Wine Talk

[PanthersATL]

 

1 hour ago, Happy Panther said:

Never skimp on wine. 

We clump wines into "every day wine" and "special splurge wine" categories. Generally speaking, we have a fairly good idea of which wineries, varietals etc that we enjoy and at what price points. We've certainly have moved past our early years of "ooooh, that's a nice picture on the label" into a better wine appreciation world.

For every day wines, we've found that wines in the $15-$20 range are perfectly fine for us. Splurge wines are usually in the $30-$50 range.  $100 bottle? Not on our usual radar -- but we're certain we would definitely enjoy it if we were gifted some.

We have yet to find a bum bottle in the Costco/Kirkland signature collection (their "K" brand left a little to be desired), and there are some isolated Trader Joe bottles in the $20 range that we've enjoyed as well.

[Happy Panther]

Yeah California is pretty good at mass producing wines without a terrible lack of quality. No reason anyone shouldn't be able to find at $15-$20 drinkable cab.

While I have collected plenty of $100+ reds in the wine fridge we tend to splurge on port and champagne.

From this week:

[PanthersATL]

We use the Vivino app to look up various ratings and suggested price point.  Once you get a decent collection of wines rated, it's pretty decent in predicting/suggesting whether a particular bottle we haven't tried will match our preferences.

 

[Happy Panther]

dinner at Kindred

[Anybodyhome]

My wife is "in the business," so to speak, so there is no shortage of supply in our house. Following my return from Southeast Asia in 1975, I lived in Napa for a short period and can tell you that Saturday afternoon winery tastings back then were free and only a few people took advantage of the opportunity. Nobody really knew anything about California wines then.

We've been fortunate guests of a few California wineries over the years and it's always much more fun when someone else is picking up the tab. I've had my share of Caymus, Opus One, Joseph Phelps Insignia, etc., but the fun challenge is finding the diamond in the rough that doesn't cost a lot, but tastes like a million. 

[Dex]

i like red that isn't sweet. i don't know anything else.

[thefuzz]

I typically have a glass with dinner, $15-20...you can find a lot of good stuff in that range if you dig a bit.

I'm a fan of French Whites at the moment, but a little tough to get the ones that are really good consistently.

 

[Happy Panther]

55 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

I typically have a glass with dinner, $15-20...you can find a lot of good stuff in that range if you dig a bit.

I'm a fan of French Whites at the moment, but a little tough to get the ones that are really good consistently.

 

Rhone and Bordeaux are fairly easy to get into and hard to miss. Burgundy is the opposite.

But the best wine I ever had was a Burgundy. Smelled of manure.

[thefuzz]

8 minutes ago, Happy Panther said:

Rhone and Bordeaux are fairly easy to get into and hard to miss. Burgundy is the opposite.

But the best wine I ever had was a Burgundy. Smelled of manure.

Bordeaux Blanc's will be my go to this summer...

French wines typically taste better to my pallet, but I'm open to all of it, need to stock up soon...my little neighborhood wine shop is closing down this week after being there for 8 years...gonna suck.

[PanthersATL]

On 3/21/2022 at 11:02 AM, Anybodyhome said:

but the fun challenge is finding the diamond in the rough that doesn't cost a lot, but tastes like a million. 

We drink what we like.  Occasionally find a new label that hits our tastes better than others.  Current weekday fav is a $13 red wine blend from Austin Hope which reminds me of some old vine zins that we've enjoyed.  Weekend drinking is a bit more eclectic.

[Anybodyhome]

Going to an Orin Swift wine dinner tomorrow night. Not familiar, but I'm told it's a big, bold California wine. Looking forward to it. 

[Anybodyhome]

The wine dinner last night featured Orin Swift wines by Dave Phinney. Orin Swift is owned by the Gallo Family portfolio.

The Slander Pinot was good.

The D66 Others is a French red blend (yes, Phinney also owns a winery in France). France is divided into 90 geographical "Departments," this particular winery being in Department 66, hence D66.

8 Years in the Desert was very a good California Zinfandel. So named because Dave Phinney agreed not to make or sell any Zin for 8 years after he sold his last brand some of you may recognize- The Prisoner.  So, after making Prisoner for 8 years, he had to spend another 8 years in wine purgatory before making another Zin, and this is it. 

[PanthersATL]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:40 PM, Anybodyhome said:

8 Years in the Desert was very a good California Zinfandel. 

What's the price point on this, and would you buy it ?

[davos]

I’ve been big on Malbec’s this winter. rockstars. My thing has always been to spot how they display the appellation and get to know the import groups.

Current fave styles:

Cotes De Rhône

Barbara

And a damn good French Sancerre

I typically fall in the 16-30 bottle range store, 55-75 restaurant. That’s where you can get the best by you don’t need to go for the crazy pricey.