Wine-savvy

[bods1000]

In the last few days, I've been having uneventful wines.  It started with this bottle which Bods, Storm, Liberty and I consumed at Churchils on the penultimate nite before Christmas!  It was supposedly an Australian Shiraz (the label skips me, though!).  That bottle was simply one to forget!!! :grr:  Good thing that Bods, Storm and Liberty were there to make the evening pleasant! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

Fast forward to Christmas dinner at Taal Vista Hotel.  I had a couple of glasses of a supposedly Spanish 2003 Tempranillo!!!    Again, I forgot the label which effectively dictated an uneventful bottle.  :grr:  It had everything that would resemble a "green" merlot and nothing of a tempranillo!

 

I guess, the year wouldn't end without my share of bad wine!!!!

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SALTRAM is the name, pare................the name to AVOID!

 

I also had some disappointing experience with my wine last New Year's eve well not because the wine was bad per se but because it had developed a sizeable amount of sediment in the bottom - which I failed to notice when I opened it. I nearly drank some of it :sick:

 

It was a 2000 Moss Brothers Shiraz - smooth and elegant in structure unlike those Barossa bruisers. It's maybe because it is a Western Australian wine from the Margaret River region and aged in French oak. It was the last bottle from the lot I kept and it did not disappoint. No tannins - just the peppery sting in the throat which I love so well. Finish is moderately good - just the right amount of fruit dancing in the mouth.

[bods1000]

It never cease to  amaze me to watch chefs at work just like in Iron Chef America!!!!  Wish I could do even just the slicing!

 

 

FD, if you are not a chef as we write, well, just like me we're both on wrong careers!!!   :boo:

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FD and masi - your muses are calling!

What are you waiting for?

Go for it!

 

Wine and food and cooking - where can you go absolutely wrong? :cool:

[bods1000]

Yup, it's one of the better reasons why I like living in California. Wine has pretty much become "European" consumption-wise here and there isn't any kind of froufrou pretentiousness associated with wine drinking. It's simply something good you have with a meal, or to sip and enjoy with friends.

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Oh! the joys of living somewhere else....................

I love it when agxo describes his cellar-hopping in those rural, back-of-the-road wineries - makes life (and wine-drinking) look so simple and enjoyable. I guess it's the same in Australia - where the landscape is chockfull of these small wineries where you can get a bottle or two of otherwise excellent wine - wines which you can't sometimes get in the usual retail outlets....well, I guess where wine grapes grow, there you have it - good wine trips and excellent everyday wines which would somehow erase the dubious glitter around it.

[bods1000]

Got hold of this book by Jay McInerney (who wrote Bright Lights, Big City). Turns out he knows his wine stuff that well to write a book about wine. It's called BACCHUS & ME - Adventures in the Wine Cellar. Here's some morsels from the book:

 

On the difficulty of picking a wine for a vegetarian meal:

Like boys and girls locked away in same-sex prep schools, most wines yearn for a bit of flesh. :evil:

 

On the difference between a Burgundy and a Bordeaux:

If it's red, French, costs too much and tastes like the water that's left in the vase after the flowers have died and rotted, it's probably Burgundy.

[storm]

when you mentioned in a previous post that you'll be having that Hardy's for Christmas, I was thinking it would ruin your evening, and it sure did....sayang kung online lang ako nun I would have warned you. I tried that Nottage Hill before and hindi ko na binalikan The Francine Prieto look-alike and I'm sure smell-alike would have more ooooomph than that wine :evil:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Natawa talaga ako Cheers to Francine! Welcome back Pareng Bods.

[agxo3]

Got hold of this book by Jay McInerney (who wrote Bright Lights, Big City). Turns out he knows his wine stuff that well to write a book about wine. It's called BACCHUS & ME - Adventures in the Wine Cellar. Here's some morsels from the book:

 

On the difficulty of picking a wine for a vegetarian meal:

Like boys and girls locked away in same-sex prep schools, most wines yearn for a bit of flesh. :evil:

 

On the difference between a Burgundy and a Bordeaux:

If it's red, French, costs too much and tastes like the water that's left in the vase after the flowers have died and rotted, it's probably Burgundy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I like that description of an over-rated Burgundy! To be fair, there are some really, really wonderful Burgundies. Took my daughter wine tasting there when she was but 14 (they didn't care, they just poured her a glass everywhere we went, even nice restaurants!). We stopped in Nuits St. Geroge at a tasting house that served as a local collective. We tasted seven wines, ranging from the latest vintage all the way back 7 years, and it was amazing to see the development of the wines as they aged. Granted, each vintage is different, but you could note the differences the aging process wrought on the wines. And that was the wine conversion moment for my daughter. She blames that experience for her inability to drink swill, and for her tendency to steal a few (good!!) bottles out of my collection every time she comes to visit.

 

I frequently describe not-so-good pinot noirs (the grape of red Burgundies) as having that characteristic "barnyard" smell. Think wet sheep standing in the mud taking a dump at your feet. Appetizing, isn't it?

[floppydrive]

FD and masi - your muses are calling!

What are you waiting for?

Go for it!

 

Wine and food and cooking - where can you go absolutely wrong? :cool:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Anti-stress therapy lang po ang pagluluto.

 

It's priceless to see other people enjoy food that you made. Way better than sinking a sandy par!

 

Of course, if there's wine to go with it, so much the better!

 

But then, there's the other side where the you made food sucks. :sick: hehehe

 

Para hindi OT, I had some grape liquer from Chateau Barrosa - chocolate flavor. Bitter sweet chocolate with sweet cherry tones. Thick consistency, similar to pure maple syrup. Good on ice cream.

[naglalakad]

Newbie po at mahilig din sa wine. kaya lang po sa dami ng wine manufacturers parang ang hirap ma-distinguish ang talagang masarap na wine. Ano po bang advice nyo?

[Guest the_eight_of_orbs]

WINOS! come na at Cyrano! Set an EB thing. Here's a partiallist of their wines which may interest / disgust you. It's a cozy place and we can force the owner to open shop earlier than usual.

 

CASILLERO DEL DIABLO

 

Chardonnay '04 - awarded 85 points by WINE SPECTATOR Magazine

Sauvignon Blanc '04

Pinot Noir '04

Merlot '04

Carménère '04 - awarded 87 points by WINE SPECTATOR Magazine

Shiraz '04

Cabernet Sauvignon - awarded 3 stars by DECANTER Magazine

 

MARQUES DE CASA CONCHA

 

Chardonnay '04

Cabernet Sauvignon '03 - awarded 91 points by WINE SPECTATOR

Magazine

 

 

TRIVENTO

 

Golden Reserve Malbec '03

 

 

AMELIA

 

Chardonnay '04

 

 

DON MELCHOR

 

Cabernet Sauvignon '02

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CYRANO WINE SELECTIONS

Upper G/F Legaspi Park View Condominium

C. Palanca Street cor. Legaspi Street

Legaspi Village, Makati 1200

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Let me know if you guys wanna go, i can meet you there!

[masi]

SALTRAM is the name, pare................the name to AVOID!

 

I also had some disappointing experience with my wine last New Year's eve well not because the wine was bad per se but because it had developed a sizeable amount of sediment in the bottom - which I failed to notice when I opened it. I nearly drank some of it :sick:

 

It was a 2000 Moss Brothers Shiraz - smooth and elegant in structure unlike those Barossa bruisers. It's maybe because it is a Western Australian wine from the Margaret River region and aged in French oak. It was the last bottle from the lot I kept and it did not disappoint. No tannins - just the peppery sting in the throat which I love so well. Finish is moderately good - just the right amount of fruit dancing in the mouth.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Bods, pare I hope everything is well now!!! You still remember that uneventful Saltram-abagan :grr: , pare ako I simple said "Not worth the few brain cells! I am beginning to think that the switched the contents to a Novellino!!! :boo:

 

FD and masi - your muses are calling!

What are you waiting for?

Go for it!

 

Wine and food and cooking - where can you go absolutely wrong? :cool:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

some day, soon, I hope!!! Mag-OJT ako dun sa sushi restaurant sa Intrepid Plaza, Libis!!!!

 

Anti-stress therapy lang po ang pagluluto.

 

It's priceless to see other people enjoy food that you made.  Way better than sinking a sandy par!

 

Of course, if there's wine to go with it, so much the better!

 

But then, there's the other side where the you made food sucks.     :sick:  hehehe

 

Para hindi OT, I had some grape liquer from Chateau Barrosa - chocolate flavor.  Bitter sweet chocolate with  sweet cherry tones.  Thick consistency, similar to pure maple syrup.   Good on ice cream.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Use to do it that way too, FD! A stress buster! But now, it seems that I really want to cook for people or am I simply "mid-lifing"! Any too much loose ends to tie up at work before I make that decision to switch careers!!!!

 

"Way better than sinking a sandy par!!" Pare, how about shooting an eagle or a double eagle on a par 5, 540 yards, handicap 1, 10-meter elevated green, against the wind and all your golf cronies are "talking about it" over your favorite food and wine!!!! Nothing comes close!!!!!

 

WINOS!   come na at Cyrano!  Set an EB thing.  Here's a partiallist of their wines which may interest / disgust you.  It's a cozy place and we can force the owner to open shop earlier than usual.   

 

CASILLERO DEL DIABLO

 

    Chardonnay '04 - awarded 85 points by WINE SPECTATOR Magazine

    Sauvignon Blanc '04

    Pinot Noir '04

    Merlot '04

    Carménère '04 - awarded 87 points by WINE SPECTATOR Magazine

    Shiraz '04

    Cabernet Sauvignon - awarded 3 stars by DECANTER Magazine

 

MARQUES DE CASA CONCHA

 

    Chardonnay '04

    Cabernet Sauvignon '03 - awarded 91 points by WINE SPECTATOR

    Magazine

TRIVENTO

 

    Golden Reserve Malbec '03

AMELIA

 

    Chardonnay '04 

DON MELCHOR

 

    Cabernet Sauvignon '02

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CYRANO WINE SELECTIONS

Upper G/F Legaspi Park View Condominium

C. Palanca Street cor. Legaspi Street

Legaspi Village, Makati 1200

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Let me know if you guys wanna go, i can meet you there!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Now, I have all the reason to go there!!!! Especially for that Sauvignon Blanc, which is becoming my staple!!!!

 

Thanks for the list!!!! Bods, Storm, FD and everyone else!!!! What say you, winos and winas!!!!

Edited January 9, 2006 by masi

[floppydrive]

"Way better than sinking a sandy par!!"  Pare, how about shooting an eagle or a double eagle on a par 5, 540 yards, handicap 1, 10-meter elevated green, against the wind and all your golf cronies are "talking about it"  over your favorite food and wine!!!!  Nothing comes close!!!!!

 

Now, I have all the reason to go there!!!!  Especially for that Sauvignon Blanc, which is becoming my staple!!!!

 

Thanks for the list!!!! Bods, Storm, FD and everyone else!!!! What say you, winos and winas!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You had an Albatross?!?!?!?! Congratulations! That's way much better than a hole in one! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

What I usually have are turkeys. :grr:

 

So when is the EB? This Friday The 13th? Hope it won't be the long awaited PWE!

[storm]

Call ako sa 13th. Isama ko sweetheart ko.

[bods1000]

Natawa talaga ako     Cheers to Francine! Welcome back Pareng Bods.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

magmumura na naman yun pare pag nalaman nyang tinatawag natin siyang Francine uli.

Ms. Prieto na lang

 

I like that description of an over-rated Burgundy! To be fair, there are some really, really wonderful Burgundies. Took my daughter wine tasting there when she was but 14 (they didn't care, they just poured her a glass everywhere we went, even nice restaurants!). We stopped in Nuits St. Geroge at a tasting house that served as a local collective. We tasted seven wines, ranging from the latest vintage all the way back 7 years, and it was amazing to see the development of the wines as they aged. Granted, each vintage is different, but you could note the differences the aging process wrought on the wines. And that was the wine conversion moment for my daughter. She blames that experience for her inability to drink swill, and for her tendency to steal a few (good!!) bottles out of my collection every time she comes to visit.

 

I frequently describe not-so-good pinot noirs (the grape of red Burgundies) as having that characteristic "barnyard" smell. Think wet sheep standing in the mud taking a dump at your feet. Appetizing, isn't it? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm sure there are also overrated Bordeauxs - what do you think pare

That barnyard smell description sure beats the vase water's of McInerney :sick:

Since we're on Burgundies, what can you recommend, pare?

 

 

Anti-stress therapy lang po ang pagluluto.

 

It's priceless to see other people enjoy food that you made.  Way better than sinking a sandy par!

 

Of course, if there's wine to go with it, so much the better!

 

But then, there's the other side where the you made food sucks.    :sick:  hehehe

 

Para hindi OT, I had some grape liquer from Chateau Barrosa - chocolate flavor.  Bitter sweet chocolate with  sweet cherry tones.  Thick consistency, similar to pure maple syrup.  Good on ice cream.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't think your food will suck the way you and masi describe how you prepare it- seems like you two are budding Pucks or Bourdains

 

pare go with us na the next time there's an EB!

[bods1000]

Bods, pare I hope everything is well now!!!  You still remember that uneventful Saltram-abagan :grr: , pare ako I simple said "Not worth the few brain cells!  I am beginning to think that the switched the contents to a Novellino!!! :boo:

some day, soon, I hope!!! Mag-OJT ako dun sa sushi restaurant  sa Intrepid Plaza, Libis!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

hahaha I like that Saltramanagan pero you could be right about that Novellino switch because I remember drinking a Saltram before that held up quite elegantly to all the promise of a shiraz.

Could be a low-level Saltram we had but the price was ridiculous for such a bottom-tier Saltram.

 

pare, your toque and chef's apron are waiting for you at Libis

basta pagkatapos mo ng training every night, we celebrate with wine :cool:

[storm]

Right on Pareng Bods Cheers to Ms. Prieto!!! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

Kita-kita tayo sa Cyranos on Friday?

[agxo3]

I'm sure there are also overrated Bordeauxs - what do you think pare

That barnyard smell description sure beats the vase water's of McInerney :sick:

Since we're on Burgundies, what can you recommend, pare?

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've had quite a few *ahem* less than stellar Bordeaux. In fact, way too many - which is why I tend to stick to California cabs. The last good Bordauex I had was a 1985 Gruaud-Larose. Hevenly, positively heavenly! Made me understand all over again why there's such a mystique about Bordeaux.

 

Now I have a 1966 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases that I know I should pop open soon - I am sure it's on the decline! And a 1977 Lynch-Bages that is ready to drink. I also have various 1999 and a 2001 Bordeaux that will be ready in a few years. Hopefully they will live up to the '85 Gruaud-Larose.

[masi]

You had an Albatross?!?!?!?!  Congratulations!  That's way much better than a hole in one!  :thumbsupsmiley:

 

What I usually have are turkeys.    :grr:

 

So when is the EB?  This Friday The 13th?  Hope it won't be the long awaited PWE!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Never came close!!! Well maybe 18-inches from an albatross at the 18th hole of the old Capitol Hills GC from 240 yards!!! Practically eagled all 4 par-5s of Capitol at different playing days. Villamor's 18th hole was 1-yard short of an albatros but ended up with birdie :grr:

 

But my golf could compare to a bottle of Novellino!!!! It's that bad!!!!

[storm]

Maiangat lang!

 

Have a great weekend folks.

 

Let's meet next week.

 

Cheers!

[Guest the_eight_of_orbs]

\MASI

wala nang sauvignon blanc sa Cyrano sorry naubos daw nung holidays

 

 

Hope to see you guys soon sana sa cyrano kasi everyday na ko nandun e

[masi]

\MASI

wala nang sauvignon blanc sa Cyrano sorry naubos daw nung holidays

Hope to see you guys soon   sana sa cyrano kasi everyday na ko nandun e

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: walang sauv blanc.... pwede ako na lang magdala!!!! :boo:

 

well, i am sure there are other labels that will catch my fancy... :hypocritesmiley: btw, what time does it open? usually, at the end of the business hour, i am very "thirsty" and would like to "wash away" the day's rigors.

 

 

i hope cyrano serves my favorite JW Black for those "i need a stiff one days!"

[floppydrive]

Morning guys!

 

Was drinking a Hardy's Merlot 2003 the other night. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't fantastic either. It seemed it needed a bit more aging. But since the bottle was open (and about half full), I wanted to try something. I tried it with cashew nuts - it made a big diference! The two went well together.

[Guest the_eight_of_orbs]

:* sorry wala na po.

 

i'll tell the owner you'll bring a bottle. usually naman pwede basta lang consume other food stuff like sausages, blue cheese, spicy dulong, ika sumai, and milkfish pate. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

as for JWBlack, sorry but they do not serve drinks other than wine. But there are some nights when single malt whiskey's served / sold. they have two bottles on the shelf, but i dunno how much they're selling the bottles for.

 

Come, come to Cyrano Wine Selections, where amazingly everyone knows everyone by name... parang Cheers!

 

:cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry: walang sauv blanc.... pwede ako na lang magdala!!!! :boo:

 

well, i am sure there are other labels that will catch my fancy... :hypocritesmiley:  btw, what time does it open?  usually, at the end of the business hour, i am very "thirsty" and would like to "wash away"  the day's rigors.

i hope cyrano serves my favorite JW Black for those "i need a stiff one days!"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Guest the_eight_of_orbs]

For some reason unknown to me, yung Hardy's laging ang release mga one-year old at Cyrano, the house red is hardy's cab sauv 2004. Lipstick and some friends commented nga na kulang sa aging, para naman mag-a-age pa sya. pero it's not all that bad, but it's just that there are far better, finer bottles. but hey for 85 bucks per glass, i could not complain.

 

 

Morning guys!

 

Was drinking a Hardy's Merlot 2003 the other night.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't fantastic either.  It seemed it needed a bit more aging.  But since the bottle was open (and about half full), I wanted to try something.  I tried it with cashew nuts - it made a big diference!  The two went well together.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[masi]

:* sorry wala na po.

 

i'll tell the owner you'll bring a bottle.  usually naman pwede basta lang consume other food stuff like sausages, blue cheese, spicy dulong, ika sumai, and milkfish pate.  :thumbsupsmiley:

 

as for JWBlack, sorry but they do not serve drinks other than wine.  But there are some nights when single malt whiskey's served / sold. they have two bottles on the shelf, but i dunno how much they're selling the bottles for.

 

Come, come to Cyrano Wine Selections, where amazingly everyone knows everyone by name... parang Cheers!

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no sauv blanc :cry: , no johnny :grr:

 

saving grace, single malts!!!!! yoohoooo!!!!!! :thumbsupsmiley:

 

but of course, i'll be there for the wines, too!

 

 

 

 

btw, tell us what time it opens?

Edited January 17, 2006 by masi

[masi]

For some reason unknown to me,   yung Hardy's laging ang release mga one-year old   at Cyrano, the house red is hardy's cab sauv 2004.  Lipstick and some friends commented nga na kulang sa aging, para naman mag-a-age pa sya.  pero it's not all that bad, but it's just that there are far better, finer bottles.   but hey for 85 bucks per glass, i could not complain.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

well usually if its a big winery and they produce the full range from supermarket wines to the collector's vintage, the new release would be quite cheaper than those which have been stored for a couple of years. remember, running a vineyard is still a business more than anything.

 

red should be stored for a couple of years (this assumes of course that the wines are stored properly)to allow the tannins to mellow or integrate and for it to be able to "compose" (this is my terminology for a wine to attain it's structure). young reds, have a "juicy" character and the balance you may be looking for may not be present. of course, there are wines that will not get any better no matter how long you store them.