View Full Version : Wine
Roguish Lawyer
07-24-2004, 18:29
What kind of wine discussions do you guys want to have? How about people tell us how much wine they drink, what kind they like, and what kind of threads would be of interest. We'll then try to get some good threads going, but target them to what people are interested in.
I also am including a poll on whether to allow discussions of French wine or not.
ROTFLMAO!
Run out of targets, RL?
Ok, I will play along.
Several glasses daily - one right after work and one for dinner daily. More if good freinds and family are sharing. Most often anything crisp, white and dry - will drink reds, but only very good ones. I have discovered a very nice new dessert wine to meld with chocolate instead of ice wine - Southbrook Winery Frambroise.
brewmonkey
07-24-2004, 18:45
Hehehehehehe!!!!
:D
There are plenty of great wines out there, no need to talk about the frogs.
Red Zin, Cabernet, Merlot
If you don't have that, I'll take something red.
Walla Walla Vintners. Chateau St. Michelle Canoe Ridge.
I prefer to support my friends in Washington, Oregon, and California. I don't buy phrench, but I don't mind talking about them. :)
I had some really nice Australian wine in Vancouver, BC. Can't remember what it was though. (It was a rather long evening...)
I also had a truly awesome port at The Alsation Restaurant in Castroville, TX. The owner asked us if we wanted port to finish off our dinner. The only port we'd ever had was the really cheap HORRIBLE stuff served at dining outs, so we said no. He proceeded to gift us with a bottle of the best port in the house. He knew what he was doing; from then on, we got it every time we went. I can't remember what it was...they just brought it to us.
Any suggestions for a really good port?
I've never been shot by a bottle of wine yet. Regardless of nationality. I guess the closest would be MD 20/03:D
Jack Moroney (RIP)
07-24-2004, 19:34
The only good thing about Pfrench wine is the bottle. Many are formed perfectly for improvised shaped-charges. :D
Jack Moroney
Sacamuelas
07-24-2004, 19:36
Someone chime in if they know...
I and my HH6 used to drink a lot of FAT BASTARD wine and the bottle said it was an Aussie made product- at least that is what I thought.
Last night, I bought a bottle and the damn thing said made in phrance. Are there two brands or have I made a major fookup and therefore need to repent to the gods of war(Teutates).
Considering the sacrifice of my seventh bourbon drink as a offering to the gods......or maybe just getting MC7317 to knee me in the groin. :p LOL
yes, I have been drinkin' tonight. hahaha
BTW, my vote:
NO SUPPORTING PHRENCH WINE
Sacamuelas
07-24-2004, 19:38
Originally posted by Jack Moroney
The only good thing about Pfrench wine is the bottle. Many are formed perfectly for improvised shaped-charges. :D
Jack Moroney
LOL Sir...I remember the lessons well growing up. "Now Saca, this little bottle makes a perfect shape charge. And if you ever need a silencer, you can rig up one by taking a ......" :D
memories...memories
Hmmm, I have gifted the in-laws with Fat Bastard on several occassions - I thought it was United States born & bred? Nice choice.
And I always enjoy the Fat Bastard story.
The Fat Bastard web site (http://www.fatbastardwine.com/index2.htm)
I like Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio mostly, Merlot for red but a nice Cab is good as well. One of my favorite Chardonnay brands is Guenoc.
It's not "fine" wine but anyone every try Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's? I was served this recently and for cheap wine (no kidding it is $2.99 a bottle) it is quite tasty. I'm enjoying some Merlot as I type.
brewmonkey
07-24-2004, 21:33
If I have wine it is usually a late harvest variety.
I find that some white wines have a rather obvious "butter" note to them that I find most unpleasing. It can be by product of yeast (as it is in brewing beer) but it can also come from a bacterial contamination (at least in beer). It is a flaw in most beer styles and is something that I cannot get past when drinking other beverages.
Red wines tend to have a very tannic bite to them. Again another issue with brewing that I find difficult to get past. In brewing a beer with a tannin problem is one that had a mash issue. Either to long in the tun, pH way to low or sparge water above 172F. Any way you dice it, it is a flaw in beer.
I do enjoy some wines, but it is rare that I get to try them. I do not generally buy them and most of the people I know that drink wine stick to their "brand" as it were, meaning I do not get to try something new.
I have gone to some wine tastings over the years and have found that for the most part Auslese, Reisling & Piesporter's are ones that I know I will enjoy. Obvious problem though is they are not something you would order with the main course.
Look, I hate those surrender monkeys as much as any of you guys, maybe more having lived in proximity to them for so long. However, I still drink their wine. The climate in France differs quite severely to the climates in the 'New World' wine countries such as Australia, California, and S. Africa. Those climates are relatively stable, producing wines with a similar (great) taste every time. However, in France the weather is hugely variable. As a result, wines from some years may taste horrible, but on other years- 82 sticks out for bordeauxs- the wine exceeds all others.
So no, we should not exclude French wines from the forum, as by limiting the subject matter, we also limit what we can learn about wine.
JMO,
Solid
PS: fuck the french.
PPS: not literally; with lawyers, guns and money.
My mates boss goes through about half a bottle of red Marlbrough Shiraz a day, but I think thats more because of my mate than how great the wine is.
Can say what you want about the French, but they do make some of the best wine and their reputation is well deserved. In fact, a nice Haut-Medoc is near the top on my list with any red meat. However, the other day at a tapa restaurant, I had a Chilean Merlot that was outstanding and comparable to a good French Bordeaux or Burgundy and certainly more affordable.
The Reaper
07-25-2004, 07:35
If the only wine in the world came from France, I could go the rest of my life without a drop to remove economic support from an arrogant, ungrateful, corrupt regime such as they have.
If their current stated positions are truly representative of their beliefs, let them learn to speak German next time (or Arabic), and us stay home and criticize them.
TR
I'd like to try some new selections tonight - BBQ for out-laws with some nice delmonico steaks, grilled veggies, etc.
Need a nice red merlot or shiraz and a dry white anything that isn't oak aged. Specific suggestions in the >= $20 range?
brewmonkey
07-25-2004, 08:20
Originally posted by Solid
Look, I hate those surrender monkeys as much as any of you guys, maybe more having lived in proximity to them for so long. However, I still drink their wine. The climate in France differs quite severely to the climates in the 'New World' wine countries such as Australia, California, and S. Africa. Those climates are relatively stable, producing wines with a similar (great) taste every time. However, in France the weather is hugely variable. As a result, wines from some years may taste horrible, but on other years- 82 sticks out for bordeauxs- the wine exceeds all others.
So no, we should not exclude French wines from the forum, as by limiting the subject matter, we also limit what we can learn about wine.
JMO,
Solid
PS: fuck the french.
PPS: not literally; with lawyers, guns and money.
I will completely disagree with you on this. While the French might make some good wine from time to time, any vintner that can produce a solid product year after year is where I am going. Leaving the frogs out of the discussion is not going to by any means limit the subject matter. There are still MANY great wineries that can be included in the discussion so that all take something away.
Leave it to the French to have something get fucked up and then blame it on any thing BUT themselves.
I will modify my position to state that if we are academically discussing wines, ie: not making buying recommendations, French wines should be included for I truly believe that some of their wines are unsurpassable masterpieces. However, if we're giving buying recommendations, we can leave their wines out and, as TR rightly said, deprive their arrogant, leftist asses of as much economic support as possible.
Brewmonkey- I'm not going to try to lecture on wine, but I will give my opinion for what it's worth. Wine, as with any agricultural product, relies massively on exogenous factors such as weather. As such, weather can often overwhelm a vintner's skill to ruin his wine. Similarly, a poor vintner can produce an excellent wine through perfect weather conditions. This being true, it is possible to say that those vintners that cope in extremely variable climates, such as bordeaux, are more skilled than those that cope in stable climates. Although clearly a generalisation, and the groups are difficult to compare because it is rare to have a french vintner move to the New World or vice versa, this point suggests that by excluding French wines, we are excluding a particularly skilled group of vintners.
Secondly, I think it would help to differentiate between 'table wines' and 'fine wines'. A table wine should be consistently drinkable at a young age and for a lesser price than a fine wine. For this reason, french wines can make particularly poor table wines (as they can be so variable) and therefore would not need to be included in the discussion. However, when it comes to fine wine, the French vintners are masters and we would therefore be limiting our conversation quite dangerously by excluding them.
Again, just my opinion.
Solid
PS: nice new avatar
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. I love the New Zealand SBs, they've got a zing to them.
Itailians tend to produce very nice white table wines. An affordable recommendation: Pasqua Soave
Bravo1-3
07-26-2004, 00:39
One of the nice things about living here is that I'm dead in the center of Washington and Oregon wine country. Even the freakin commies up here drink local, or maybe from California.
I've gone 3 decades without finding anywines that I particularly care for, but I was served some Maryhill Sirah a few months ago that was damn good. And again, that's local stuff.