Wine-savvy

[igol ays]

hello all!

 

haven't been here for quite a while. my wine consumption has also drastically gone down this year; however, a wine i had with dinner last week woke up my interest all over again.

 

wife and i had dinner at san francisco's house of prime rib. looking through the wine list, i was drawn to a cabernet from a winery that i pass by all the time when i go to visit my daughter in st helena, whitehall winery. i've been meaning to stop by and do a tasting at this winery but always found an excuse not to. so i thought we'd try their wine and use it as some sort of a barometer if the winery is worth a visit. i ordered a 2004 napa valley cabernet sauvignon at $60something for the bottle..

 

cherry and spicy oak on the nose; blackberry, plum and cherry flavors. very smooth. it was glorious!

 

i need to get a couple of bottles of this and perhaps try some of whitehall lane's other offerings. cheers.

[male_spud]

hmmm... any suggestions on how i should take my wine drinking to a higher level? i go usually for napa valley whites and some cabernet. or some french merlot... don't really get how to "appreciate" it .... any tips?

[sam spade]

cabernet sauvignon still my choice of red...rebert mondavi's woodbridge and beringer still for me the best value for money brands...beringer's pinot grigio is also a good white

[sam spade]

just remembered...back in dorm days...once a month...buddies of mine would hang out...each bring 1 bottle of wine (something we never tried before). we downloaded in the internet a professional wine scoring sheet and pretend we were wine experts and knew how to score...trying to sound intelligent with our comments as we went along. by our 5th bottle (and we were only 7) we would be slushed and would be drinking off the bottle's mouth but still pretend we knew what we were doing...crazy days...fun days

[idunno]

hmmm... any suggestions on how i should take my wine drinking to a higher level? i go usually for napa valley whites and some cabernet. or some french merlot... don't really get how to "appreciate" it .... any tips?

 

You can educate yourself with books or magazines or in more accessible websites/blogs. Try experimenting and go out of your comfort zone. Lastly, enjoy!

 

Or you can also join the EB! :thumbsupsmiley:

[agxo3]

hello all!

 

haven't been here for quite a while. my wine consumption has also drastically gone down this year; however, a wine i had with dinner last week woke up my interest all over again.

 

wife and i had dinner at san francisco's house of prime rib. looking through the wine list, i was drawn to a cabernet from a winery that i pass by all the time when i go to visit my daughter in st helena, whitehall winery. i've been meaning to stop by and do a tasting at this winery but always found an excuse not to. so i thought we'd try their wine and use it as some sort of a barometer if the winery is worth a visit. i ordered a 2004 napa valley cabernet sauvignon at $60something for the bottle..

 

cherry and spicy oak on the nose; blackberry, plum and cherry flavors. very smooth. it was glorious!

 

i need to get a couple of bottles of this and perhaps try some of whitehall lane's other offerings. cheers.

 

Whitehall has some really good cabs. Try their 2001 if you can - outstanding!

 

Turnbull is having an opening for their Ansel Adams show this Saturday starting around 1 pm (I think!!). I plan to be there. Why don't you call them, save a place and maybe I'll see you there?

[igol ays]

saturday, the 8th?

i'll check on it

 

was at the valley earlier today. picked up 3 bottles of the 2004 napa valley cab ($45 per) and another 3 bottles of the silver anniversary reserve cab ($75 per). i'm looking at bringing a bottle of the silver anniversary reserve to manila for an eb with the gang.

Edited September 4, 2007 by eagleyes

[storm]

EB sana next week.

 

Wednesday or Friday.

[JC_DEE]

Well Red Wine and Mass Wine Lover Ako

[Toypetas]

who can recommend a good red vino?

[masi]

who can recommend a good red vino?

 

 

just back read and you will know which ones are good and which are not.

[agxo3]

Went to Turnbull yesterday for the opening of the Ansel Adams exhibit. They were alsoreleasing their 2005 Reserve Cab. Nice but a bit young. Still a touch of green, and tannins were stil a bit touch. Give it a year! Good berries and a bit of smoke. Some nice cherries in there too!

 

Stopped by J to pick up my latest wine club releases - 2004 Pinot Gris, and a 2004 Nicole's Vineyard Pinot Noir! yay!

 

Then stopped by M. Cosentino on Hwy 29 (eagleyes - ti's right next to Mustard's Grill). I'd tasted their Cigarzin and The Syrah so I knew they made some good wines. Tasted the latest release (The Poet - a 2003 meritage. Nice! 37 months in oak! Round, smooth tannis. Blackberries galore! A touch of apricot on the finish, which was extraordinarily long!) Signed up for the wine club, and picked up a Syrah, a Cigarzin (both really good examples of the genre), a bottle of white meritage (The Novelist), and a bottle of The Poet.

 

Finished off with dinner in downtown Napa at Cole's Chop house and a really gooooood 12 oz. rib eye accompanied by a glass of a 2004 Girard zin (great complement to the steak - round but heavy tannins that offset the fats in the steak, strawberries, black pepper and a touch of leather).

 

Went to the new Whole Foods today, and picked up a 2004 Vouvray. Also some scallops (season with salt and pepper, quick saute in butter and olive oil over a really hot file), chanterelle mushrooms (sauteed over high hot fire in butter/olive oil) and asparagus. Made a sauce deglazing the pan with some of the Vouvray, and reducing it by half over high heat, then turn off the fire, and add some butter for creaminess and a squeeze of lemon for that nice sharp tang. What a pairing! The wine which was fruity but very dry, with hints of citrus and honeysuckle, a bit of honeydew and a touch of stone fruit (white peach??), was a great match for the scallops.

Edited September 14, 2007 by agxo3

[storm]

Namiss ko bigla ang Napa!

 

I can imagine the taste. Good food and wine matching. Great. :thumbsupsmiley:

[brian croser]

Any of you guys going to Toast 2007, Wine & Food Fest, Sep 21-22 @ Rockwell Tent ?

 

 

..... would be nice to meet there, eat and drink up

[idunno]

Had a 2003 Baileyana Firepeak Vineyard Pinot Noir (P1500+, on SALE for P885) over the weekend. It is a bit fleshier than typical Pinots, the earthy aroma is seductive, and the finish is long but ends with a bit of acidity. Drinking very well now. Good Value!!

[idunno]

Any of you guys going to Toast 2007, Wine & Food Fest, Sep 21-22 @ Rockwell Tent ?

..... would be nice to meet there, eat and drink up

 

I'd like to be there. Don't know if I can get off work early for good wine.

[agxo3]

Y'know, I keep saying I have too much wine and I won't buy any more until I get my wine collection down to where it fits in ONE fridge (the big 180-bottle one, silly! Not the 30-bottle one!). So today my brother called and asked if we wanted to join them on a little drive up to Livermore so he could pick up his wine club release from Rodrigue Molyneaux. Now, RM is a nice place and I like both the wines AND the owners, so I said yes. I wasn't going buy any wine, remember? Wrong! I bought a bottle of their 2004 Sangiovese. Soft, fruity, relatively light, bright cherries and raspberries, a hint of apricot. A good pork chop wine.

 

But along the way, we dropped by Livermore Valley Cellars. I bought a 2004 Syrah. Nice wine - bold, loaded with blackberries and plums, nicely rounded and integrated tannins. A complete drink-now wine. Think rib-eye steak, or a nice New York strip. Maybe even a thick, juicy filet mignon.

 

THEN - we went exploring. Boaventura was closed (saved! I thought) but we came across a new winery (new for us, anyway. It's been open for 5 months now) called Les Chenes (the oaks in French). The owners are really nice folks, passionate about their wines and determined to make their mark in the Valley. A good viognier to start, but I'm not a white kinda guy, so that went by with a shrug. Then a 2003 Syrah, and a 2004 syrah. Then a wonderful non-vinatge blend called Deux Rouges which is a blend of two syrahs and two mourvedres. Now THAT's a good wine. Blended to resemble Penfold's US$300 Grange (and it does!). For $18, how could I go wrong? Well, only if I negrlected to pick up a 2003 Syrah as well........

 

So there you have it, only a week after a Napa and Sonoma jaunt that resulted in 5 new bottles at home, a Livermore excursion that saw me bring in another 4 bottles. Guess I'm back to buying faster than I drink!!!

 

We stopped by Vida y Vino ( a new wine bar in Fremont) after dinner at Kinder's BBQ. I had a glass of an old vines zin. Not bad......but I was still thinking of the Deux Rouges and couldn't really focus on the zin. Guess I'll have to go back and give it another go.

Edited September 26, 2007 by agxo3

[masi]

Y'know, I keep saying I have too much wine and I won't buy any more until I get my wine collection down to where it fits in ONE fridge (the big 180-bottle one, silly! Not the 30-bottle one!).

 

 

Well, that's not a problem!!! Bring some over here!!!

 

And I think I just found a good reason for you to include Manila in your business trips to China and Taiwan!!!!

 

I just had a meeting with an EMS company which is TL9000 and "Nor_ _ _ Certified". They have been manufacturing some converters and terminals already. This company apparantly also has an assembly plant in Guandong and the Filipino engineers I talked to here told me that costwise, the Philippines plant is competitive.

 

So bring over those wines, and give those manufacturing jobs to Filipinos!!!!

[agxo3]

Well, that's not a problem!!! Bring some over here!!!

 

And I think I just found a good reason for you to include Manila in your business trips to China and Taiwan!!!!

 

I just had a meeting with an EMS company which is TL9000 and "Nor_ _ _ Certified". They have been manufacturing some converters and terminals already. This company apparantly also has an assembly plant in Guandong and the Filipino engineers I talked to here told me that costwise, the Philippines plant is competitive.

 

So bring over those wines, and give those manufacturing jobs to Filipinos!!!!

 

PM me about that, Masi! I have some questions then I'll pass this on to our Supply management guy. And if that works out, I'll be bringing lots of wine over!!! :cool:

[masi]

My wife and I tried a bottle a bottle of Listel Cab Sauv 2004. Quite fruity, with tobacco flavors but highly tannic, but, a good everyday drinking wine (or if you really have nothing to drink!!!). Would beat a vin de pays anytime.

[agxo3]

My wife and I tried a bottle a bottle of Listel Cab Sauv 2004. Quite fruity, with tobacco flavors but highly tannic, but, a good everyday drinking wine (or if you really have nothing to drink!!!). Would beat a vin de pays anytime.

 

Wine with meatloaf? But of course!

 

Meatloaf for dinner last night. Good old fashioned comfort food. So what wine would work well with ground beef, onions, garlic, a bit of cayenne, mustard.....well, it turns out a cabernet franc does just fine. Had a 2003 Camaraderie Cab Franc. Flavors of red berries, bold (but not overwhelming) tannins, a hint of leather, plum and cassis. Long finish, with lingering flavors of prune and rasisn (yes, the grapes were quite ripe at harvest time!). Camaraderie is a Washington State winery - this was one of the wines I picked up on our last visit to Seattle in July.

Edited September 26, 2007 by agxo3

[Mobius Stripper]

French 1st, Aussie 2nd, California 3rd.

[agxo3]

French 1st, Aussie 2nd, California 3rd.

 

You say that because you haven't had the good California wines yet! Ask Masi, Storm and Bods about the wines I've brought back for them to taste, all of them in the middle range quality- and price-wise. The California wines I've seen over there are not the best examples of California vinting - they're the mass-produced, low to mid-grade, not for aging kinda wines.

Edited September 26, 2007 by agxo3

[idunno]

French 1st, Aussie 2nd, California 3rd.

 

I'd put them all on the same level. You can find excellent wines whether it be Californian, Aussie or French. Likewise, there are $300 Californian, Aussie, French wines. I won't be surprised if there are up and coming excellent wines from China or Russia or Cambodia or Iraq.

[bods1000]

You say that because you haven't had the good California wines yet! Ask Masi, Storm and Bods about the wines I've brought back for them to taste, all of them in the middle range quality- and price-wise. The California wines I've seen over there are not the best examples of California vinting - they're the mass-produced, low to mid-grade, not for aging kinda wines.

 

amen to that!

one main problem here is that not many excellent but mid-range California wines are available here - not like the available Aussie wines here which have occupied all price ranges with excellent wines at all levels.

Like the Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir I sampled recently. Great silky tannins with good balance overall. Not a wine for aging but very good nonetheless. BTW, the Tasmania region (of which Tamar Ridge belongs to) is beginning to be a haven for superb Aussie pinots. NOt very expensive too...