Wine-savvy

[bods1000]

it was really great for you to make it, inspite of extremely short notice pare!

 

red belly, long rows or a stepping stone.... anytime you're ready, they are!

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I'm just a call away, pare!

Do you remember how we were looking at the ratings of the wines there? I read something and it is quite thought-provoking. From Northwest Wines by Gregutt and Prather:

 

...Many of the publications using the scale (100-point scale) are reporting the results of tasting panels, not a single individual. If you follow the numerical ratings of a single individual, it is possible, over time, to develop a pretty clear understanding of what that individual likes and dislikes, and how he or she applies those numbers. With a panel, it is much more difficult to know against what standards the numbers have been applied.

 

....The proliferation of ratings has gradually devalued them. If a wine doesn't rate in the 90s, consumers don't want it. Intentionally or not, some publications respond to this by overrating wines as a whole, handing out far more 90-plus scores than any reasonable average would permit. In effect, the 100-point scale has become a 20-point scale, with anything below 80 being consigned to the odds-and-ends bins, and ratings in the 80s suitable only for wines selling for $10 or less.

 

....Those wines that garner a score in the mid-90s or above has almost always going to bear a high price tag. More elegant, food-friendly and affordable wines may be found if you are willing to settle for a lower number.

 

....After all, the best guide to quality will always be your own personal taste.

[storm]

Ako rin, I'm just a call away

 

Nahihilig na rin ako sa wine.

[agxo3]

Wow - no activity since April 3! Where's everybody been? Hope you all had a good Easter......

 

Had Easter dinner at my brother's house. The usual stuff. But I found an unusual wine at the Wine Store at the SF Ferry Building, so I brought it knowing that a couple of folks who'd be there like the slightly sweet stuff.

 

2004 Moscato d'Asti. A frizzante, meaning it was slightly bubbly, but not truly effervescent. Kinda like a sparkling wine hanf an hour after it's been poured.+ Sweeter than I liked, but it seemed to be well received by the target audience. Nice lemony acitidity to it, though, and that kept the sweetness from being cloying. Very floral - honeysuckly andlavender on the nose. Golden yellow in color. Low in alcohol (10%). So - so far, so good, right? Nothing unusual about it, right? Well, it was a Moscato from Galilee. Galilee as in Israel. For Easter, I thought it was appropriate. :cool:

[masi]

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

 

To celebrate Easter, my family and I had a Chinese food at a Cantonese restaurant near our place. We had assorted cold cut platter with suckling pig, scallops on corn soup, grouper done 2 ways (hotpot and poached), fried crabs, beef tenderloin in plum sauce, prawns and assorted meat noodles. All these washed down with a BALBI Malbec 2002 (Argentina). Medium carmine tones, with a vibrant fruity nose. Lots of red fruits. Body was medium and "just right". Hardly any tannins or you may call it "integrated". Finish was medium with a right amount of white pepper spice.

 

I was pretty apprehensive about the wine but it was the lightest I had in the stash except for a Tempranillo. I was thinking that a Sauv Blanc may be abit too light.

[floppydrive]

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

 

To celebrate Easter, my family and I had a Chinese food at a Cantonese restaurant near our place.  We had assorted cold cut platter with suckling pig, scallops on corn soup, grouper done 2 ways (hotpot and poached), fried crabs, beef tenderloin in plum sauce, prawns and assorted meat noodles.  All these washed down with a BALBI Malbec 2002 (Argentina).  Medium carmine tones, with a vibrant fruity nose.  Lots of red fruits.  Body was medium and "just right".  Hardly any tannins or you may call it "integrated". Finish was medium with a right amount of white pepper spice.

 

I was pretty apprehensive about the wine but it was the lightest I had in the stash except for a Tempranillo.  I was thinking that a Sauv Blanc may be abit too light.

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Happy Easter!

 

So how did the Balbi Malbec go with the fish, crabs, and prawns? I'm sure it went well with the suckling pig.

[bods1000]

whoa!

I lost my way - ngayon ko lang uli nakita ang thread

I thought it was gone...what with all these reformat...

 

anyway, hadn't much occasion to drink wine lately. The Bridgewater Mill shiraz I had has been open for about 2 weeks already! Can't seem to finish it as I seem to be out of the house always.

Anyway belated Easter greetings to all the regulars here. Agxo, masi, storm, floppy d - thanks for keeping the thread alive.

 

cheers!

[storm]

EB ulit tayo!

 

Pwede sa house namin.

[masi]

Happy Easter!

 

So how did the Balbi Malbec go with the fish, crabs, and prawns?  I'm sure it went well with the suckling pig.

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Honestly, the Malbec went well with practically almost everything except for the 2nd way of the grouper, which was poached and the crystal prawns which were done quick stir fry. However the fish was served in a platter of "maling" style pork. I didnt try the pork though. Ther crabs were fried in salt and pepper and I think were done in their own fat (aligue).

 

Malbec was "fruity" and light compared to the more complex merlot, cab sauv and shiraz.

[masi]

whoa!

I lost my way - ngayon ko lang uli nakita ang thread

I thought it was gone...what with all these reformat...

 

anyway, hadn't much occasion to drink wine lately. The Bridgewater Mill shiraz I had has been open for about 2 weeks already! Can't seem to finish it as I seem to be out of the house always.

Anyway belated Easter greetings to all the regulars here. Agxo, masi, storm, floppy d - thanks for keeping the thread alive.

 

cheers!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

pareng bods, i hope everything is well! don't worry about the bridgewater mill, there's more of that! hang in there pare! when you have the time, let me know, i have more than a bottle of shiraz waiting for you.

 

 

EB ulit tayo!

 

Pwede sa house namin.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

pareng storm, let's get together when pareng bods could join us.

[gr82d8]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does it mean when one says decanted it before drinking? The definition I'm getting doesn't sound right... "The act of pouring off a clear liquor gently from its lees or sediment, or from one vessel into another." Pouring the wine from one glass to another?

[agxo3]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does it mean when one says decanted it before drinking? The definition I'm getting doesn't sound right...   "The act of pouring off a clear liquor gently from its lees or sediment, or from one vessel into another." Pouring the wine from one glass to another?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You decant wine for one of three reasons:

1) over time, the wine has developed some sediment and you want to separate the wine from the sediment

2) some wines benefit from exposure to air before drinking. An example would be a really young wine that has a "green" character to it, or overly aggressive tannins. Exposure to air for anywhere from 10 minutes to 4 hours can tame those charactersitics, resulting in a very pleasant wine.

3) it looks cool and impresses your date :cool:

 

So - to decant wine, you need another container to hold the bottle's worth of wine. You can go fancy and buy a decenter (here in the US I've seen them as low as $15 and as high as $150, depending on quality, design, type of crystal and brand - Reidels are as low as $30 and as high as $150), or you can use any available jar that's large enough. The poor man's decanter is a Mason jar - the type home cooks use for home-made jams or pickles.

 

If you are decanting to improve the character of the wine, dump it all in and swirl it around. A lot. Don't be afraid of "bruising" the wine or anything exotic like that. Give it a good swirl every so often, and taste the wine. You should see some improvement, and when it meets your taste standards, pour yourself a glass and enjoy! Everyone should try this with their favorite wine, just to see how the wine changes with time and exposure to air. The results may surprise you!

 

If you are decanting to separate sediment from wine, then you have to do it much more gently. Let the bottle rest upright for at least a half hour, more if possible. I give it at least two hours when I can. Open the bottle, being careful to not shake it too much - that would stir up the sediment all over again! Put a light source (the fancy restaurants will light a small candle) under the neck of the wine as you pour - VERY SLOWLY and GENTLY!!! - the wine from the bottle into the decanter. As soon as you see some sediment in the flow of the wine, STOP! If you do it right, you should end up with not much more than a small swallow of wine left in the bottle.

 

If you want to impress your date, combine the two. Do #2 first, then do #1, giving the wine a swirl, taste and say "It needs a bit of air. Let's wait a few minutes, shall we?". Wait (all the while making your moves), swirl, taste and only THEN say "NOW it's ready to drink!"

Edited April 20, 2006 by agxo3

[agxo3]

This week's wine - a 1995 Neibaum-Coppola Estate Reserve Merlot. All grapes grown on the winery grounds, most from the vineyard just out front. I'm not a big fan of merlots just because I've had way too many mediocre merlots that should have been relegated to the blending barrels to round out the cabs. This one, however, is different! Very "Bordeaux" in character. Firm but well-restrained tannins. Explosive fruit - blackberries! Some smoke and leather. Smooth and filling, great mouthfeel. A hint of white pepper (!) on the long, long finish. Would go well with anything from a nice lean steak to a good roast leg of lamb to a hearty beef stew, even to a good pork chop with onions and wild mushrooms braised in red wine. I even had it with a roast breast of chicken with broccoli stuffing and a bit of Worcestershire and it was great! Some left over for dessert, which was a nice piece of dark chocolate. Mmmmmm!

[gr82d8]

You decant wine for one of three reasons:

1) over time, the wine has developed some sediment and you want to separate the wine from the sediment

2) some wines benefit from exposure to air before drinking. An example would be a really young wine that has a "green" character to it, or overly aggressive tannins. Exposure to air for anywhere from 10 minutes to 4 hours can tame those charactersitics, resulting in a very pleasant wine.

3) it looks cool and impresses your date  :cool: 

 

If you want to impress your date, combine the two. Do #2 first, then do #1, giving the wine a swirl, taste and say "It needs a bit of air. Let's wait a few minutes, shall we?". Wait (all the while making your moves), swirl, taste and only THEN say "NOW it's ready to drink!" 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Haha thanks! :thumbsupsmiley:

[masi]

You decant wine for one of three reasons:

1) over time, the wine has developed some sediment and you want to separate the wine from the sediment

2) some wines benefit from exposure to air before drinking. An example would be a really young wine that has a "green" character to it, or overly aggressive tannins. Exposure to air for anywhere from 10 minutes to 4 hours can tame those charactersitics, resulting in a very pleasant wine.

3) it looks cool and impresses your date  :cool: 

 

So - to decant wine, you need another container to hold the bottle's worth of wine. You can go fancy and buy a decenter (here in the US I've seen them as low as $15 and as high as $150, depending on quality, design, type of crystal and brand - Reidels are as low as $30 and as high as $150), or you can use any available jar that's large enough. The poor man's decanter is a Mason jar - the type home cooks use for home-made jams or pickles.

 

If you are decanting to improve the character of the wine, dump it all in and swirl it around. A lot. Don't be afraid of "bruising" the wine or anything exotic like that. Give it a good swirl every so often, and taste the wine. You should see some improvement, and when it meets your taste standards, pour yourself a glass and enjoy! Everyone should try this with their favorite wine, just to see how the wine changes with time and exposure to air. The results may surprise you!

 

If you are decanting to separate sediment from wine, then you have to do it much more gently. Let the bottle rest upright for at least a half hour, more if possible. I give it at least two hours when I can. Open the bottle, being careful to not shake it too much - that would stir up the sediment all over again! Put a light source (the fancy restaurants will light a small candle) under the neck of the wine as you pour - VERY SLOWLY and GENTLY!!! - the wine from the bottle into the decanter. As soon as you see some sediment in the flow of the wine, STOP! If you do it right, you should end up with not much more than a small swallow of wine left in the bottle.

 

If you want to impress your date, combine the two. Do #2 first, then do #1, giving the wine a swirl, taste and say "It needs a bit of air. Let's wait a few minutes, shall we?". Wait (all the while making your moves), swirl, taste and only THEN say "NOW it's ready to drink!" 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I learned something new here!!!!! Especially this one "It needs a bit of air. Let's wait a few minutes, shall we?". Wait (all the while making your moves), swirl, taste and only THEN say "NOW it's ready to drink!" :thumbsupsmiley:

[bods1000]

pareng bods,  i hope everything is well!  don't worry about the bridgewater mill, there's more of that!  hang in there pare!  when you have the time, let me know, i have more than a bottle of shiraz waiting for you.

pareng storm, let's get together when pareng bods could join us.

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thanks pare!

things are still a little bit dicey....will keep you posted, and yes, naubos ko din yung Bridgewater

Not much character left, I should say...