Million Post Quest - Had a good wine lately?

[GR8 2B]

I worked in a couple of nice restaurants during summers in college. I soon realized that it would be to my benefit to learn enough about wine to be able to negotiate my way through a good wine list on a date. That initial interest led to my enjoyment of many good and great wines on many good and great dates over the years. I began with whites, but quickly graduated to reds, and came to particularly like big Cabs and Meritages. The best I remember were by Caymus, Jordan, Shafer, and Grgich Hills, all of which were expensive, but always added to the occasion.

Some things I've learned about wine that are worth repeating:

• Anyone can find a really good $100 bottle of wine, but the smarter oenophile can find the really good $10 to $15 bottle
• The actual, indisputable definition of "a good wine" is one that you like enough to call "a good wine"
• The most fun, smart, and interesting women I have known over the years all enjoyed wine
• Many of the established California wineries will only release so much wine under their premium label(s) each year in order to maintain a higher price for it. For the years in which their harvests produce more of that wine than they want they want to release, they will often release the excess wine under one of their less expensive, secondary labels. Same wine, lower price.
• If you enjoy wine, it pays to regularly read about, discuss, and try different wines in a way that keeps your knowledge of wine fairly current

Some of my less expensive go-to wines, depending on the occasion, in no particular order:

• Cupcake Red Velvet - a solid red table wine, neither sweet nor dry, under $10
• Coppola Claret (black bottle with gold netting) - a crowd-pleasing cabernet sauvignon, under $15
• Hahn Pinot Noir - delicious, under $15
• Cupcake Pinot Grigio - a nicely balanced white wine, not as dry as most pinot grigios, under $10
  
• Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc - a fantastic white wine, not dry, but drier than most sauvignon blancs. Has a slight flavor of pink grapefruit, under $15

 

[Gator by the Sea]

Agree on Coppola...that’s another of my favorites that can be found for a reasonable price.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I worked in a couple of nice restaurants during summers in college. I soon realized that it would be to my benefit to learn enough about wine to be able to negotiate my way through a good wine list on a date. That initial interest led to my enjoyment of many good and great wines on many good and great dates over the years. I began with whites, but quickly graduated to reds, and came to particularly like big Cabs and Meritages. The best I remember were by Caymus, Jordan, Shafer, and Grgich Hills, all of which were expensive, but always added to the occasion.

Some things I've learned about wine that are worth repeating:

• Anyone can find a really good $100 bottle of wine, but the smarter oenophile can find the really good $10 to $15 bottle
• The actual, indisputable definition of "a good wine" is one that you like enough to call "a good wine"
• The most fun, smart, and interesting women I have known over the years all enjoyed wine
• Many of the established California wineries will only release so much wine under their premium label(s) each year in order to maintain a higher price for it. For the years in which their harvests produce more of that wine than they want they want to release, they will often release the excess wine under one of their less expensive, secondary labels. Same wine, lower price.
• If you enjoy wine, it pays to regularly read about, discuss, and try different wines in a way that keeps your knowledge of wine fairly current

Some of my less expensive go-to wines, depending on the occasion, in no particular order:

• Cupcake Red Velvet - a solid red table wine, neither sweet nor dry, under $10
• Coppola Claret (black bottle with gold netting) - a crowd-pleasing cabernet sauvignon, under $15
• Hahn Pinot Noir - delicious, under $15
• Cupcake Pinot Grigio - a nicely balanced white wine, not as dry as most pinot grigios, under $10
  
• Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc - a fantastic white wine, not dry, but drier than most sauvignon blancs. Has a slight flavor of pink grapefruit, under $15

A GCMB first for me! I agree with everything you said! Another great SB for the price (under $15) is Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc. Also in that price range worth trying are Joel Gott SB & Murphy-Goode FB. A Pinot Grigio worth looking for is Zenato (from Italy). They also have a single vineyard version called “”Lugano”. Both are worth the effort to find. Both should be under $13. Great summer, anti pasto, and/or seafood wines.

Lastly my best cab for the money is “Louis Martini Sonoma.” Should be around $15 and is amazingly consistent from vintage to vintage. (“Napa” version is $10 more, roughly, but very good as well.) Second would be Avalon. Cheaper, but definitely a step down - tho always good for uncritical quaffing! (Grayson Cellars would be the bronze medalist in the event, but at $10-12 a bottle a great bargain. ) Bon Apetit!

 

[Tay Bang]

I know your wives are asleep. Are you guys naked as you type these silky oenophilia posts to each other. Oh hey honey, I didn’t know you were up. It’s Jake from State Farm ....

 

[GR8 2B]

I know your wives are asleep. Are you guys naked as you type these silky oenophilia posts to each other. Oh hey honey, I didn’t know you were up. It’s Jake from State Farm ....

Shut up and drink your beer.

 

[GR8 2B]

A GCMB first for me! I agree with everything you said! Another great SB for the price (under $15) is Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc. Also in that price range worth trying are Joel Gott SB & Murphy-Goode FB. A Pinot Grigio worth looking for is Zenato (from Italy). They also have a single vineyard version called “”Lugano”. Both are worth the effort to find. Both should be under $13. Great summer, anti pasto, and/or seafood wines.

Lastly my best cab for the money is “Louis Martini Sonoma.” Should be around $15 and is amazingly consistent from vintage to vintage. (“Napa” version is $10 more, roughly, but very good as well.) Second would be Avalon. Cheaper, but definitely a step down - tho always good for uncritical quaffing! (Grayson Cellars would be the bronze medalist in the event, but at $10-12 a bottle a great bargain. ) Bon Apetit!

Glad to hear it, GBM! It might be the first time anyone here has agreed with everything I've written in a post, too.

I've enjoyed Louis Martini and Avalon before, and fully agree. I'm looking forward to trying the other ones you mentioned.

 

[Tay Bang]

Shut up and drink your beer.

I know. I'm just jealous of your wine knowledge!

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I know your wives are asleep. Are you guys naked as you type these silky oenophilia posts to each other. Oh hey honey, I didn’t know you were up. It’s Jake from State Farm ....

Truth be told, I was on a work trip in Charleston and earlier in the evening I was probably overserved.

 

[AuggieDosta]

I too enjoy wine. But I can't stand the wine snobs that are like:
- Cross-fit people
- Gluten sensitive people
- Vegans and
- Pilots

How do you know when people are those? They'll tell you.


I'm also of the belief that a good wine is a wine YOU enjoy.

So we held a wine tasting contest. The "type" was for Sangiovese wines ONLY. This is a wonderful red wine from Italy. (Keep in mind this is the primary grape also found in Chianti) Each person had to bring two of the same type wine...one for the tasting and the 2nd for the prizes at the end. They had to check in with the person running the competition so that no two people bought the same wine.

At the party, the wine bottle and price was kept secret and each bottle was kept in a brown bag during the competition. All pours were done in the kitchen while the tasters were in the living room. Only two people (not participating) knew the values and brands and they did the serving. Everybody graded each wine on pre-made cards from 1 to 10 and the totals were revealed at the end of the night along with each name and price.

The winner, by far and it wasn't even close, was the cheapest bottle of the night...a $13 bottle of Chianti that comes in a wicker lined bottle and is featured at every damn Italian restaurant you've ever been to.

The more expensive bottles were way down the list and there were two selections that were both in the $50+ range. The person that brought that Chianti went home w/ALL of the 2nd bottles everybody brought!

 

[AuggieDosta]

Here is a great picture of her whining, enjoy or not!!

If we're gonna post up pics of these two whining then I'd prefer to look at:

 

[Swamp Queen]

Glad this thread got ruined. It's as if there isn't an entire forum and chat box devoted to politics.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Glad this thread got ruined. It's as if there isn't an entire forum and chat box devoted to politics.

I'll try to get us back on track. For the Pinot Grigio/Gris fans, I had a pleasant one last Friday. Was at a Cajun restaurant and had a La Crema PG with grilled oysters (topped with butter, garlic and parm). Was pretty nice (and great with the oysters) and based on the per glass price, I imagine a bottle at a liquor store would b $15 or less.

 

[ChiefGator]

Glad this thread got ruined. It's as if there isn't an entire forum and chat box devoted to politics.

I would be happy to remove my posts if you really thing that a couple ruin a thread. Just let me know.

Done without letting me know, I don't want to ruin any threads for anybody.

 

[Gatordiddy]

I've been into some Tempranillos lately

Same here... tasty and affordable.

Also had a Meiomi in Washington State last week, also enjoyed that one.
Oregon Pinots seem to be the best IMO, but this one was good.

Stag's Leap is fantastic as well. My manager just gave me a bottle for our fiscal year end.
I also was gifted a bottle of Cakebread by our distributor...
so when I chug both of these down, I will report back.


A great App to install is Vivino.
You can snap a picture of a bottle's label and it will give you the consensus rating as well as the average price you'd expect to pay.
And ...you can snap a pic of a restaurant's wine menu, and it will rate all the wines on the list.

Great for guys like me who are not all that wine savvy.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Same here... tasty and affordable.

Also had a Meiomi in Washington State last week, also enjoyed that one.
Oregon Pinots seem to be the best IMO, but this one was good.

Stag's Leap is fantastic as well. My manager just gave me a bottle for our fiscal year end.
I also was gifted a bottle of Cakebread by our distributor...
so when I chug both of these down, I will report back.


A great App to install is Vivino.
You can snap a picture of a bottle's label and it will give you the consensus rating as well as the average price you'd expect to pay.
And ...you can snap a pic of a restaurant's wine menu, and it will rate all the wines on the list.

Great for guys like me who are not all that wine savvy.

Some great advice! Thanks. I suspect you will enjoy both those wines very much.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I would be happy to remove my posts if you really thing that a couple ruin a thread. Just let me know.

Done without letting me know, I don't want to ruin any threads for anybody.

I think the queen was just busting balls Chief. Most of our threads bounce off topic at some point, right? IMO - no harm, no foul. If you really want to make it up to us, tell us about a wine, beer, whiskey, etc. you’ve enjoyed recently!

 

[GR8 2B]

I'll try to get us back on track. For the Pinot Grigio/Gris fans, I had a pleasant one last Friday. Was at a Cajun restaurant and had a La Crema PG with grilled oysters (topped with butter, garlic and parm). Was pretty nice (and great with the oysters) and based on the per glass price, I imagine a bottle at a liquor store would b $15 or less.

I'm a big fan of La Crema PN, but have never come across their PG. I"m looking forward to trying it within the week.

 

[ChiefGator]

I think the queen was just busting balls Chief. Most of our threads bounce off topic at some point, right? IMO - no harm, no foul. If you really want to make it up to us, tell us about a wine, beer, whiskey, etc. you’ve enjoyed recently!

Thanks but I am a very bad diabetic so I don't drink any of those things, I miss some mixed drinks I used to enjoy but not that much.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Thanks but I am a very bad diabetic so I don't drink any of those things, I miss some mixed drinks I used to enjoy but not that much.

Sorry to hear it. Hopefully you can still enjoy a good meal occasionally and regale us with the details!

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I'm a big fan of La Crema PN, but have never come across their PG. I"m looking forward to trying it within the week.

First time for me too. I am also a fan of their PNs, and on the rare occasions I drink it, their Chardonnays. All are very fairly priced. I looked the PG up and locally here in Ga. it is $15.99 at Total Wine.