Wine-savvy

[grinchx452]

Am finishing off a bottle of 2002 Seppelt Moyston Shiraz Cabernet right now with my extravaganzza pizza from dominoes!

[agxo3]

So I made it home in one piece! Still jetlagged.......but not upside down anymore, just kinda sideways (and not from wine!) Hard to get back into the daily grind.

 

Did a nice New York strip steak last night 9a tiny bit overdone, but still tender and delicious, so it turned out okay! Note to self - it's 10 min in the oven at 375, NOT 12!)

 

Anyway - opened a 1997 Retzlaff Cab, one of only 2976 bottles (248 cases) ever released. No longer available at the winery. The last of the Noah Taylor reds at Retzlaff, at least for the '90s. He's back helping out his folks in Livermore and doing the latest crop of reds, even as he works his own label in Napa.

 

But! to the wine!! Another fine Noah vintage. Lots of fruit, and the tannins have subsided so that they're there to give structure to the wine, but not so they overwhelm the taste buds. Lots of plum, black berries and black cherries. A hint of toast (that's the oak coming through!!), some cassis, a hint of licorice. Round, juicy, and thoroughy wonderful. No green or herbal flavors at all, just the way I like it! Left a half bottle for myslef for tonight. No real cooking tonight - we frose some of the beef brisket I smoked the weekend before I headed out on my last trip, and we're thawing that out and having that for dinner tonight. It will make a fine companion for the wine. I also have some really nice mimolette cheese and surprisingly, it goes well with the cab! I think it's the fruitiness of the wine that does it.

[idunno]

What's a good Chardonnay at less than Php 1,000 ($20)?

[masi]

What's a good Chardonnay at less than Php 1,000 ($20)?

 

With your budget you can get a good Chardonnay and a good Chardonnay. It really depends on what you're looking for in your Chardonnay.... sweet, fruity or crisp and chewy/nutty. Chardonnay is grown practically in all parts of the wine making world. France, Australia, New Zealand, US, etc. Of course a different region produces a different taste.

 

Northern Calif chardonnays are, in general, fruity and sweet yet you can also find a crisp and nutty label.

 

My suggestion would be check the alcohol content, the higher the crisper it becomes. Lower means sweeter. Time of harvest of the grape would also determine a wine's sweetness.

 

I would also suggest that you break your budget so you can buy 2 bottles from different countries or regions. Then you can compare the flavors. Word of warning though, you will be drunk after consuming 2 bottles.

[Sub0]

I tried researching on Stonefish Wines but didn't come up with much except that it's available in a whole lot of the restos in Australia and it seems to come from the Hunter Valley.

 

 

Hi all,

 

I've located "Stonefish Wines" for you and you can find them at http:www.stonefishwines.com.au

 

I hope that helps :thumbsupsmiley:

 

Cheers

SUB0

[CruzinJoe]

been drinking red and white wine for the past year...i walways drink red wine with my steak or sometimes with fish (smoked)... i live here in the east coast...my goal is to visit all the vineyards in new york state and bring home some of the finest wines..

[bods1000]

Am finishing off a bottle of 2002 Seppelt Moyston Shiraz Cabernet right now with my extravaganzza pizza from dominoes!

 

Seppelt is good...where'd you get the wine and how was it?

 

Met with Agxo and his family last night. We had a great night although we missed you guys.

 

Opened an Astica 2002 Malbec-Merlot in our house.

 

sorry to have missed that, pare, but there's always a next time....

no wines for me in Vigan that time

 

been drinking red and white wine for the past year...i walways drink red wine with my steak or sometimes with fish (smoked)... i live here in the east coast...my goal is to visit all the vineyards in new york state and bring home some of the finest wines..

 

pare we await your report

New York state wines have always remained a mystery. Tell us what's good on those Finger Lake wineries....

[agxo3]

sorry to have missed that, pare, but there's always a next time....

no wines for me in Vigan that time

 

pare we await your report

New York state wines have always remained a mystery. Tell us what's good on those Finger Lake wineries....

 

Bods, sorry we missed you and Masi. But - there's always next time!!!

 

New York state wines have been gettin gbetter over time. i rmember my first trip to the finger lakes many, many years ago. Nice scenery, great company (I met upwith some friends who lived there), but the wines were terrible! Since then I have tasted a few that seem to be improving, and I know that Long Island wines are pretty well ragedrd, at least on the east coast. On the west coast, of course, we're chauvinistic about our Napa/Sonoma/Livermore/Lodi/Paso Robles/Santa Barbara/Monterey/Mendocino/Temecula/Gold Country/Santa Cruz wines.

 

I had dinner at a place called Oliveto's in Oakland last night. Italian (as the name suggests), and pricey!!! $100 for me and my wife, but I had 2 glasses of wine, and she had dessert. Still, not a cheap place. BUT - I had a very interesting wine for dessert. A 2004 Brachetto D'Acqui. DOC Garantita (??). By Antica Vineria Castel Rocchero. RED, very. Fizzy, slightly. 5% alcohol (pretty light). Sweet (slightly). Loads of fresh, sweet, bright red strawberries and red maraschino cherries. A hint of citrus (?????). A bit of stone fruit (maybe apricots, maybe peaches. Very light, hard to tell.) $14 a glass!!! Pretty expensive for a dessert wine. Comes in 500 ml bottles asopposed to the standard 750 ml. Unusual wine, never had it before. Since you guys get a boatload of European wines over there, you might go looking for this one. I'm going to go looking for it locally. Definitely a keeper.

 

Tongiht, opened a 1998 Niebaum-Coppola Estate Reserve Cab Sauv. Mmmmmm. Nice. Black berries and cherries. A bit of smoke. Restrained tannnis - ready to drink!!! A bit of plum on the finish and a bit of cassis/raisin. Poured a half cup ionto the chili we were heating up for dinner. Rounded out those peppers nicely and sweetened it up slightly. Not bad at all. Finished off half the bottle tonight.

 

Tomorrow we're having pork chops. The Coppola cab will go well with the chops, especially how I do them - rubbed with a nice chipotle chili-based dry rub, then seared. Into the over to cook, with some Worcestershire and balsamic vinegar (just picked up some black cherry-flavored balsamic -that will go well!!!) and some onions to caramelize as the prok cooks. I'm gettin hungry just thinking of it!

[RPinay]

Paul Mason's red is my regular wine. My drinking buddy likes Novelino lively semi-dry red.

[idunno]

no offense but I think Novellino is good for pouring down the sink

[idunno]

With your budget you can get a good Chardonnay and a good Chardonnay. It really depends on what you're looking for in your Chardonnay.... sweet, fruity or crisp and chewy/nutty. Chardonnay is grown practically in all parts of the wine making world. France, Australia, New Zealand, US, etc. Of course a different region produces a different taste.

 

Northern Calif chardonnays are, in general, fruity and sweet yet you can also find a crisp and nutty label.

 

My suggestion would be check the alcohol content, the higher the crisper it becomes. Lower means sweeter. Time of harvest of the grape would also determine a wine's sweetness.

 

I would also suggest that you break your budget so you can buy 2 bottles from different countries or regions. Then you can compare the flavors. Word of warning though, you will be drunk after consuming 2 bottles.

 

Thanks for the tip! I was looking for a full-bodied Chardonnay with hints of oak preferably from California. I wanted to get the best value from P1,000 especially since California wines are so expensive.

[CruzinJoe]

it's been quite a busy year... only visited with vineyard/winery out in the hamptons this fall... duck walk vineyards..tasted their 2003 cabernet sauvignon...and 2002 merlot reserved..they are very good with meat/steak...also tried wolferr vineyard estates.. tried 2003 reserve merlot...its bouquet very nice..nice to the palate...will try to go to brotherhood vineyards - the first winery/vineyard in the united states upstate new york sometime this weekend... i usually travel at the end of summer because of less people/ less kids out there...will try the finger lakes winery next year...and i'll try the long island sound winery on the north side next fall...i could get/buy wine but i enjoy traveling and enjoy the scenery so it may take me a while to give a FR.

[masi]

Paul Mason's red is my regular wine. My drinking buddy likes Novelino lively semi-dry red.

 

you really have a long lonely road ahead of you if you continue drinking this stuff (you see, the regulars in this thread wouldn't even call this as wine).

 

 

 

no offense but I think Novellino is good for pouring down the sink

 

could not have said it any better.

[agxo3]

With your budget you can get a good Chardonnay and a good Chardonnay. It really depends on what you're looking for in your Chardonnay.... sweet, fruity or crisp and chewy/nutty. Chardonnay is grown practically in all parts of the wine making world. France, Australia, New Zealand, US, etc. Of course a different region produces a different taste.

 

Northern Calif chardonnays are, in general, fruity and sweet yet you can also find a crisp and nutty label.

 

My suggestion would be check the alcohol content, the higher the crisper it becomes. Lower means sweeter. Time of harvest of the grape would also determine a wine's sweetness.

 

I would also suggest that you break your budget so you can buy 2 bottles from different countries or regions. Then you can compare the flavors. Word of warning though, you will be drunk after consuming 2 bottles.

 

Thanks for the tip! I was looking for a full-bodied Chardonnay with hints of oak preferably from California. I wanted to get the best value from P1,000 especially since California wines are so expensive.

 

First, Masi, I'd disagree with your characterization of California chards as "fruity and sweet". While there are some like that, in general they tend to be a bit sutere, with predominant notes of oak, butter, vanilla and toast. The California style of chard is pretty monotonous, IMHO. Butter, oak, vanilla, toast, butter, oak, vanilla, toast....... BUT - I am beginning to see some departures from that. Many wineries (Rombauer, Coppola, Retzlaff, among others) are now producing chards in the Bordeaux tradition. Very little (if any) oak. Loads of citrus. Bright fruit. DRY, DRY, DRY - NO residual sugar!! The fruit comes out, nonetheless, and the wine is like sunshine distilled and captured in a bottle! Done well, it is truly awesome. Done poorly, it's pedestrian at best and acetone at worst.

 

And yes, Paul Masson wines are an embarrasment to all California wines lovers. They used to be good! But they fell into the trap of mass-produced, lowest common denominator wines that are now no better than Thunderbird, Ripple, MD20-20 and boone's Farm (wines of choice for the down-and-out wino on the street). Grape juice with alcohol in it. Best to stay away from them except as an example of what NOT to drink!

[turboneticssx8]

Sino pupunta Grand Wine Experience in New World bukas?