agxo3 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Maybe agxo or masi or the also long-lost floppydrive can better answer your query. Sorry, bro. Sa reds, yan - dyan mo ko tanungin. Locally-available reds ha.Thanks for dropping by! The most common Chianti label you see is Ruffino and it's available in many different grades. But you need to note that Chianti refers to the Chianti region in Italy, not a type of grape. Most Chiantis are made from the sangiovese grape, so look for a good Aussie sangiovese and you should be well pleased by that. Chiantis is a specific area in Tuscany and there are also now what are called Super Tuscans that don't conform to the traditional (and regulated) Chianti or Tuscan blends. They use cabernet sauvignon among other grapes to make big, bold wines. Unfortunately they also tend to be pretty expensive...... Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I must tell you that I'm a vegetable fancier so I drooled over your listing of those greens and those onions hehe. And I'm such a sucker for cheese. Another confession. I don't have a sweet tooth haha. Meat's okay with me as long as there's wine to wash it down with. But viewed in it's entirety, that dinner of yours plus the Retzlaff is a total winner! Roasted broccoli is REALLY easy to do - just take the florets, removing the stalks (the stalks get tough and woody, not pleasant at all), and drizzle with olive oil. The good stuff, not the cooking grade oil. Sprinkle some sea salt and fresh cracked black [pepper. A few red pepper flakes if you like it lively. Into the oven set to roast at 375F for a half hour or until you see some caramelization forming. That's it! While this works with a mid-bodied red, it goes best with a gruner veltliner (an Austrian white that is great with asparagus as well) or a minerally chenin blanc (from the Loire Valley - Sancerre or Vouvray). I've discovered that making good gazpacho is very, very easy and paired with a light red (tempranillo, of course!) it is a wonderful warm weather meal! Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Roasted broccoli is REALLY easy to do - just take the florets, removing the stalks (the stalks get tough and woody, not pleasant at all), and drizzle with olive oil. The good stuff, not the cooking grade oil. Sprinkle some sea salt and fresh cracked black [pepper. A few red pepper flakes if you like it lively. Into the oven set to roast at 375F for a half hour or until you see some caramelization forming. That's it! While this works with a mid-bodied red, it goes best with a gruner veltliner (an Austrian white that is great with asparagus as well) or a minerally chenin blanc (from the Loire Valley - Sancerre or Vouvray). I've discovered that making good gazpacho is very, very easy and paired with a light red (tempranillo, of course!) it is a wonderful warm weather meal! Sayang yung stalks. Maybe I remove them and saute them in garlic. That reminds me to look for a gruner veltliner. It's available here. I was able to buy one ages ago. I just forgot the brand but Austrian it is. Good for veggies, especially asparagus. Thanks for that mini-refresher on Chianti. I sure could use that information too. We're again drinking wine tonight, Aussie shiraz but we have roast beef to go with it, though I think it is quite awkward with the seafood in coconut sauce that we're also having hehe. Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Sayang yung stalks. Maybe I remove them and saute them in garlic. That reminds me to look for a gruner veltliner. It's available here. I was able to buy one ages ago. I just forgot the brand but Austrian it is. Good for veggies, especially asparagus. Thanks for that mini-refresher on Chianti. I sure could use that information too. We're again drinking wine tonight, Aussie shiraz but we have roast beef to go with it, though I think it is quite awkward with the seafood in coconut sauce that we're also having hehe.So why not have TWO wines for dinner? A chenin blanc or pinot grigio with the seafood in coconut sauce (or maybe a suvignon blanc if you're doing the seafood Thai-style with a bit of het), then the shiraz with the roast beast. Just stopped by wine.com in Berkeley and picked up a Txacoli and what I hope is a true petillant Vouvray. Then we stopped by the little grocery on 4th and found (to our surprise) some REAL Spanish boquerones and jamon Iberico. I think it might be tapas night for dinner! A fresh loaf of rustic sweet bguette, some good olive oil and tomato to rub on the toast, jamon, boquerones, some soft cheese (brie, but it will do instead of idiazabal), olives.....I should have bought some fino sherry or dry vermouth to go with it! No worries, a copa of bianco will do nicely! Edited October 23, 2011 by agxo3 Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 So why not have TWO wines for dinner? A chenin blanc or pinot grigio with the seafood in coconut sauce (or maybe a suvignon blanc if you're doing the seafood Thai-style with a bit of het), then the shiraz with the roast beast. Just stopped by wine.com in Berkeley and picked up a Txacoli and what I hope is a true petillant Vouvray. Then we stopped by the little grocery on 4th and found (to our surprise) some REAL Spanish boquerones and jamon Iberico. I think it might be tapas night for dinner! A fresh loaf of rustic sweet bguette, some good olive oil and tomato to rub on the toast, jamon, boquerones, some soft cheese (brie, but it will do instead of idiazabal), olives.....I should have bought some fino sherry or dry vermouth to go with it! No worries, a copa of bianco will do nicely! So - just finished dinner. Jamon Iberico on pan con tomate. Boquerones on pan con tomate. And to finish - truffle mousse and brie on a slice of really, really good rustic baguette. To drink, ad wonderful, albeit young, Txacoli. An amazing combination of simple flavors - the jamon and boquerones took me right back to Madrid - jamon Iberico is ubiquitous. We had boquerones from a couple of places in Madrid (and in Barcelona) and not once were we disappointed. These were fresh, with great olive oil and just the right hit of lemon. At $46/lb they better be good! And the jamon Iberico would have fit right in at any of the tapas bars we visited. The Txacoli is a young, fresh, wine with a great hit of acidity, citrus-y flavors in the background with a distinct white grape (are you surprised?) base. A bit of fresh pear, a hint of herb (basil????). I am a happy diner......... Quote Link to comment
silvercross0816 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 thanks for the info guys, I'll be lurkin around this thread coz I'm sure to learn more from the connoisseurs Quote Link to comment
masi Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 (edited) Can anybody please recommend an affordable Chianti brand? Leonardo da Vinci Chianti Reserva at Santis. I think it's P800 a bottle. Don't get the non Reserva which is cheaper, it's not good. Wine Depot carries the Ruffino label. Try to look to this "Ruffino Modus 2005 Toscana" Edited October 28, 2011 by masi Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 agxo:That's a real mouthwatering tapas dining adventure you had there! Cheers!Which reminds me to go check out that Spanish resto in GB5, I forgot the name, but it fronts GB2, which has an ongoing food festival for October, featuring the cuisine of different Spanish regions. I think they're now featuring Galician and Basque food. The American lady golfer, Cristie Kerr was here for the weekend. The paper described her as a wine connoisseur. Quite surprising. What was more surprising was when it was mentioned that she also owns Curvature Wines, but I'm not familiar with it. Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 agxo:That's a real mouthwatering tapas dining adventure you had there! Cheers!Which reminds me to go check out that Spanish resto in GB5, I forgot the name, but it fronts GB2, which has an ongoing food festival for October, featuring the cuisine of different Spanish regions. I think they're now featuring Galician and Basque food. The American lady golfer, Cristie Kerr was here for the weekend. The paper described her as a wine connoisseur. Quite surprising. What was more surprising was when it was mentioned that she also owns Curvature Wines, but I'm not familiar with it. She seems to be quite the self-promoter......certainly not shy! Haven't heard of Curvature before and will look it up. Owning a winery seems to be the latest fad among the newly-moneyed sports and entertainment celebrities. Seems like EVERYONE is buying vineyards. Mario Andretti and Fess Parker, the Smothers Brothers, BR Cohn......you've heard the old joke - how do you make a small fortune? Start with a big one and buy a winery! On that note, Deer Ridge in Livermore is no more. He was a great marketer and reasonably decent winemaker, but he couldn't make a go of it, so he sold the facilities. The new owner seems to be a bit snotty. Let's see how long she lasts. Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 She seems to be quite the self-promoter......certainly not shy! Haven't heard of Curvature before and will look it up. Owning a winery seems to be the latest fad among the newly-moneyed sports and entertainment celebrities. Seems like EVERYONE is buying vineyards. Mario Andretti and Fess Parker, the Smothers Brothers, BR Cohn......you've heard the old joke - how do you make a small fortune? Start with a big one and buy a winery! On that note, Deer Ridge in Livermore is no more. He was a great marketer and reasonably decent winemaker, but he couldn't make a go of it, so he sold the facilities. The new owner seems to be a bit snotty. Let's see how long she lasts. What leaves a tannic taste in th mouth is when these moneyed guys have no wine sensibility, but just buys a winery for the sheer fad of it. I guess the guys you mentioned do love the stuff, because there's really no big money in wine. Haha I love that joke! It was also mentioned that Curvature is the house wine of the Trump establishments. Not sure if that's good or bad haha. Sad to know about what happened to Deer Ridge. Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 I will really have second thoughts about wine if and when Manny Pacquiao suddenly gets the urge to buy a vineyard or winery there hmmm... Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 What leaves a tannic taste in th mouth is when these moneyed guys have no wine sensibility, but just buys a winery for the sheer fad of it. I guess the guys you mentioned do love the stuff, because there's really no big money in wine. Haha I love that joke! It was also mentioned that Curvature is the house wine of the Trump establishments. Not sure if that's good or bad haha. Sad to know about what happened to Deer Ridge.The guys I mentioned were the pioneer celebrity winery owners along with Francis Ford Coppola - Fess Parker was in the business for many years before he died, Mario Andretti has owned his winery for over 15 years, BR Cohn for longer than that. But then you have all the new money guys...and the dot-com millionaires who have turned to wine as the new investment vehicle. Well, there's a wine glut. Too many grapes, too much wine being made (some of questionable quality) - two buck Chuck will have some good wines again this year and next. It's turned into a marketer's game, and wine quality seems to be secondary these days. Too bad. But, signs of hope - Rubicon (Francis Ford Coppola's top end winery - he's owned that since the 80's, I think) has reclaimed the Inglenook name. Inglenook was the original name of the winery and up until the 70's was a well-respected name inthe wine industry. Then the owners sold to a large wine and spirits group (was it Constellation??) and the quality tanked rapidly after that, going from the top of the heap to jug wines in a few years. FFC bought the property and renamed it Rubicon and started producing the namesake wines, which are now some of the best in the valley (though quite expensive, and getting more so). Now he's bought the name back, and if I heard correctly, is using Inglenook once again. The Captain's Reserve line of wines is going away - will it be replaced by an Inglenook line? We'll see! In the mean time, Thanksgiving is coming up and it will be time to open another Rubicon - perhaps a '97? Quote Link to comment
rapturousone Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Chianti Riserva 2005 by Castellare de Castellina. It is available at the Straits Wine Company along Pasong Tamo. P1,925. Can anybody please recommend an affordable Chianti brand? Quote Link to comment
nikki999 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 For your Wine Mobile Party Needs you can check this website www.granvinex.com hinire ng boss nmin last week.. good selections of wines... Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 The guys I mentioned were the pioneer celebrity winery owners along with Francis Ford Coppola - Fess Parker was in the business for many years before he died, Mario Andretti has owned his winery for over 15 years, BR Cohn for longer than that. But then you have all the new money guys...and the dot-com millionaires who have turned to wine as the new investment vehicle. Well, there's a wine glut. Too many grapes, too much wine being made (some of questionable quality) - two buck Chuck will have some good wines again this year and next. It's turned into a marketer's game, and wine quality seems to be secondary these days. Too bad. But, signs of hope - Rubicon (Francis Ford Coppola's top end winery - he's owned that since the 80's, I think) has reclaimed the Inglenook name. Inglenook was the original name of the winery and up until the 70's was a well-respected name inthe wine industry. Then the owners sold to a large wine and spirits group (was it Constellation??) and the quality tanked rapidly after that, going from the top of the heap to jug wines in a few years. FFC bought the property and renamed it Rubicon and started producing the namesake wines, which are now some of the best in the valley (though quite expensive, and getting more so). Now he's bought the name back, and if I heard correctly, is using Inglenook once again. The Captain's Reserve line of wines is going away - will it be replaced by an Inglenook line? We'll see! In the mean time, Thanksgiving is coming up and it will be time to open another Rubicon - perhaps a '97? Funny this wine business. It's turned the other way around. Winemakers have turned into celebrities themselves, from being complete unknowns before. Like those super chefs today. Glamorous. But I do think that somehow fame has superseded their talents. Bourdain is a good example. He now looks so smug and bored and world-weary in his travel shows, not that he had much talent to begin with. He was just too media-savvy. Hehe. Quote Link to comment
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