Wine-savvy

[agxo3]

SIDEWAYS, that film about the absurdist world of the wine-obsessive, has, would you believe, been chosen as one of the best films of 2004 by the American Film Institute.

 

I wonder where I can get a copy of this -  is this out on video na? The chances of Manila theaters showing this film here is as slim as finding a Petrus in my cellar

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AFAIK not yet out on video. Maybe in 3 months.

 

I just picked up a book about the history of the Santa Barbara wine industry and will start into it on my flight to Anaheim tonight. Slim book, may be done by Saturday (2 nights of reading?). Look for a review when I'm done with it.

[bods1000]

What vintage? On the whole, I'd go with the Vintner's Blend. And for zins, with the exception of '95, Sonoma zins have been generally better than Napa Valley zins, although there's at least one zin vineyard in Napa that's very highly rgarded.

 

Vintner's Blend - 1999 and 200 were steller years. 2001 a bit less so, 2002 is a bit young with no more than 12 months in the bottle. I think they barrel their zins 12 months in second year oak.

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thanks a lot!

well that's good because the Vintner's Blend is cheaper than the other two

I do hope it's the 2000 they got....

[bods1000]

darn! didn't make it to WineDepot...nandun pa naman si mamaLips

naunahan pa nya kong bumili ng Ravenswood....

[bods1000]

It turns out that SIDEWAYS has been chosen as Film of the Year by the critics' circle of New York, Boston, LA, San Francisco. It has also been nominated for 7 Golden Globes....

wow to think that it is just a small ($16M budget) film about an otherwise uninteresting subject hehehe...

gotta have to score a copy of that film quick!

[shyguycanada]

Give me a Shiraz and I'm good to go!

[bods1000]

finally got my Ravenswood zins :boo:

 

coincidentally, I also went to MCS and was able to score this LP called GREAT GUITARS AT THE WINERY - good ole swing jazz featuring Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Charlie Byrd...great listening with a glass of zin hehehe...

 

cheers and a Merry Christmas, folks!

[HighVoltageLover]

I love Red Wine specially Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. White wine tastes kinda sour. :headsetsmiley:

[agxo3]

I love Red Wine specially Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. White wine tastes kinda sour.  :headsetsmiley:

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Then I would say you haven't had a good white wine. A bit unusual - whites are generally friendlier wines than reds. But hey! Our taste buds are all different - that's what makes wines so exciting.

 

Speaking of whites - I had the most unusual white wine after Christmas dinner. One of my wife's co-workers comes from an Italian family. Seems they make this wine called limoncito, and they gave her a bottle. Made from (among oher things) lemon rinds. Sweet - what they call a digestivi, or after dinner drink. Sweet, but what a burst of lemon! (Duh - it's made with lemon rinds!!!) On their advice, kept it in the freezer and when I poured it out, it was thick like syrup. Great wine. Now - how do I get more?

 

Earlier in the afternoon, we had some friends over so I opened up a 1998 Diamo Grazie from Camelia Cellars in Geyserville. A blend of cab (70%), sangiovese (25%) and merlot (5%). Nice. smooth. A great sipping wine, and it went well with the light snacks we had. Cuchinta (yup!!), ham with ensaymada. [A bit of explanation here - I live in California!] So everyting was a bit sweet. A stern, tannic cab would have just killed everything. But this blend was soft and smooth. left a sensation of sweetnes, but it was bone dry.

 

I started the evening with a 1992 Retzlaff cabernet suavignon. Grapes from Livermore. All I can say is wow! Took a few minutes to open up - but when it did - loads of black cherry, leather and spice (nutmeg???). Plums and raisins, yum! Layer after layer of flavors. We had some different cheeses to go with it - Mahon from Spain, a smooth and creamy goat cheese from the loire Valley in France, and a creamy brie also from France. All went weel with it - nothing sharp or strong to compete with the wine.

 

Then for dinner, a 1998 Sebastiani Sonoma Valley cabernet sauvignon. Berries, smoke. leather and a hint of pepper (??) on the finish. Another great wine - and a great accompaniment to prime rib.

 

In between, a forgettable viognier.

 

I hope your holiday dinners were as adventursome as ours! And the wines as delicious!

 

I can't wait for New Years Eve!!! Happy holidays to all!

[Lipstick]

Finally opened that bottle of Ravenswood Zins Vitners Blend 2000 Christmas eve and what can I say? I am in love! Wow. It's fantastic and I love that whole warm glow melting in the mouth sensation it delivers soon as it embraces the palate. Kinda reminds me of that real nice drop of St. Hugo I had many months ago in Syd. Thanks for the reco! I think I'll stop drinking anything else for a bit and stick to this drop for the meantime.

 

agxo3, I haven't tasted limoncito but something similar to that called limoncello was featured as a Vretreria home-made drink in the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun." What they do (daw since I can't verify just how real this recipe is) is to take the skin off the lemon, put the peeled lemon in a bottle with 3/4 of alcohol and 1/4 sugar. Afterwhich the skin of the lemon is placed back in the mixture until the drink achieves the right color. Of course this was all explained as the character Marcello was trying to charm the pants off Frances. It looked quite delectable on screen --- so did Marcello!

Edited December 27, 2004 by Lipstick

[Diamondback]

I have been consistently drinking wine in moderation for ten years now. Here are the rules I follow after all that trial and error:

 

1. Don't let a snobbish sommelier or a pretender tell you what's appropriate or not, what is in or not.

2. Just don't drink wine with ice or while warm. You can chill reds if you wish.

3. Red doesn't necessarily go with dark meats and whites with fish and fowl. Tandoori chicken doesn't go with a Sauvignon Blanc, does it?

 

I have developed a fondness for sherries like La Ina as a starter, crisp Sauvignon Blancs or a fragrant old standard like Chardonnay to follow, a good red Rioja to go with roasts, Harvey's Bristol Cream after dinner, and on rare occasions where cigars are available, a nice mild torpedo with Port will do just fine. But that's just me.

[Lipstick]

axgo3, found a recipe of the lemon liqueur for you ... reads easy so it may be easy to DIY. Cheers!

 

Italian Limoncello

Edited December 27, 2004 by Lipstick

[agxo3]

axgo3, found a recipe of the lemon liqueur for you ... reads easy so it may be easy to DIY. Cheers!

 

Italian Limoncello

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Great! I'll give it a try! Thanks!

[agxo3]

Finally opened that bottle of Ravenswood Zins Vitners Blend 2000 Christmas eve and what can I say? I am in love!  Wow.  It's fantastic and I love that whole warm glow melting in the mouth sensation it delivers soon as it embraces the palate.  Kinda reminds me of that real nice drop of St. Hugo I had many months ago in Syd.  Thanks for the reco!  I think I'll stop drinking anything else for a bit and stick to this drop for the meantime.

 

agxo3, I haven't tasted limoncito but something similar to that called limoncello was featured as a Vretreria home-made drink in the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun."  What they do (daw since I can't verify just how real this recipe is) is to take the skin off the lemon, put the peeled lemon in a bottle with 3/4 of alcohol and 1/4 sugar.  Afterwhich the skin of the lemon is placed back in the mixture until the drink achieves the right color.  Of course this was all explained as the character Marcello was trying to charm the pants off Frances. It looked quite delectable on screen --- so did Marcello!

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Hey! Glad you liked the Ravenswood.They do make nice, nice wines. They make lots of single-vineyard zins as well! Monte Rosso is probably the best.

[agxo3]

axgo3, found a recipe of the lemon liqueur for you ... reads easy so it may be easy to DIY. Cheers!

 

Italian Limoncello

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Had another version, this time one called limoncino. All of these seem to be pretty similar - the major differences being in the name. Most are a liquers made from some distilled spirit (vodka, grappa) and lemon rinds. The version I had uses the rind from the Lisbon lemon. the limoncino was an Italian concoction and used native italian lemons - I don't know what variety. similar, but the local version was a tad sweeter and a bit more visuous.

 

On the topic of wierd and wonderful wines - has anyone tried a sparling syrah (shiraz to you Ozzies)? I tried it a couple of months back, then my daughter had it when we went out to dinner last week. It's from an Australian winery called Vixen. Very red, with all that you'd expect from a syrah. Robust, loads of berries, some smoke and leather. but at the same time it was bubbly and fruity. Strange......but nice. Haven't found a retailer here yet that sells it, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I do!

[Guest the_eight_of_orbs]

You guys might wanna drop by my friend's wine bar.

 

CYRANO Wine Selections

Upper Ground Floor

Legaspi Park View Condominium

Carlos Palanca corner Legaspi Street

Legaspi Village, Makati

 

Just look for Alex, Criselda or JP

 

 

and there's a salon right besid it where you can have the most cost efficient hair, nail and massage treatments while having a cup of Illy Cafe Crema or a glass of fine wine from CYRANO. Oh but they won't serve you wine if you're getting a massage.