Favorite wine variety (spam on subject)

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:21 pm

Just curious. Assuming you drink wine, rather than BS' Thunderbird.

Can be variety (burgundy, merlot, etc) or brand.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:27 pm

I really like Pinot Noir, Red Zinfandels (not that awful pink stuff) and Shiraz.
Later I'll mention some specific vineyards

I also enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, though my preference tends to be for the spicier varietals I mention above.

I'm iffy on whites, but on a hot day a well chilled dry Riesling or Chardonnay can be tasty.

Chanak · Post by **Chanak** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:28 pm

A good merlot settles it all for me. I've never been one to be picky about the vineyard...as long as it isn't Boone's Strawberry Hill, I'm okay with it.

However, once in a while I will seek out a good Muscadine wine. If you've never tried it before, you ought to. It's a perfect table wine.

oozae · Post by **oozae** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:08 am

I think I prefer white, so does my dad, there be no more white wine in the household now

But there are two reds, one I just won going to a charity thingy, (everyone there are close friends, there was only about 20 people there) and another one my dad bought with the white. One is Wolf Blass Shiraz Cabernet Sauvingnon 2002 SA, the other is Forest Hill Vineyard 2001 Cabernet Sauvingnon WA.

Moonbiter · Post by **Moonbiter** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:11 am

It's pretty seasonal with me. From around Easter I usually switch to white, and then a nice, smooth Sancerre. I also like a good, dry Chablis, but it tends to mess with my tummy. As for red, I tend to go with Bordeaux. Chateau Mercier has sort of become the "dinner wine" in our household, though it is a bit pricey. For general use I also have a weakness for a Italian one, a Sangiovese from Toscana.

Luis Antonio · Post by **Luis Antonio** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 5:39 am

Malbec! Try some Malbec from Argentina, you'll never want to stop drinking. Its complex, with a very good smell, taste, goes well with food or just with bread, if you like feeling the taste of the vino.

Also, Shiraz is very good, strong, with a rich flavour.

Macleod1701 · Post by **Macleod1701** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 10:32 am

A nice medium dry white always hits the spot. None specifically as long as it isn't the really cheap £2 bottle that's really just vinigar

jopperm2 · Post by **jopperm2** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 2:23 pm

Wow! You can buy wine for £2? Nasty. I prefer whites. I like riesling for a sweet or pinot grigio if I want to go drier.

I think the reason I'm not big on red is that my first experience with wine was with the red "house wine" at a seafood restaurant in Normandy. First of all, let me say that any wine without a name that is free and comes in a gravy boat is not worth drinking, especially if you've never had wine before and you're 16. I think that experience spoiled reds for me.

I had a similar experience with rum, except that the gravy boat was a half-drank bottle of Fruitopia complete with backwash. It was hot too since it had been on the floor of my friend's car all day. Yuck! I DON'T drink rum, period.

moltovir · Post by **moltovir** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:15 pm

Call me weird, but I prefer Retsina, even though most people say it tastes like oil

(I wouldn't know, I never drank oil)

frogus23 · Post by **frogus23** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 4:49 am

I've drank oil, and Retsina loses out -with oil breath you can immolate your foes, with retsina breath you can just get slapped.

I don't think it is possible to get any wine for £2 in the UK, although lord knows I've haggled.

My favourite wine is one called Il Borgo Rosso, which is £5.99 for 2 litres, and still tastes like wine you get to the bottom of the bottle.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 5:35 pm

[QUOTE=Luis Antonio]Malbec! Try some Malbec from Argentina, you'll never want to stop drinking. Its complex, with a very good smell, taste, goes well with food or just with bread, if you like feeling the taste of the vino.
[/QUOTE]

I'll have to keep an eye open for it, then. The US has become an increasingly avid market for international wines over the last decade, and there's a lot available. It's one area where it seems Dubya hasn't tried to play politics with heavy import duties; but then, as the state being most likely hurt by wine imports is California, traditionally Democrat, the Republican administration probably doesn't care that much.

Luis Antonio · Post by **Luis Antonio** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 5:39 pm

@Fable, I bought a bottle of the finest Malbec for my dad four years ago. He drinked it, (it was the first malbec to enter our house) and we never stop buying malbec wines. The better malbec come from Argentina, always, so forget malbec if you find some from uruguay or from Brazil (gotta be honest).

@Molto, what is Retsina?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 9:13 pm

We'll probably be out this weekend, and swing by the local liquor warehouse. They have a good selection, if not great, but I'm sure we'll find something. Do you recommend a particular winery for Malbec?

Luis Antonio · Post by **Luis Antonio** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:13 am

Lagarde - very very good, the better actually.
We also have bought good malbecs from Finca Flishman, Terrazas, Luigi Bosco. These three last are more suited for every day consuption (not that expensives) while Lagarde would be far more suited for a special ocasion. Well, we dont have tons of money to burn in expensive wines, and those are an "average cost vino" set.

jopperm2 · Post by **jopperm2** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:23 pm

@Frogus, any idea what £5.99 works out to USD? The wines I buy are usually in the $6-9 US range.. Unless I want something nicer for an occasion.

Anyone heard of Chenin Blanc? I bought one last night and I've never heard of it. The price was right and the description on the bottle was nice, so I thought I would try something new. I haven't opened it yet.

Moonbiter · Post by **Moonbiter** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:30 pm

Anyone heard of Chenin Blanc? I bought one last night and I've never heard of it. The price was right and the description on the bottle was nice, so I thought I would try something new. I haven't opened it yet.

Yes, it's a Cape wine. I drank a lot of it in Mauritius last fall, and it's really good when combined with seafood or white meat, but the types I got were a little too heavy for just sipping. Still, it beats a lot of the Chardonays ou can get at that price.

jopperm2 · Post by **jopperm2** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:53 pm

THe bottle says it has citrus and melon tones, is that accurate?

EDIT: I'm not familiar with Cape wine, can you elaborate?

Moonbiter · Post by **Moonbiter** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:18 am

All you need to know about the Chenin Blanc can be found here, but I would like to add a few observations myself. In Europe the normal consumer knows it as a Cape wine, because it's bottled and produced for the European market by the Cape Wineries of South Africa. We don't trade wine with the US, and hence don't get it from there. When I got it in Egypt and Mauritius, it was also South African. Hope that helped a bit.

jopperm2 · Post by **jopperm2** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:49 am

Thanks for the info!

I tried it last night and it wasn't too great. This one was from California, Beringer I think makes it. The label said semi-dry, but I think it was drier than that. It was a little bitter, but it was cheap so what do I expect?

I really bought it to try though, and I'll be making a sauce to go with my salmon with it. No big loss.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:49 pm

This is the thread I was looking for. It's been some time.

Curiously, my cardiologist has upped my intake of alcohol--since I drink next to none. She's told me I should have roughly 4 ounces of liquor every 24 hours, preferrably a red wine for the bioflavinoids.

[QUOTE=Luis Antonio]Malbec! Try some Malbec from Argentina, you'll never want to stop drinking. Its complex, with a very good smell, taste, goes well with food or just with bread, if you like feeling the taste of the vino.

Also, Shiraz is very good, strong, with a rich flavour.[/QUOTE]

Both of these we've been getting into, lately. The selection isn't terribly good in New Jersey, but none of the ones you mention in this thread, Luis, are to be found in liquor stores--not even the large ones. Shiraz wines are pretty expensive here in the states, though we've found a relatively cheap one with the odd name of Woop Woop that tastes pretty good.