Wine-savvy

[Spurt]

talking about labels on wines, i've seen one written by hand from bourdeux a 1957 cabernet franc, wow, imagine the price, hehehe

 

california wines and australian wines have modern labels but french wines & italian stick to the old designs, peter lehmans own southcorp right? I got a 91pts Parker wines ( Chateau Angelique Monbousquet), a red bourdeux, nice, hey bods this wine is sold by bacchus?

[Spurt]

bods, tasting wines a years after may let you forget the taste even a year ago, hehehe. and certainly its hard to trust wine experts unless they are recognized globally. tried once using a famous chef from a local resto in MNL, magaling daw, ngee, what we did, we combined wines like carlos rossi, welsch & other, then have him tried it, wow and sarap daw, hehehe

[bods1000]

talking about labels on wines, i've seen one written by hand from bourdeux a 1957 cabernet franc, wow, imagine the price, hehehe

 

california wines and australian wines have modern labels but french wines & italian stick to the old designs, peter lehmans own southcorp right? I got a 91pts Parker wines ( Chateau Angelique Monbousquet), a red bourdeux, nice, hey bods this wine is sold by bacchus?

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I'm not familiar with the French wines sold by Bacchus. Ang tanda ko lang yung mga California nila like Rutherford, Stag's leap....I don't think Peter Lehmann owns or is owned by Southcorp. Ang Southcorp yata yung Rosemount...

 

Pards yung mga natitikman mong wines - patikim din. Hwag mong solohin

Are you here na ba?

Saturday pwede ako...

[Spurt]

yes, I'll share it with you. hehehe my mistake hindi nga pala connected si peter lehman with southcorp. it a different vineyard, i've seen some of their wines, did you know that they have a case worth US$500.00 sobrang mahal at exagerated na ang price nyan sa manila.

 

i'd be here until the second week tas SIN naman, wala sobrang peak season kc. anyway, hope to see you when i get back.

[bods1000]

bods, tasting wines a years after may let you forget the taste even a year ago, hehehe. and certainly its hard to trust wine experts unless they are recognized globally. tried once using a famous chef from a local resto in MNL, magaling daw, ngee, what we did, we combined wines like carlos rossi, welsch & other, then have him tried it, wow and sarap daw, hehehe

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hehehe loko ka ah...

don't try that on our regulars here or else puro Chinese wine ang paiinom namin sa iyo pag wine tasting natin....

 

I don't know pero yung mga connoisseur siguro recall nila lasa kahit matagal na...

[bods1000]

yes, I'll share it with you. hehehe my mistake hindi nga pala connected si peter lehman with southcorp. it a different vineyard, i've seen some of their wines, did you know that they have a case worth US$500.00 sobrang mahal at exagerated na ang price nyan sa manila.

 

i'd be here until the second week tas SIN naman, wala sobrang peak season kc. anyway, hope to see you when i get back.

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pards baka $5000 or $50,000 per case kasi mura lang kung $500 hehehe....

mahal nga yung Peter Lehmann lalo na yung Stonewell Shiraz nila - yung ang panapat nila sa Grange ng Penfolds, sa The Armagh ng Jim Barry, sa Henschke Hill of Grace etc. Upwards of $100 yata ang isang bote...pards walang distributor dito ang Peter Lehmann....

 

Ok when you get back give me a ring.....

[masi]

bods, tasting wines a years after may let you forget the taste even a year ago, hehehe. and certainly its hard to trust wine experts unless they are recognized globally. tried once using a famous chef from a local resto in MNL, magaling daw, ngee, what we did, we combined wines like carlos rossi, welsch & other, then have him tried it, wow and sarap daw, hehehe

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that's the danger when people claim to be experts...it takes years to become a sommelier or a wine master. i read somewhere that the best sommelier was able to identify 120 labels ... blindfolded.

 

i think for afficionados and amateurs like us, we should not lose track of the word "appreciation" in our quest for knowledge and liking for wines.

[chicboy143]

Beringer Zinfandel! Ang Sarap!

[agxo3]

Beringer Zinfandel! Ang Sarap!

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If you like the Beringer zins, then you should also like the Ravenswood zins. The 2000 Vintners Blend and the 1999 Lodi Zin are excellent. And if you like 'em big and bold, try the Bonny Doon Cardinal Zin 1999 Yes, that's the name! Bonny Doon is known for creative names for their wines.

[caloy76]

i never tried mixing wines....I also prefer single varietal wines .

[bods1000]

that's the danger when people claim to be experts...it takes years to become a sommelier or a wine master.  i read somewhere that the best sommelier was able to identify 120 labels ... blindfolded.

 

i think for afficionados and amateurs like us, we should not lose track of the word "appreciation" in our quest for knowledge and liking for wines.

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well said!

Let the road take us where it will - the enjoyment of wine doesn't require anything but being yourself.

 

Cheers!

[bods1000]

If you like the Beringer zins, then you should also like the Ravenswood zins. The 2000 Vintners Blend and the 1999 Lodi Zin are excellent. And if you like 'em big and bold, try the Bonny Doon Cardinal Zin 1999 Yes, that's the name! Bonny Doon is known for creative names for their wines.

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I tasted a zin - Eagle Creek I think it was - and I daresay I was not impressed. Haven't got the chance to try Beringer - available ito dito but quite expensive. Ravenswood I don't think is available here.

 

Speaking of catchy wine names - there's of course the Yellowtail from Australia. Also from Oz are such names as Bear Crossing, Madfish, Hanging Rock, etc.

[agxo3]

I tasted a zin - Eagle Creek I think it was - and I daresay I was not impressed. Haven't got the chance to try Beringer - available ito dito but quite expensive. Ravenswood I don't think is available here.

 

Speaking of catchy wine names - there's of course the Yellowtail from Australia. Also from Oz are such names as Bear Crossing, Madfish, Hanging Rock, etc.

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Hmmmmm......don't know Eagle Creek but with all the wineries around here it's not surprising! Haven't had too many Aussie zins I've liked. The local zins are just so nice I hardly venture outside the region, let alone California for zins any more....

 

Waaah! I'm out of my Davis Bynum Old Vines 1998 zins! Drank the last one this week........and didn't realize it until 2 nights ago when I wanted a nice, smooth, BIG zin. And lo and behold, there wasn't another one to be found! :cry:

 

I got the wine at clearance prices ($120/case) and it proved to be one of the best I've ever had. Now it's no longer available. I should have bought more than that case. Damn! When will I ever learn? Find a great wine, buy as much as you can afford, carry and store (properly, of course!), for you may never find it again.

[bods1000]

Hmmmmm......don't know Eagle Creek but with all the wineries around here it's not surprising! Haven't had too many Aussie zins I've liked. The local zins are just so nice I hardly venture outside the region, let alone California for zins any more....

 

Waaah! I'm out of my Davis Bynum Old Vines 1998 zins! Drank the last one this week........and didn't realize it until 2 nights ago when I wanted a nice, smooth, BIG zin. And lo and behold, there wasn't another one to be found!  :cry:

 

I got the wine at clearance prices ($120/case) and it proved to be one of the best I've ever had. Now it's no longer available. I should have bought more than that case. Damn! When will I ever learn? Find a great wine, buy as much as you can afford, carry and store (properly, of course!), for you may never find it again.

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yeah pare i think that's why my German client gets 5 cases of my Aussie shiraz in one order...para hwag maubusan..the problem is that yung ibang ka-member nya dun sa Wine Society here gets mad at him kasi inuubos nya yung shiraz wala na silang mabili..

 

sinubukan ko lang yung Eagle Creek - but I suspected na agad that it's no good because it's quite cheap - para lang may mainom na zinfandel...

[agxo3]

yeah pare i think that's why my German client gets 5 cases of my Aussie shiraz in one order...para hwag maubusan..the problem is that yung ibang ka-member nya dun sa Wine Society here gets mad at him kasi inuubos nya yung shiraz wala na silang mabili..

 

sinubukan ko lang yung Eagle Creek - but I suspected na agad that it's no good because it's quite cheap - para lang may mainom na zinfandel...

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Wifey and I had dinner Sunday night at a place in Wlanut Creek called Va de Vi. The sous shef is Hawaiian/Filipino/something else. On the menu - adobo prok spare ribs! Mmmmmmmm......with garlic fried rice......... Also had hanger steak with Yukon gold potatoes, gala apples and endive salad w/ blue cheese, and ratatouille.

 

This place has not just wine list with bottles of wine available, but lots of wines by the glass, and a whole bunch of wine flights. Each flight is 3 different wines, 3 oz. each glass. Not bad. So shoudl I have the cab flight? Or the pinot noirs? Or the sauv. blacns? Or the zins? Let's have the zins!, I said.

 

OK - all were fine but not memorable. One was from El Dorado Country (the sierra foothills around where the Gold Rush took place), one was a primitivo from Italy, the tird was from the Russian River. I have the names written down somewhere at home, but I forget them right now. Let's just say I've had better, but maybe it was the food/wine pairing? Maybe I should have gone for the sauv blanc or the reislings?

 

I did have the Bonny Doon framboise (raspberry) wine for dessert. Went extremely well with my wife's chocolate souffle cake, and I was glad I chose that instead of the Sauternes.

 

More wine tasting on Thursday - I have a cab and a zin I will be bringing to my weekly photo critique and wine tasting group.

[agxo3]

I was so disappointed by my last zin tasting at Va de Vi that I decided I'd have a zin tonight at dinner. Coincidentally, my wife decided that she'd do her version of a marinara sauce with pasta tonight. The fates do conspire to reward us sometimes.

 

Her sauce is nothing more than a couple of cans of tomato sauce, a couple of small cans of tomato paste for thickness, and a couple of cans of stewed tomatoes for texture. Add a pound or so of Italian sausage, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar and a cup of good red wine and, voila!, you're done! Nothing fancy, but oh, so good! The advice everyone gives you is to never cook with a wine you won't drink, so I donated a cup of my (good!) zin to the mix, and had a couple of glasses with dinner.

 

It was a 1995 Vittorio Sattui Alexander Valley Zin. Nice strawberries on the nose, along with that characteristic pepperiness in the background. A bit of smoke as well. Black cherriy flavors, strawberries, white and black pepper and some coffee hiding in the back. Soft tannins, lots of fruit.

 

All in all, another very good zin from V. Sattui. This wine is only available at the winery (ALL of the Sattui wines are only available at the winery! Sorry, guys!) but they ship EVERYWHERE! V. Sattui is in the Napa Valley (California) in the town of St. Helena.

 

http://www.vsattui.com

[bods1000]

I was so disappointed by my last zin tasting at Va de Vi that I decided I'd have a zin tonight at dinner. Coincidentally, my wife decided that she'd do her version of a marinara sauce with pasta tonight. The fates do conspire to reward us sometimes.

 

Her sauce is nothing more than a couple of cans of tomato sauce, a couple of small cans of tomato paste for thickness, and a couple of cans of stewed tomatoes for texture. Add a pound or so of Italian sausage, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar and a cup of good red wine and, voila!, you're done! Nothing fancy, but oh, so good! The advice everyone gives you is to never cook with a wine you won't drink, so I donated a cup of my (good!) zin to the mix, and had a couple of glasses with dinner.

 

It was a 1995 Vittorio Sattui Alexander Valley Zin. Nice strawberries on the nose, along with that characteristic pepperiness in the background. A bit of smoke as well. Black cherriy flavors, strawberries, white and black pepper and some coffee hiding in the back. Soft tannins, lots of fruit.

 

All in all, another very good zin from V. Sattui. This wine is only available at the winery (ALL of the Sattui wines are only available at the winery! Sorry, guys!) but they ship EVERYWHERE! V. Sattui is in the Napa Valley (California) in the town of St. Helena.

 

http://www.vsattui.com

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That v. Sattui must have been one hell of a zin - I was not sure that zins could age that gracefully for almost ten years.

cheers, pare!

[bods1000]

Wifey and I had dinner Sunday night at a place in Wlanut Creek called Va de Vi. The sous shef is Hawaiian/Filipino/something else. On the menu - adobo prok spare ribs! Mmmmmmmm......with garlic fried rice......... Also had hanger steak with Yukon gold potatoes, gala apples and endive salad w/ blue cheese, and ratatouille.

 

This place has not just wine list with bottles of wine available, but lots of wines by the glass, and a whole bunch of wine flights. Each flight is 3 different wines, 3 oz. each glass. Not bad. So shoudl I have the cab flight? Or the pinot noirs? Or the sauv. blacns? Or the zins? Let's have the zins!, I said.

 

OK - all were fine but not memorable. One was from El Dorado Country (the sierra foothills around where the Gold Rush took place), one was a primitivo from Italy, the tird was from the Russian River. I have the names written down somewhere at home, but I forget them right now. Let's just say I've had better, but maybe it was the food/wine pairing? Maybe I should have gone for the sauv blanc or the reislings?

 

I did have the Bonny Doon framboise (raspberry) wine for dessert. Went extremely well with my wife's chocolate souffle cake, and I was glad I chose that instead of the Sauternes.

 

More wine tasting on Thursday - I have a cab and a zin I will be bringing to my weekly photo critique and wine tasting group.

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I've heard about those wine flights....sayang nga walang mga wine bars dito. Ordering for wine flights should prove to be interesting...There used to be a wine bar somewhere in Legaspi Village pero nagsara din ito after about a year or so...

[bods1000]

About cooking with wine:

 

There's a popular misconception that wine is used in cooking because it dissolves the flavor of the ingredients while cooking - something that can't be done by water alone...so that the dish turns out more magnificent because of all those flavors which were absorbed.

This is furthest from the truth. Wine is used because of the unique flavor it can impart to the dish...

[agxo3]

That v. Sattui must have been one hell of a zin - I was not sure that zins could age that gracefully for almost ten years.

cheers, pare!

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I have a cuple of 97 Noah's zins left in my stash. Yup, they're geting up there in age. Time to drink them up! 7 years for a BIIIIIG zin (15.8%!) is not bad, but I don't want it to start going downhill.

[bods1000]

I have a cuple of 97 Noah's zins left in my stash. Yup, they're geting up there in age. Time to drink them up! 7 years for a BIIIIIG zin (15.8%!) is not bad, but I don't want it to start going downhill.

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wow! that's a lot of alcohol...pare, where they tannic to begin with? I mean, did you drink a '97 Noah in '97?

[agxo3]

wow! that's a lot of alcohol...pare, where they tannic to begin with? I mean, did you drink a '97 Noah in '97?

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Nah - the wine sat in tanks (not oak!) for 6 months before bottling, so that was June '98. Then they sat in bottles for another 7 months before release - Jan. '99. I tasted the wine from the tank just after the fermentatin was complete, then again just before bottling, and then again at release before buying. Picked up a case, and am now down to the last couple of bottles.

 

It's developed well over the years. A bit shocking, certainly a big, stand-up-and-slap-you-in-the-face wine early on. Tannic but not overwhelmingly so - still very, very drinkable even at its youngest. It's mellowed a bit. Tannins have backed down, fruit has come forward nicely. That slightly bitter/sweet coffee/chocolate edge at the back of your throat is a nice note to finish on. Great with bittersweet chocolate or a decadent chocolate dessert with raspberries or black cherries. Also good with a roast beast of some sort (beef marinated in Worcestershire sauce+garlic+bay leaf+ginger, maybe a nice pork loin, or maybe a good rack of lamb) or an Italian feast.

 

Another year and the wine will be one the downhill slide, so this is the year to finish it off. And another great wine will be history. No more available ANYWHERE. I know - Noah (Taylor - the winemaker) is a friend and even his stock is all gone.

[masi]

I've heard about those wine flights....sayang nga walang mga wine bars dito. Ordering for wine flights should prove to be interesting...There used to be a wine bar somewhere in Legaspi Village pero nagsara din ito after about a year or so...

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There is 1 beside the Santis store in Yakal St. Makati. It's probably owned by the same person. Magnum at GB3 is owned by the Trillo's. Wide variety to choose from.

 

Some other bars with a notable wine list, Kiplings at the Mandarin and Churchills at Edsa Shang. Although both are more know to be cigar and whiskey bars.

[masi]

About cooking with wine:

 

There's a popular misconception that wine is used in cooking because it dissolves the flavor of the ingredients while cooking - something that can't be done by water alone...so that the dish turns out more magnificent because of all those flavors which were absorbed.

This is furthest from the truth. Wine is used because of the unique flavor it can impart to the dish...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

just remember... the wine you use to cook should be a wine that you can drink. If you can't drink it... don't cook with it.

[bods1000]

Nah - the wine sat in tanks (not oak!) for 6 months before bottling, so that was June '98. Then they sat in bottles for another 7 months before release - Jan. '99. I tasted the wine from the tank just after the fermentatin was complete, then again just before bottling, and then again at release before buying. Picked up a case, and am now down to the last couple of bottles.

 

It's developed well over the years. A bit shocking, certainly a big, stand-up-and-slap-you-in-the-face wine early on. Tannic but not overwhelmingly so - still very, very drinkable even at its youngest. It's mellowed a bit. Tannins have backed down, fruit has come forward nicely. That slightly bitter/sweet coffee/chocolate edge at the back of your throat is a nice note to finish on. Great with bittersweet chocolate or a decadent chocolate dessert with raspberries or black cherries. Also good with a roast beast of some sort (beef marinated in Worcestershire sauce+garlic+bay leaf+ginger, maybe a nice pork loin, or maybe a good rack of lamb) or an Italian feast.

 

Another year and the wine will be one the downhill slide, so this is the year to finish it off. And another great wine will be history. No more available ANYWHERE. I know - Noah (Taylor - the winemaker) is a friend and even his stock is all gone.

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how about the later vintages of Noah - '98 onwards? So they're mellowed out in stainless steel tanks? Kaya wala siguro syang trace ng vanilla flavors - winemakers sometimes mature wine to impart that vanilla taste which some wine drinkers love...

Ok some bit of wine trivia...there are two kinds of oak used to mature wine - French and American oak. The difference they say is that wine matured in French oak gives off a smoother taste while wine matured in American oak has a rougher edge to it...

For the newcomers to wine - ever wondered why some wines are more expensive than others? One factor that jacks up the cost is the oak. The premium wines are matured in NEW oak barrels - and new oak barrels cost a lot of money. The second-tier wines are matured in oak that's been used before for maturing the premium lines of a winery - so they cost less but the flavor imparted by the oak is less intense...Now the really cheapo wines are not matured in oak anymore. Sometimes oak chips are immersed in the fermenting wine to give off some semblance of oak - pero masama na din ang lumalabas na lasa nito

Another cost differential is the amount of time involved in oak maturation - of course, longer maturation times in new barrels would lead to more expensive wines....