This thread is for wine lovers, lurkers, and anyone that enjoys their vino. Please share any and all suggestions, pics, advice, pairings, and special values/underpriced scores.
I am a 2nd level certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, so if you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask.
Let's drink!
Many years ago. Had an enjoyable meal with two friends.
Buffalo burgers ( from wild buffalo with a tiny bit of pork for juice ) fresh ears of corn. French Silk pie. And a 1961 Chateaux Latour.
Great times.
Honorable mention. 1998 first Thanksgiving dinner with my wife. Turkey golden brown and juicy. Stuffing. Baked potatoes. Cranberry sauce. Fruit salad. Pumpkin pie. And a 1972 Chateaux LaFite Rothschild.
LTG : )
Well, it’s pretty much a given I’d stop by.
Wente 2018 Riva Ranch Monterey. $13
The 2019 is just as good and steal by the case at Costco if you like Chardonnay that cost 2-3x as much.
Tip: Less oak whites work out better when work comes calling the next morning.
244AEAA3-2CAF-4C00-8122-4D0151BF4415 (resized).jpeg
I was asked my advice about peppery zinfandels in another thread, so I will copy my response below for any Zin lovers.
"2018 Brandlin Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel is tremendous with a fantastic peppercorn finish.
Limerick Lane is producing some of the best zinfandels made. Absolutely worth getting into for any Zin fan. They have numerous vintages and styles worth cellaring.
If you don't mind red blends, I highly recommend 8 years in the desert by Orin Swift. It is a zinfandel dominant blend with secondary and tertiary varietals of syrah and petit sirah, respectively. Dave Phinney is the winemaker behind it. He is widely considered the best red blend maker in the world."
WA is not as appreciated as a wine state as CA is but we have some pretty good wines here. I’m blessed to have 100+ wineries and tasting rooms about 15 mins from where I live. If you are looking for a pointers on good WA wines let me know (and Chateau St Michelle is not one I’d recommend, except the sparkling wine)
Quoted from Kkuoppamaki:WA is not as appreciated as a wine state as CA is but we have some pretty good wines here. I’m blessed to have 100+ wineries and tasting rooms about 15 mins from where I live. If you are looking for a pointers on good WA wines let me know (and Chateau St Michelle is not one I’d recommend, except the sparkling wine)
You absolutely need to start buying wines from Long Shadows. If they were made in Napa, they would literally be 5x the price. Seriously.
Quoted from Daditude:I was asked my advice about peppery zinfandels in another thread, so I will copy my response below for any Zin lovers.
"2018 Brandlin Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel is tremendous with a fantastic peppercorn finish.
Limerick Lane is producing some of the best zinfandels made. Absolutely worth getting into for any Zin fan. They have numerous vintages and styles worth cellaring.
If you don't mind red blends, I highly recommend 8 years in the desert by Orin Swift. It is a zinfandel dominant blend with secondary and tertiary varietals of syrah and petit sirah, respectively. Dave Phinney is the winemaker behind it. He is widely considered the best red blend maker in the world."
Thank you very much!! I know most people don’t like the idea of a peppercorn taste to wine, but IMO it is an excellent pairing with steaks.
Quoted from Kkuoppamaki:WA is not as appreciated as a wine state as CA is but we have some pretty good wines here. I’m blessed to have 100+ wineries and tasting rooms about 15 mins from where I live. If you are looking for a pointers on good WA wines let me know (and Chateau St Michelle is not one I’d recommend, except the sparkling wine)
D2 from DeLille is one of my favorites from WA.
C5508AAD-A0E5-479E-9ADD-2902DECA2C04 (resized).jpegQuoted from Daditude:You absolutely need to start buying wines from Long Shadows. If they were made in Napa, they would literally be 5x the price. Seriously.
Long Shadows has a tasting room near me, I'm pretty sure I've been there but just don't recall what their wines were like. I'll make sure to do a tasting once the dry january is over. My favorites include Betz, Fidelitas, Mark Ryan and of course De Lille (I'm a member there). BigT recommended De Lille D2 and it is a good wine, De Lille has much better (albeit also more expensive) wines than that but it is an excellent wine for the price
Quoted from Kkuoppamaki:Long Shadows has a tasting room near me, I'm pretty sure I've been there but just don't recall what their wines were like. I'll make sure to do a tasting once the dry january is over. My favorites include Betz, Fidelitas, Mark Ryan and of course De Lille (I'm a member there). BigT recommended De Lille D2 and it is a good wine, De Lille has much better (albeit also more expensive) wines than that but it is an excellent wine for the price
I enjoy feather, pirouette, sequel, and pedestal.
20210120_113827 (resized).jpg8 years in the desert by Orin Swift (Dave Phinney is the wine maker)
Dave Phinney's meteoric rise from an unknown to being widely regarded as the best red blend maker in the world has produced many great wines a long the way, but 8 years is peerless in it's category.
It is a Zinfandel, syrah, and petit sirah blend that will punch you with black fruits, spice, chewy tannins, and an amazing finish.
If you are unfamiliar with his wines, go out and find them.
Screenshot_20210121-134950~2 (resized).pngDamn, Daditude! That's sweet! Where do you get your info from as far as what to what to cellar and what to drink now? Also, kudos for primarily being a red fan. Whites are fine, but... yeah. Unless it *really* pairs well with the meal (like scallops), I'm going red 9 out of 10 times.
All day long I've been looking forward to getting into this tonight with some salmon and mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, one of my budget favorites.
All right, I've come to the right place!
What are some tips for starting up a good collection? (meaning to drink, not to gaze longingly at). I've got to imagine that there are some ways to either buy in bulk, or get a relationship with a distributor or wholesaling. We have been members of specific vineyards' wine clubs in recent year (Kuleto being the main one, after having visited their *AMAZING* mountaintop vineyard in Napa), but as I was dropping $250 twice a month for a case of 4, and the wine was quite good, but possibly overkill for my limited palate.
We are (STILL...) renovating the house and I'd like to include a small wine 'closet' in the plans.
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:All right, I've come to the right place!
What are some tips for starting up a good collection? (meaning to drink, not to gaze longingly at). I've got to imagine that there are some ways to either buy in bulk, or get a relationship with a distributor or wholesaling. We have been members of specific vineyards' wine clubs in recent year (Kuleto being the main one, after having visited their *AMAZING* mountaintop vineyard in Napa), but as I was dropping $250 twice a month for a case of 4, and the wine was quite good, but possibly overkill for my limited palate.
We are (STILL...) renovating the house and I'd like to include a small wine 'closet' in the plans.
These are my suggestions:
Chat up friends and family to see if they have any bottles for trade/sale. This is a great way to start networking. You may find some wine lovers that you didn't even know liked it at all...you may even score some free bottles.
Go to nearby liquor/beer/wine stores and chat them up. They may have old stock or behind the counter deals. They may also make you special bargains on future purchases.
Join wine clubs. They often give steep discounts.
Browse shelves at any store that sells wine for underpriced items or just great deals. Check stores when you are traveling especially. I scored a 2007 opus one for $58 not long ago. I still can't believe it.
Quoted from RVH:I just started drinking wine and know very little. I have been buying happy camper $9 a bottle when I buy a case.
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I cannot say that I have tried that one, but I will look into it. There are plenty of good wines at lower price points. It is when they start winning awards and people start discovering them that they rise in price dramatically. One of my favorite "newish" wines is going through this now, unfortunately.
Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon
Try it before it triples in price...again 
I really like those shelves in that wine room @Daditude. Where did you find them or did you have them built?
I have those "individual" bottle spaces, but it doesn't give the ability to stack in Magnums or cases together like that.
Plus, they look much more sturdy. No sagging. Hardwood?
Quoted from Fulltilt:I really like those shelves in that wine room Daditude. Where did you find them or did you have them built?
I have those "individual" bottle spaces, but it doesn't give the ability to stack in Magnums or cases together like that.
Plus, they look much more sturdy. No sagging.
They had to be custom built.
Quoted from Fulltilt:I've got several bottles of Baldacci Cabernets. I LOVE the Stags Leap district wines.
Why is that considered such a prime vinyard area? Seems like so many Stags Leap vinyards produce spectacular wines.
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The whole Napa area just has a phenomenal terroir (soil, weather, terrain). It is truly perfect for grapes. Some people favor certain sub-appellations, however.
These winemakers are so incredible these days with the latest-greatest technology and tools. I think you can find great wines of differing varietals pretty much throughout Napa. Washington is really coming along as well, and tends to offer far more value as well.
Who produced that cooling system you have? I've looked at some from Wine Enthusiast but so much involved for installation. My basement wine area stays a pretty consistent temp/humidity so I really wonder if I need to spend big bucks just for wines??
Quoted from Fulltilt:I've got several bottles of Baldacci Cabernets. I LOVE the Stags Leap district wines.
Why is that considered such a prime vinyard area? Seems like so many Stags Leap vinyards produce spectacular wines.
[quoted image]
I'm a big fan of Stags Leap area wines as well, Stags Leap Wine Cellar being my favorite. Haven't tried Baldacci, but will definitely get a bottle or two
Quoted from Kkuoppamaki:I'm a big fan of Stags Leap area wines as well, Stags Leap Wine Cellar being my favorite. Haven't tried Baldacci, but will definitely get a bottle or two
You can order from the Vinyard sales site and get on the email list for sales that sometimes happen.
https://www.baldaccivineyards.com/
Quoted from Fulltilt:Who produced that cooling system you have? I've looked at some from Wine Enthusiast but so much involved for installation. My basement wine area stays a pretty consistent temp/humidity so I really wonder if I need to spend big bucks just for wines??
You dont have to have any "specialty" coolers necessarily, but a digital temperature read-out would be recommended.
20210126_200605 (resized).jpgDaditude not sure if you’re a Burgundy fan, but you might enjoy something like the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. I’m sure a community as big as DFW has a chapter. Sometimes the older chapters of such organizations are a little stiff in the upper lip, but you never know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confrérie_des_Chevaliers_du_Tastevin
I tend to have fairly straightforward taste in wine.
My favorite “any occasion” wine is ZACCAGNINI MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO (also known as Stick Wine). It’s perfect with Italian foods, but is great with red meats or sweets as well. It isn’t expensive, and is pretty available. The only downside is occasionally it has years that are not quite as good (2014 wasn’t great).
In that same vein, Shannon Ridge makes something they call “Wrangler Red”, which is a great blend for pizza. It’s a Zin based blend that is just right to me. Inexpensive and goes well with pizza and pinball nights.
In the early 90s I did the Napa thing and stopped at Silverado Vineyards. That was back when you could fly home with a travel pack of 6 bottles in the overhead compartment. And I did. I associated Silverado with special occasions. When my ex-wife moved out I popped open a young merlot from there. Their Cabernet ages really well. After about 10 years it is unreal. About 45 a bottle for the Cab. It’s good early, but giving it time makes it perfect.
My sister (who is no longer with us) bought me a bottle of the 2009 Silverado Cabernet when I did some car work for her years ago. Once I have the vaccine and can responsibly celebrate with family again, that will be the bottle I open.
We live in 'wine country' (at least one of the areas referred to this way), Sonoma
country, CA. Vinyards within a mile of our place in any direction and LOTS
of wineries big and small.
If any of you folks find yourself up here, take a tour of Korbel. Great tour
and unlike others, free. And the aroma inside should be bottled and sold.
Head west on River Road toward the coast, hard to miss.
And an arcade tie in. A few years ago bought a used but nice condition
wine barrel, split it length wise, and turned it into a MAME cocktail style
vid.
Last night on the show called the Con on I believe ABC. Only caught the end of it last 15mins about a guy from Indonesia who got sentenced to 10 years in jail and 28 million owed for counterfeit wine putting in bottles and driving up prices at auctions
Selfless plug but I’m a partner in a wine business. Love my wine almost as much as my pins. I can guarantee we have the cheapest prices on everything we sell from what I’ve seen and any order $99 and over ships free. Have lots of hard to find and allocated wines as well. Check our store and if you find anything we are currently selling for less elsewhere shoot me a PM and I’ll send you a coupon for 10% off your first order. Shopwineslash.com
Grabbed a nice stock from Total Wine's "Over 90 and under $20" sale. We'll see how it turns out, but I have had about half of these before and enjoyed them from what I remember. The Jupiter especially.
I also stuck the bottle of Amaro in this pic because in my ongoing quest to find good yet cheaper alternatives to Campari, this is my favorite so far. If I could only take one "food" with me to a desert island I'm cheating and taking an endless supply of Negronis, that's how much I love 'em, but Campari at $31 a bottle is a pain in the ass. I was using Carpano Botanic Bitter for a while as a substitute, $36 for a 1L bottle, so barely any savings, and a little too earthy/herbal. I find Aperol too sweet. This one (Knight Gabriello Rosso Amaro) is nice and orangey, while still being bitter. $20.
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Rockwall, TX
