blil
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Posts posted by blil
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As a wine industry vetran, I can attest to half-bottles (and magnums) being a PITA. Different labels, different capsules, changing out parts on the bottling line, ordering different glass from the distributor, etc. make it something of a hassle.
And anything larger than a magnum usually has to be hand-filled, hand-corked and hand-labelled.
There's a reason why most half-bottles cost more than 50% of a 750ml. And there's a reason why magnums generally cost more than twice that of a 750ml.
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A friend of mine just got back from Puerto Rico and she brought me back a bottle of "Bacardi Reserva Ron Añejo Especial." She told me the lady she bought it from said it was not available in the states. Can anyone confirm/dispell that rumor?
It's a medium golden color. Quite dry, yet rich, with warm buttery/spicy/vanilla tones. Quite nice with an ice cube or two.
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I'll second the recommendations for Bollinger Grand Anée and Billecart-Salmon Rosé. I don't know too much about Champagne, but those are two of my favorites.
And yes, Champagne can be wonderful with food. I particularly like it with seafood. A good Champagne would be lovely with seared scallops and some pan drippings. Toss in some concassé tomato and the rosé would be perfect.
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Lots of good advice so far. I'll echo the suggestions for soft, fruity, low-tannin wines. I would also caution against anything too oaky.
A bold move would be to eliminate the "bad" wine parings from your wine list. If someone laments the fact that no oaky Napa Cab is offered, have the sommellier explain to him that that style of wine clashes with traditonal Indian food and you don't want to facilitate a train wreck.
If I were designing a wine list for an Indian restaurant, It would be heavy on the fragrant, unaoked whites (no high alcohol, oaky Chardonnay) and low acid, low oak reds. I would also offer a selection of rosés and sparkling wines.
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Snow crabs
in Wine
I think steamed seafood with drawn butter happens to be one of the very rare occasions when a big, rich California Chardonnay is a good pairing.
I'd use this as an excuse to open a Napa Chardonnay.
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For me I would have to say the newest rum I have tried: Pyrat XO. Other than that my "go to" (Pyrat is not to be found in Jacksonville
) is Appleton's Extra and I love HC7 as well. Oh yeah! Can't forget Ron Del Barrilito either!
Are you sure it can't be special ordered in Jacksonville?
I bought some Pyrat Pistol and XO from a little store just between Seaside and Panama City a few years ago. I believe the name of the store is Margaux. If he sells it, someone in Florida has to distribute it, right?
Do whatever you have to to get your hands on a bottle of Pyrat. It's worth the effort.
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Welcome, Bill!
Even though you are dumping your California wines, please PM me if you decide to ever visit the Napa valley.
<as a newbie, PM means Personal Message - a form of Internal e-mail>
We hope you enjoy or stay here at the Gullet and stick around for a while!
Cheers!
Thanks for the offer. My wife and I are trying to get a few couples we know to accompany us to the Central Coast/Paso area next spring. I don't when/if we'll ever make it back to Napa again, but if we do I'll let you know.
And FWIW, I'm certainly not dumping all my California wine. I'm a big fan of a lot of wines and wineries in California. I'm just no longer interested in the $60-75 (and more) Cabernets. I have nothing against these wines. But I came to the realization that I'd rather have a case of $10 Chianti than a single bottle of Merryvale Profile or Hartwell "Sunshine Vineyard" Cabernet.
I've still enjoy a good many Syrahs, Sauvignon Blancs and inexpensive Zinfandels.
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Craig, the place you're referring to is Mo's Market. There's a Mo's steakhouse, and across the street, a Mo's Irish Pub and a Mo's (wine) Market. Blil, it's at 717 W. Plankinton near the river.
Also, Blil, for other wine interest in your city (I'm a Chicagoan, but a frequent visitor), look into:
Sommelier's Palatte in Shorewood (Oakland just north of Capitol, west side of street)
Coquette's Cafe - good mid-range restaurant with nice wine list
Sanford's - great high-end restaurant with a great wine list
...um, there's a small but interesting wine store on Jackson, I think, and Ogden or somewhere just west of downtown. Sorry, no name is coming to mind. Also, I remember there being a Wine Brats chapter somewhere there. Never been there, but have heard great wine things about a new restaurant called Roots, which I'll be visiting soon.
Thanks for the recommendations.
Although I've only been here a short time I've already got the feeling that the prices and selection here are infinitely more consumer-friendly than my previous residences (Atlanta and Austin).
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I guess I'm just tired of these myths about the service industry. We're portrayed as barely-human, evil, uncaring, ignorant, money grubbing scum, out to suck the last dime out of our guests' pockets with our "tricks"
I'm a former restaurant worker myself (back of the house) and I've heard plenty of waiters and waitresses talk about filling up the glasses and selling extra bottles.
Good for you if you don't engage in this type of behavior. The industry needs more people like you.
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I hardly ever order wine in restaurants. Part of the problem is pricing. It's also partly due to issues of service, glassware and temperature.
But I have on a few occasions politely asked for the bottle and told the waiter that I would like to pour it myself.
Also, you can simply place your hand over the glass when he comes back around to fill your glass up. Then refill at your convenience.
It should come as no surprise that waiters are generally coached to keep glasses full. The quicker the bottle is empty, the sooner he can try to sell you another one.....
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The winemaker at a winery I used to work for told me that a professor once returned a paper she had written and told her to capitalize the names of all the grapes in the paper. Since then, I've always capitalized grape names regardless of whether or not they are preceeded by a winery name. IOW, I capitalize "Cabernet Sauvignon" as well as "Spottswood Cabernet Sauvignon."
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Perhaps a bit more reasonably priced, R.L. Buller's NV Fine Muscat can be had for about $12/375ml bottle. I don't know about stylistically.
Both are good wines, but worlds apart stylistically. The St. Supery is light, almost "spritzy" with semi-sweet grapefruit and citrus aromas.
The Bueller's is very thick and full-bodied with caramel and raisiny notes.
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I hardly ever drink wine on its own. To me, wine and food are practically inseparable.
If I'm going to drink something just to drink, I'll have a splash of rum or Scotch.
If I am drinking wine on its own, it's usually a glass of white wine while I'm cooking dinner.
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I like all sorts of rosé, especially in the summertime when we're having lighter entrées like salads and grilled fish.
For lighter rosés, I like Marques de Caçeras (Spain) and Chateau Routas (France).
For more full-bodied rosé, I go for Charles Melton "Rose of Virginia" (Australia) or Garretson Wine Company's "The Celeidh" (Paso Robles).
I feel sorry for people who turn their nose up to a thirst-quenching rosé. It's perfect with a number of foods and you rarely have to pay more than $10 for a really, really good one.
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St. Supery's Moscato is only $10-12 per bottle. That's quite inexpensive for a dessert wine. If that's too much to spare a bit for poaching, I can only assume your boss is running on a tight budget.
FWIW, I think this Moscato would be perfect with a fruit tart.
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Red. But only by the slimmest of margins. I cook a wide enough variety of food to go with lots of red and white wine. And I even like (dry) pink wines, too.
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Um... here's a long-shot Do-You-Know: does the name Ellen Evans ring any bells?
Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. Is she from Texas, Georgia, The University of Georgia or Johnson & Wales?
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Welcome blil - hope you join us often.
I went to a nice wine bar last year in downtown Milwaukee across from a steak house of the same name, but can't remember either. Do you know which place I am talking about?
I've only been here a few months and do most of our wining and dining at home. So, unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the name of the place. But I can ask around and see if I can get some more info about it. Sounds like it might be a nice destination for the rare opportunity the wife and I get to go out to eat without the kids.
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Hello to everyone. I want to thank Brad Ballinger for pointing me towards this forum.
I'm a stay-at-home dad presently in Milwaukee who has spent a number of years in both the wine industry and retail wine/spirits sales.
I've got a finished, temperature-controlled walk-in wine cellar in my basement that presently holds about 400 bottles; mostly $10-20 Italian and Rhône varietals. I used to be into expensive California Cabernet Sauvignon, but my tastes have since changed. Right now, I'm in the process of unloading most of those wines and re-investing the proceeds into "daily drinker" wines.
What else do you want to know? Up until last Thanksgiving, I had spent my whole life in the south; mostly Texas and Georgia. I have a degree in German from the University of Georgia as well as a Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales. Needless to say, I do all the cooking at home. I have two girls; ages 2 and 4. Other interests include college football, reading (fiction and non-fiction), politics and history.
Bill Rosich
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Clearly, you are a man of wealth and taste.
Well, yes, but it is minimal wealth and limited taste.
(Apologies to Mick and Keith)
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What a wonderful forum. I came here for the wine discussion, but was pleasantly surprised to see a forum dedicated to rum. Bravo!
I'm a stay-at-home dad presently in Milwaukee who has spent a number of years in both the wine industry and retail wine/spirits sales.
I don't consider myself to be a rum expert, but I do consider it my favorite distilled spirit. I'm also quite fond of a number of Bourbons and single malt Scotches.
My favorite Rums include Pyrat Pistol, Pyrat XO, Montecristo, Barbancourt (especially the older ones) and Bacardi's Reserva. I'm not opposed to the occasional tumbler of Captain Morgan Private Stock, but I treat it more like a whimsical soft drink than a fine rum.
My first love is wine. I've got a finished, temperature-controlled walk-in wine cellar in my basement that presently holds about 400 bottles; mostly $10-20 Italian and Rhône varietals. I used to be into expensive California Cabernet Sauvignon, but my tastes have since changed.
What else do you want to know? Up until last Thanksgiving, I had spent my whole life in the south; mostly Texas and Georgia. I have a degree in German from the University of Georgia as well as a Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales. Needless to say, I do all the cooking at home. I have two girls; ages 2 and 4. Other interests include college football, reading (fiction and non-fiction), politics and history.
Bill Rosich
How do you drink your rum?
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
I almost always float an ice cube or two in the glass and sip it straight.