Wine-savvy

[agxo3]

I recall having a very good chinese meal with a white sparkling from Australia when I was in Sydney. It was unusual combo but it was very very good with dimsum and soy based dishes. The name of the wine I cannot recall as it was in a meeting in our business partners house - who is obviusly of chinese descent.

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Absolutely right! I should have thought of that. A good sparkler goes with ANYTHING! But I'd do only pair a good sparkler with GOOD Chinese food, not the run of the mill take-out, which is what they had.

 

So what did I have tonight? Why several shots of Johnny Walker Blue, of course! If you can't stand the wine, go for the good Scotch! I was lucky that one of their friends decided to be nice and bring his bottle of Blue.

[Lipstick]

Agxo3! You nawty boy! You didn't make time for us this last trip of yours huhuhuhuhu (hahaha AWARD!). Hope it was pleasant although reading your posts it was a lil uneventful in terms of spirits chased. hahaha. Hey the photos you posted in the travel thread are beautiful!

 

I absotively agree with you that you should start drinking that nice collection of yours, now is a good time as any Red would be good to pair with the Chinese duck (whether roast or peking) otherwise you are right on with the white.

[bods1000]

Good Cheap Chilean red wine Gato Negro Cabernet but have not been able to find it lately. Does any one know where to buy it?

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...maybe they ran out of grape juice concentrate oooppps hehe sorry but pareng masi is absolutely correct - it's kinda everywhere....

[bods1000]

Let's hope this bruhaha won't spoil the show :goatee:

 

Kailan kayo free next week? I'll bring the Blue Nun Cab Sauv 2003 and I think the gallery has Rene Babier Blanc 2004.

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txt-txt na lang pare. i might bring in some red too....See you!

[Headroom]

it's from the Sutter Home Winery...my brother-in-law bought it from our local lcbo store. it's a good appetizer. I tried the 2003.

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Thanks will check it out.

[cakebread]

Who was it that said. "Life is too short to drink bad wines"????

 

Well, he was right!!!! I'll drink fewer wines, but better wines. Quality over quantity every time. I've had way too many un-memorable, or downright distasteful, wines, and not enough wines that said to me - "Now THAT's what good wine is all about!"

 

So what's on my "to drink" list??? My 1992-1996 Opus One wines. My 1995-2001 Rubicons. My 1985 Bella Vista, and 1997 Chimney Rock. My 1990 and 1992 Retzlaff and 1975 and 1985 Lynch-Bages. 1997 Cos d'Estournel. Those 1997 S.

Anderson cabs that are so smooth and velvety. And the 1998 charbonos from 20 of the last 80 acres of those vines in existence.

 

No more 2-buck-Chuck or el-cheapo "It ain't bad for the price" wines for me!!!

 

2002 Rubicon wine release party is on March 5 - and I will miss it!!!!    First one I'll miss in 6 years, but I'll be in Taiwan on business. Damn. But I will still buy a few bottles of the wine ($75/btl after my discount, but what the heck! You only live once!), just because it's one of the few really, really, really, really great wines coming out of Napa Valley these days.

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Excellent post! I feel the same way. Good wines, good cigars, good food...that's how I live life. "Carpe Diem"!

[beluga]

Excellent post! I feel the same way. Good wines, good cigars, good food...that's how I live life. "Carpe Diem"!

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Ditto. Any recommendations for vintage champagne aside from doms? Although I do recall Bollys here in Manila has nearly twice the price than in US.

 

According to an associate, great champagne vintages come like 3/4 times every 100 years. So lets live the moment!

[agxo3]

Agxo3!  You nawty boy!    You didn't make time for us this last trip of yours huhuhuhuhu (hahaha AWARD!).  Hope it was pleasant although reading your posts it was a lil uneventful in terms of spirits chased. hahaha.  Hey the photos you posted in the travel thread are beautiful!

 

I absotively agree with you that you should start drinking that nice collection of yours, now is a good time as any   Red would be good to pair with the Chinese duck (whether roast or peking) otherwise you are right on with the white.

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Sorry, Lips. You do get that award, though. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

Fun trip, but no good wine to be had. Oh, well. BUT! There's hope! I'm hoping to get out there later this year. If not April, then June or July. Too hot to do that roast we've been talking about, but maybe some good BBQ and good pinots or dry roses to go with it????

 

Red with Chinese roast duck - now that's an interesting idea. With a French-style roast duck, I'd go for a good burguougne (or a good Oregon pinot). What do you think would go with a Chinese-style roast duck?

[masi]

Met with some ex-Asia's First Airline friends last Saturday where I brought a few bottles of Balbi 2002 Malbec (Argentina). The house was well-lit with halogen lights so aside from the light bouncing off my head, it also gave the Malbec a pretty transluscent carmine red color, nose was vibrant berries with some peppery spice. Pretty light in the mouth and rounded. Finish was rather mediocre.

[masi]

...

Red with Chinese roast duck - now that's an interesting idea. With a French-style roast duck, I'd go for a good burguougne (or a good Oregon pinot). What do you think would go with a Chinese-style roast duck?

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I'd say a shiraz, cab sauv or a merlot. Anything tannic that would wash away that oily-fat of a Peking Duck, 2 ways!! :boo:

[agxo3]

I'd say a shiraz, cab sauv or a merlot. Anything tannic that would wash away that oily-fat of a Peking Duck, 2 ways!! :boo:

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What about that Chinese five-spice seasoning they're so fond of using? Has anise, among lots of other flavors, some of which may be red wine-unfriendly.

[masi]

What about that Chinese five-spice seasoning they're so fond of using? Has anise, among lots of other flavors, some of which may be red wine-unfriendly.

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Well, quite frankly, for Chinese food, especially Cantonese and Beijing style, warm xiao xing wine with dried salted plum, or slices of lemon or ginger or sugar crystals would be the best way to go! This would be a purist approach.

 

While on a business trip in Taiwan some years, I had the pleasure of being invited to a dinner banquet hosted by Jeffrey Koo, being part of a delegation led by the Phil. Trade Secretary. It was not your typical Chinese banquet since we had cold-cuts platter, hot prawn salad, tossed green salad, braised shark's fin soup, abalone, steamed fish, lobster and lamb chops combo (sort of a surf and turf), among others. Of course, a man of his stature, J. Koo served us Ch. Lafite.

 

Alas, at that time I was merely drinking wine without much of the appreciation. Heck, that was so far the best "free" meal I ever had! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

In hind sight, the Lafite was a Bordeaux which would be a Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc blend.

Edited February 28, 2006 by masi

[agxo3]

Well, quite frankly, for Chinese food, especially Cantonese and Beijing style,  warm xiao xing wine with dried salted plum, or slices of lemon or ginger or sugar crystals would be the best way to go!  This would be a purist approach.

 

While on a business trip in Taiwan some years, I had the pleasure of being invited to a dinner banquet hosted by Jeffrey Koo, being part of a delegation led by the Phil. Trade Secretary.  It was not your typical Chinese banquet since we had cold-cuts platter, hot prawn salad, tossed green salad, braised shark's fin soup, abalone, steamed fish, lobster and lamb chops combo (sort of a surf and turf), among others.  Of course, a man of his stature, J. Koo served us Ch. Lafite. 

 

Alas, at that time I was merely drinking wine without much of the appreciation.    Heck, that was so far the best "free" meal I ever had! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

In hind sight, the Lafite was a Bordeaux which would be a Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc blend.

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OK. Thanks! I'll try that next time I have duck at a Chinese place. At worst I'll have to drink the wine and eat the duck separately...... :thumbsupsmiley:

 

In keeping with my resolve to pop open a GOOD bottle at least once a week, I opened a 1995 Clos du Val Napa cabernet sauvignon last night. We had spaghetti, so it seemed like it might be a good match. It wasn't too bad, but I think a zin would hav worked better.

 

Anyway - the wine was still quite tannic and took a bit of time to open up and smooth out. 20 minutes in the glass. But once it breathed a bit, it unfolded very nicely. Smooth and velvety with a looooooooong finish. Dense, deep purple in color. Full bodied, almost chewy. Black plums and prunes, cassis. A bit of anise and a touch of black pepper (!). Would have been better with roast beast, but that mild Italian sausage in the spaghetti sauce melded nicely with the anise flavor in the wine. Wifey makes the sauce just this side of sweet so the acidity was pretty low in the sauce and it didn't make the wine turn sour as it might have otherwise.

 

All in all, a reasonable choice, but a 1999 Noah's zin with its white pepper flavors would have been an even better match.

[masi]

How many of you guys and gals save the labels of the wines you consume? I'm planning to start a wine journal where I intend to place the label.

 

Please share your tips on how to lift the label from the bottle without tearing it! I tried pouring boiling water into the bottle. This is the trick I use to remove stickers from the windshields, but, alas, it won't do!

[tokiojoe2003]

How many of you guys and gals save the labels of the wines you consume?  I'm planning to start a wine journal where I intend to place the label.

 

Please share your tips on how to lift the label from the bottle without tearing it! I tried pouring boiling water into the bottle.  This is the trick I use to remove stickers from the windshields, but, alas, it won't do!

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What worked for me was I'd leave the empty bottle in a sink or tub filled with water. Leave it soaking overnight and by next day the label would be floating in water. Gently pick label and lay on a dry kitchen towel to dry. Hope this helps.

[agxo3]

How many of you guys and gals save the labels of the wines you consume?  I'm planning to start a wine journal where I intend to place the label.

 

Please share your tips on how to lift the label from the bottle without tearing it! I tried pouring boiling water into the bottle.  This is the trick I use to remove stickers from the windshields, but, alas, it won't do!

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What worked for me was I'd leave the empty bottle in a sink or tub filled with water.  Leave it soaking overnight and by next day the label would be floating in water.  Gently pick label and lay on a dry kitchen towel to dry.  Hope this helps.

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I've started saving some labels as well. I've tried a LOT of things, including what TJ suggests. That worked most of the time, but not ALL the time.

 

What I finally ended up with is a plastic label with a very strong adhesive on one side. It's large enough to go over most labels (in fact, I haven't found a label yet that it couldn't handle). You put it on the label, making sure it adheres EVERYWHERE (that's very important so you don't tear the label) then gently pull it off the bottle. The top layer of the label, with all the printing, comes off, leaving the bottom layer of paper still stuck to the bottle. But, that doesn't matter since you have the important part anyway! Works fine. I bought it at a wine store, and I don't remember the brand name. I think it's on the Wine Spectator site.

 

If you want some of that stuff, pm me directly and I'll either bring some next time I head over that way, or get some and send it to you via postal mail.

[floppydrive]

How many of you guys and gals save the labels of the wines you consume?  I'm planning to start a wine journal where I intend to place the label.

 

Please share your tips on how to lift the label from the bottle without tearing it! I tried pouring boiling water into the bottle.  This is the trick I use to remove stickers from the windshields, but, alas, it won't do!

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I just take pictures of the labels of memorable bottles. It's embarrasing to bring home the empty bottle/s from a restaurant or a friend's house.

[masi]

What worked for me was I'd leave the empty bottle in a sink or tub filled with water.  Leave it soaking overnight and by next day the label would be floating in water.  Gently pick label and lay on a dry kitchen towel to dry.  Hope this helps.

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I've started saving some labels as well. I've tried a LOT of things, including what TJ suggests. That worked most of the time, but not ALL the time.

 

What I finally ended up with is a plastic label with a very strong adhesive on one side. It's large enough to go over most labels (in fact, I haven't found a label yet that it couldn't handle). You put it on the label, making sure it adheres EVERYWHERE (that's very important so you don't tear the label) then gently pull it off the bottle. The top layer of the label, with all the printing, comes off, leaving the bottom layer of paper still stuck to the bottle. But, that doesn't matter since you have the important part anyway! Works fine. I bought it at a wine store, and I don't remember the brand name. I think it's on the Wine Spectator site.

 

If you want some of that stuff, pm me directly and I'll either bring some next time I head over that way, or get some and send it to you via postal mail.

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Thanks for the tips guys! We'll at least I know there were those before me with the same predicament!

 

Agxo, will check out some wine shops and bookstores here for those adhesive tape. Will let you know. Thanks!

 

I just take pictures of the labels of memorable bottles.  It's embarrasing to bring home the empty bottle/s from a restaurant or a friend's house. 

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FD, pare, I was thinking of that too, but said there should be another way! Thanks!

[agxo3]

I just take pictures of the labels of memorable bottles.  It's embarrasing to bring home the empty bottle/s from a restaurant or a friend's house. 

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Well, that's one way to do it, but a virtual label is nowhere near as interesting to me as a REAL label. Also, you need to be REAL good with Photoshop to take the label image, flatten it out and remove and perspective you may end up with in taking the picture and make sure you don't lose any resolution. I know it's possible, but I am lazy and the adhesive tape trick is a LOT faster and gives me a real label to boot!

 

And I don't see why it would be embarrasing to be lugging an empty bottle home! I do it all the time. Restaurants here, especially those that are less mass market and fast-foodish, are accustomed to that. And if it's a friend, he KNOWS you consumed the wine! Hopefully, he HELPED you consume it. What's the problem? Ask the restaurant (or your friend) to stick the bottle in a paper bag. Who's to know what's in the bag?

[bods1000]

How many of you guys and gals save the labels of the wines you consume?  I'm planning to start a wine journal where I intend to place the label.

 

Please share your tips on how to lift the label from the bottle without tearing it! I tried pouring boiling water into the bottle.  This is the trick I use to remove stickers from the windshields, but, alas, it won't do!

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should have thought of this before (saving wine labels) - much less unwieldy than saving the bottles themselves, which got me into a lot of trouble with the wifey - with all those junk lying around the house

 

...alas, not until we take hold of agxo's adhesive tape or some similar stuff can we realize this dream. Yes, taking pictures of it and saving it on a cellphone folder doesn't quite hack it.....

 

the nearest thing I have is, yes, saving corks, which I have several garapons of now

[bods1000]

met up last night with storm and the wifey plus our long-lost chum, sbm

quite a night discussing all sorts of stuff - from inter-island travel in the Philippines, great resorts hereabouts (courtesy of a well-travelled sbm), Oscar-nominated films and great films seen in general - all over a bottle of cab and Deodato's music wafting in the background....a great night in general.

[masi]

Tonight I had, as dinner guest, my favorite and astute political analyst. Over a few simple dishes which i prepared, we had a bottle of Adelsheim Vineyard Oregon Pinot Noir 2003 (Willamette Valley). Man, I must say, you never had a Pinot Noir until you had one from Willamette Valley!

 

Transluscent carmine visual, nose was a mid to full vibrant bouquet of red berries with hints of a oak spice. Pretty long legs, too, just my type... especially if she was a lady ... hehehehehhe!

 

Body was superb! :thumbsupsmiley: An evolving complexity of the berries and spice. Simply lovely! Finish was medium, hardly any tannins but lingering. Sad part was I only had 1 bottle! :cry:

 

Over a cup of Jamaican blue mountain coffee, we capped the evening (mind you, no political talk this time), with a shot of Tawny Port.

 

My kind of night! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

 

(Oh, I have to mention this... my wifey helped me prepare dinner! :boo: )

Edited March 4, 2006 by masi

[okidok]

Actually any of the Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley esp 2003 are really very good...

 

Just had Van Duzer 2003 Pinot from Willamette Valley... As in any of the grape varietals in the area, it made another night aboard a cruise ship worth living...

 

Tonight we're imbibing Rosemont Estate 2004 Triamino Riesling... Very light, very fruity but not like the Auschlese and Spatlese Rieslings of Germany....

[masi]

Actually any of the Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley esp 2003 are really very good...

 

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You're right on the money! :thumbsupsmiley:

[Lipstick]

Agxo3, thank you for the award! Haven't received one in ages!

 

Senyorrrr Masi how art daw Check out the cheesecake thread, hehe you will hate me for the temptation posted. But I reckon it would go down well with a Port.

 

Bods!!!!! Hahaha we both are now officially parents of soon-to-be college kids! My daughter is taking Humanities and we were there yesterday for the open house. I love the curriculum and wished I was the one going to college! What's your son taking this freshman year (obviously none of the Humanities courses otherwise I would have seen you yesterday)?

 

FD! Haven't seen you much on the board lately, what's been keeping you busy?? Any interesting new food joints? 8 of Orbs was telling me Platofino in Jupiter is worth trying, been there yet?

 

Eagleyes haven't seen you in these parts recently as well. Visiting the PI soon?

 

Master Storm! How did the wine binge go last Friday? Sorry I could not join the merrymaking as I had to sleep early for my daughter's open house chuva Saturday morning in Ateneo.

 

Okidok, that Rosemont Tramino Riesling must be similar to the OZ Traminer Riesling I had! Now THAT's really nice and about the only white I'm fond of. Haven't seen a bottle it in Manila yet (or maybe am just not looking hard enough!).

 

Hello hello hello and welcome to some new names and not so new names who dropped by the thread in February -- rogerrazor, beluga, cakebread, tokiojoe, okidok, freakish, headroom, ------(-@, shox, dennis612, castlemaine, kikomachine, and BnF95 (buddy! try the Trivento Reserve Malbec! Argentinian to your specs! Nice too hmmmm we should hit Galileo Enoteca soon!). Hope to read you guys more often in this thread.

 

x x x x

 

Ola Winos! Lovely weather today to enjoy a good drop of red Or white even! :thumbsupsmiley: