bottle (or two) each. We end up drinking close to a bottle each, on the average, over about 3-4 hours. With food (even if it's just snacks) that seems to be okay. I tend to drink a half glass from each open bottle, so that will range from 2-4 glasses depending on how many show up. What we don't drink we save for the next week, or for the annual Christmas festivities. Good to be careful, though, and to know how much is enough.

 

My annual bad wine contest and burnt meat sacrificial rites (July 4th) has even higher consumption, but that's over a 6-8 hour period. No one goes home drunk.....the sofa and sleeping bags are available for anyone who's gone over the edge.

 

If you're ever around the SF Bay Area you're welcome to join us!

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...but you're the top honcho as far as wine knowledge is concerned...we're all winos - you're the distinguished wino

 

Now we can pick up an idea or two on how we go about our wine EB's - thanks pare! Sometimes too, especially on a New Year's Eve I can consume up to a bottle all by myself. With great company I guess that wouldn't be as difficult - pero I've experienced drinking different wines in a wine tasting event I went to - reds, whites, cabs, merlots, chards, shiraz, semillons - pag halo-halo nakakalasing talaga so moderation is the key to the EB dahil we will get to taste different wines...

thanks pare for the invite! I will if ever I get to the States...

Edited February 2, 2005 by bods1000

[bods1000]

How to make a small fortune - start with a big one and open a winery! 

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pare you've read the book na pala - that line is there!

So many otherwise sensible people have gotten into the wine business only to lose their shirts. Like Leland Stanford who made his fortune in railroads. He invested so much in a winery in the late 1800's only to succumb to a number of factors which led to his winery's demise...

[agxo3]

...but you're the top honcho as far as wine knowledge is concerned...we're all winos - you're the distinguished wino

 

Now we can pick up an idea or two on how we go about our wine EB's - thanks pare! Sometimes too, especially on a New Year's Eve I can consume up to a bottle all by myself. With great company I guess that wouldn't be as difficult - pero I've experienced drinking different wines in a wine tasting event I went to - reds, whites, cabs, merlots, chards, shiraz, semillons - pag halo-halo nakakalasing talaga so moderation is the key to the EB dahil we will get to taste different wines...

thanks pare for the invite! I will if ever I get to the States...

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We don't mix wines as much at our Thursday EBs since we're all red drinkers. Usually a zin or three, sometimes a cab, often a syrah, occasionally a merlot (we're turning into the ABM crowd! Anything But Merlot! ). When tasting a LOT of wines, I now do the 4S (swirl, sniff, sip, swish, spit) routine, that way I can taste ore wines. What I don't spit, I pour out into the spit buckets. It's an exceptional wine that I not only swallow but drink the whole tasting portion (about 1-2 oz.).

 

This weekend is the lobster bisque/syrah release party at Mitchell Katz in Livermore. Let's see what this year's release tastes like - I may be bringing home nothing, or a whole case.........

[agxo3]

pare you've read the book na pala - that line is there!

So many otherwise sensible people have gotten into the wine business only to lose their shirts. Like Leland Stanford who made his fortune in railroads. He invested so much in a winery in the late 1800's only to succumb to a number of factors which led to his winery's demise...

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Haven't read the book yet - but great minds think alike, I guess!

 

Fremont lost its last winery a few years ago - Weibel Winery in the Mission San Jose area. They tore up the vines and planted houses instead. Million-dollar houses, no less. And called it Vineyard Run or something like that. Except the vineyard is gone. This was one of the areas that STanford considered for his "farm" and university before he chose Palo Alto.

[bods1000]

We don't mix wines as much at our Thursday EBs since we're all red drinkers. Usually a zin or three, sometimes a cab, often a syrah, occasionally a merlot (we're turning into the ABM crowd! Anything But Merlot!  ). When tasting a LOT of wines, I now do the 4S (swirl, sniff, sip, swish, spit) routine, that way I can taste ore wines. What I don't spit, I pour out into the spit buckets. It's an exceptional wine that I not only swallow but drink the whole tasting portion (about 1-2 oz.).

 

This weekend is the lobster bisque/syrah release party at Mitchell Katz in Livermore. Let's see what this year's release tastes like - I may be bringing home nothing, or a whole case.........

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the difference nga daw of wine with other alcoholic beverages is that wine should not be used for intoxication - kaya pwede nga sa wine tasting where you get to take a sip there, a sip here of different wines. Wine is taken in small amounts mostly during mealtimes....

 

I remember when Gallo tried to circumvent this wine wisdom by making Thunderbird. In Gallo's haste to make more profits, they invented Thunderbird which is a wine spiked by alcohol and they aggressively marketed this to skid-row alcoholics.

 

Gallo in part has been responsible for demeaning wine by making and exporting abroad cheap low-quality wines and jug wines The presence of new-generation Gallos like Gina Gallo has tried to improve their image by now making fine-quality wines but the operations still is tightly controlled by the oldies in Modesto.....(these information I learned from the The Wrath of Grapes.....).

[bods1000]

Haven't read the book yet - but great minds think alike, I guess! 

 

Fremont lost its last winery a few years ago - Weibel Winery in the Mission San Jose area. They tore up the vines and planted houses instead. Million-dollar houses, no less. And called it Vineyard Run or something like that. Except the vineyard is gone.    This was one of the areas that STanford considered for his "farm" and university before he chose Palo Alto.

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A lot of vineyards and new vineyard owners fell victim to those amateur researchers at UC-Davies who recommended a vine strain which is susceptible to the vine louse Phylloxera - which eats at the roots making the vines less and less capable of bearing wine-quality fruits.

[missmanners]

napaka technical na ng discussion. "connoisseurs" (tama ba spelling?!) like me can't follow anymore.

 

what's the latest on the eb btw?

[bods1000]

napaka technical na ng discussion. "connoisseurs" (tama ba spelling?!) like me can't follow anymore.

 

what's the latest on the eb btw?

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kunwari lang yun

well, I'm gonna be meeting up with masi hopefully next week to iron out things - mahirap kasi pag lagi dito ang discussion...

[novocaine]

hey guys. theres a new wine shop in legaspi park condo. its called cyrano. they have a great selection of bottles from australia to chile. check it out. you might wanna have ur weekly EB there cuz they also have a few tables around. and oh. no corkage. the owner alex can serve it to you ala butler if you want. hehehe. cyrano: 7502595.

[private5star]

Pasingit lang po.

 

I tried and prefer the cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel than the merlot. Merlot has a bitter after taste which I never noticed with the cab and zin.

 

I tried drinking red wine every night before but when my blood sugar shoot up I was advice by my doctor to stay away from these for a while, but as said I love drinking wines instead of liqours or beers. Maybe the moment my blood sugar stabilized I may start again.

 

Anyway, thank you for this thread.

[bods1000]

hey guys. theres a new wine shop in legaspi park condo. its called cyrano. they have a great selection of bottles from australia to chile. check it out. you might wanna have ur weekly EB there cuz they also have a few tables around. and oh. no corkage. the owner alex can serve it to you ala butler if you want. hehehe. cyrano: 7502595.

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pare thanks for the info - we'll try to check that out

[agxo3]

A lot of vineyards and new vineyard owners fell victim to those amateur researchers at UC-Davies who recommended a vine strain which is susceptible to the vine louse Phylloxera - which eats at the roots making the vines less and less capable of bearing wine-quality fruits.

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Weibel was a very old winery - went back a hundred years or so. Pre-phylloxera vines, and resistant, no less! But - progress cannot be held back. The area is now a "desirable" area for yuppies, and land values in the district skyrocketed. The land became more valuable for residential use than for growing grapes, so they sold the land, pocketed the cash and went off to live in less expensive areas. Weibel as a brand can still be found in some places - their Green Hungarian is still available in the Central Valley, places like Lodi. Not one of their best, but perhaps the one they will be most remembered for.

 

 

New vines, of course, all have rootstock that is louse-resistant. Good news, but the acreage of "old vines" - over 50 years old - is shrinking rapidly. Too bad - old vines generally produce wines of great complexity.

[bods1000]

Pasingit lang po.

 

I tried and prefer the cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel than the merlot.  Merlot has a bitter after taste which I never noticed with the cab and zin.

 

I tried drinking red wine every night before but when my blood sugar shoot up I was advice by my doctor to stay away from these for a while, but as said I love drinking wines instead of liqours or beers. Maybe the moment my blood sugar stabilized I may start again.

 

Anyway, thank you for this thread.

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yeah pare, merlot sucks! How do you find shiraz, pare?

I don't know how wine alone will make your blood sugar shoot up - unless you take it in excess. Baka pare there are other parts of your diet that contributes to your high blood sugar - nadamay na lang ang wine ang alam ko beer is quite risky dahil katumbas daw ng 5 tablespoons ang sugar content nito..

Pre follow your doctor's advice - no need to rush things. Enjoy wine later, ok?

[bods1000]

Weibel was a very old winery - went back a hundred years or so. Pre-phylloxera vines, and resistant, no less! But - progress cannot be held back. The area is now a "desirable" area for yuppies, and land values in the district skyrocketed. The land became more valuable for residential use than for growing grapes, so they sold the land, pocketed the cash and went off to live in less expensive areas. Weibel as a brand can still be found in some places - their Green Hungarian is still available in the Central Valley, places like Lodi. Not one of their best, but perhaps the one they will be most remembered for.

New vines, of course, all have rootstock that is louse-resistant. Good news, but the acreage of "old vines" - over 50 years old - is shrinking rapidly. Too bad - old vines generally produce wines of great complexity.

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what is it about old vines, pare?

What I know is that old vines are low-yield, thereby producing grapes with concentrated flavors.

[agxo3]

yeah pare, merlot sucks! How do you find shiraz, pare?

I don't know how wine alone will make your blood sugar shoot up - unless you take it in excess. Baka pare there are other parts of your diet that contributes to your high blood sugar - nadamay na lang ang wine ang alam ko beer is quite risky dahil katumbas daw ng 5 tablespoons ang sugar content nito..

Pre follow your doctor's advice - no need to rush things. Enjoy wine later, ok?

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Well, yes and no - I'm rapidly becoming a charter member of the ABM club, but not because I think merlot sucks. I just think it's too generic. Nothing really stands out. A great blending grape but it has to be truly exceptional to stand on its own. Having said that - I have a case (give or take) left of a '98 Noah's estate-grown merlot that is one of the exceptional ones. Also note that many of the highly prized Bordeaux are merlot.

 

I haven't noticed the bitter aftertase mentioned in the good merlots I've had. However, I have noticed that way too many wines these days have a "green" taste to them - like some stems or seeds got crushed along with the grapes. Perhaps that is what you tasted. Give other, more highly regarded merlots a chance and you may find that you like them. And - all things in moderation. A glass or two of wine with your meal should be okay, even with your high sugar, but not mor than that. The more dry the wine, the better, obviously. Stay away from the sweet whites, dessert wines, late harvests, ports and other fortified wines.

 

I'm tending to syrahs (shiraz is the same thing) and zins. Or the Rhone varietals. Typically great fruit, bright flavors - but drink NOW, generally NOT for aging.

 

Even cabs are starting to lose their appeal for me, with some notable exceptions. Rubicon (mostly cab, a small amount of merlot and cab franc) for example. If you can get a '95, buy it! It's one of the most truly awesome examples of good winemaking in recent years - at least from California. The '99 is not too bad, nor is the '97 - but the '95 remains my favorite. No '98 - the grapes were just not good enough!