djsexyb

Dude, that is so harsh! Don't blame real rosés for Sutter Home's White Zinfandel sins. It takes a real man (or woman) to admit they like pink wine in the face of scorn and derision from their peers! ← oh no dont get the wrong idea. i love rosés and greek wines too. i have a deep appreciation for them, more than most people because i have alot of greek friends. all i was alluding to was that out the all the ones i tasted within the past few weeks none were more than unidimentional. and i can rattle of a laundry list of "pink wines" that i like, love, and are in my cellar right now.

wow, today marks the middle of the 2006 wedding deason for me. the past five weekends, ive been a guest or worked a wedding (I DJ, obviously) and i have five more weeks to go, being a guest at three more and working 4 more...anyway... i have had more cheap, jug, crappy wine in the past few weeks than any year prior from woodbridge zin to many unpronouncable greek whites, roses, and reds. there was one rose that stood out, but that's kind of like choosing which garbage can smelled better... however there was one wine the stood waaaaay out. d'Arenberg 2002 The Dead Arm Shiraz, although this shiraz was broke out way too late in the evening to be fully appreciated and was in such short supply that i received i miniscule tasting portion. from what i could surmise, this was outstanding. so many aromatics and flavors flooding at you that i can hardly name them all...cedar, blackberry, blueberry, sweet fig, white pepper, a distinct liquorice note, as well as a minty eucalyptus note, carmel creme, the list goes on...i have to pick up a few bottles soon. very nice structure too, good for aging up to 15, 20 years. perhaps more. a further WTN will be issued when i get my shipment in.

this is something that has bugged me quite a bit recently. while i am not a cheap ass by any means, it is still often hard for me to justify (to myself and my other half) paying these terriblly high prices for these traditional wines. and i do not limit this to california/us cabs, pinots, or other. While Cheval Blanc (i just picked one off the top of my head) may very well be the best red i will ever taste, im finding it hard to shovel upwards of 280.00 for a bottle. i have never had a Rothschild, laTour, or laTache and many a day from now will be when i do, just because there are so many other bargains out there that warrant my attention first, us and overseas. (or so thats how my mind works). Aside from that i would say that i wouldnt be completely closed from picking up that 375ml Joseph Phelps Insignia for 60.00 that i keep eyeing or picking up a Mondavi Oakville for 40.00 or 50.00 because simply they offer a better mental value to me even if a Petrus is worth evey penny of 899.99. just my two cents

ok, i have to play devils advocate here and before i do, John let me assure you that this is not directed at you and that your quote is merely a starting point for my point... i like the 100 point system just as much as the next guys, it DOES have alot of benefits, though there is something totaly subjective about wine. for example, i am an avid lover of bonny doon. i know not many on this forum are (or so it seems), but they just release a sangiovese that to quote RG, for the past three years has completely missed the mark, becoming a big bad red instead of the elegent/all food loving chianti. Does this make this wine any less desirable, or any other wine that does not taste like me know it to? i dont think so, but many would rate this lower on a 100 point scale because it doesnt drink like they think sangiovese should. humor me--if you tasted a grape variety you had never tasted before and it tasted like this sangiovese does, you would be pleasantly surprised, praise it, etc, but when its revealed to be sangiovese its suddenly scoffed at. doesnt make much sense to me. many people tend to think that terrior, is a primarily french thing because they taste minerality in their wine. this should not be so. terrior does not = minerality. french terrior just happens to be manifested in the wine as minerality. ah crap, now ive done it...let the flaming begin, back to work for me, but lets here the replys and ill defend my stance later in the day

i have to admit that i not not terriblely well versed in pinot noir, but i just sat down with my morning coffee and the fresh Binny's sale list and found the Southing for $45.99. so the price, i guess, is about par, though i am not so sure as to how limited/scarce these bottles are since they have presence in a major market distributor such as binny's. my two cents.

i would strongly second the navarro juices. these are remarkabley good.

My brother got married this weekend, i was the best man. we got a party trolley to take the bridal party from the church to pictures, to the reception and basically downed whatever was in sight, including LOTS of this sparkling wine, one of my sister in law's favorite. although its hard to do a complex tasting in a bus full of 20 screaming people, drinking from plastic champagne flutes this is what i got... NV Mumm Napa Valley Cuvee M A very fine consistent stream of small bubbles rises very gently from the glass. the nose has gentle pear and white stone fruits, namely white peach, and perhaps a little honey. This cuvee was bone dry and tasted of pear, light peach, and a slight hint of strawberry, minus the sweetness you associate strawberries with. The end was a bit unbalanched with the fruit tones being eagerly overtaken by yeast and brioche, but all in all a nice value sparkler.

wow, this thread is chock full of heated debate. i didnt mean much by my above post other than California Cabs can age quite well enough to put up a fight with top Bordeaux producers. im not here to fight for who i think is the king of the hill, there's no point in that, we should all drink what we can and be happy wether in Petrus or Puppy kibble.

hey guys, got an email from Sante magazine with this head line... so there you have it i guess...

the above suggestions hit the spot, just want to point out that if you're going for that "juicy" red, zinfindel or not as stated in the above suggestion, make sure the alcohol level is low as you can find, because 16% alcohol and spicy food will set your mouth on fire. a nice village Beajoulas would be nice. Or perhaps Roederer Estate Brut Rose if you want bubbly.

i wonder if there'll be an update coming soon. ive been follwing this topic closely and cant wait to hear back. btw, i saw bucklin wines has just been added to Binny's. congrats on that.

I was thinking of putting it in my bag to take to a party. ← gotcha, yea i see your point, ive store3d screwcaps on their side without leakage. if you are worried about it in your bag, id throw it in a plastic bag first just to be safe and make sure that cap in really on there.

i thought of this too and since it doe snot come into contact with the wine at all, just the top of the bottle for sealing purposes, i would say no. i am wondering however how the rubber would stand up to 20-40 years of cellaring, would it deteriorate at all, if so that may be a problem, anyone have any comments?

why would you wnat to keep a screwcaped bottle on its side, especially after inintially opening? you should be drinking that wine within a week anyway, just store it in the fridge standing up. from what i have read, you take the foil off (any maybe a plastic spacer) reveiling the glass cork, then it merely pops right off (think how a mushroom cork works).

hmm, my first instinct is to say "The Wine Bible," but that is QUITE long and does not have prices. i think that the "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" its a very nice introductory wine buyers book, no prices, but alot of the suggestions are quality, often not expensive recommendations, but this book has very little grape adn wine making material within. "Wine for dummies" seems like a good start for you, but i would really just suck it up and get teh wine bible (it has everything yu need plus some minus prices, but a trip to the internet can find prices on any of the wines.) Well, good luck

i recently read an article in wine and spirts april 2006 about the up and coming closures made of glass. they are basically a glass mushroom cork with an o ring that makes an air-tight seal. it is head down by the foiling when packaged. Has anyone had wine closed in this manner? any comments? the author states that more than 100 producers are using what is known as the Vino-Lock closure (VinTegra closure in the US). seems like a good idea. looks better than the screwcap that i perticularly love for its many benefits. Comments?

2005 Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Chennin Blanc Pale yellow and exceptionally clear, this 100% chennin, stainless steal fermented white has light apricot and citrus peel aromas with very light floral notes. Palate cleansing acidity, accompanied by light spicyness, dominates the mouth, though distinctly not overwhelming. it is well-balanced with apricot and citrus flavor, though for 13.7% alcohol i could have used a tiny bit more fruit in the light body. length is minimal to moderate. All in all, good showing of acidity with light fruit tones. Drink now. Drank wonderfully with apricot glazed pork loin with sweet and sour braised red cabbage and arugula.

gosh, i almost forgot about one of my favorite cab franc's. 2002 Vinoce Cabernet Franc, it is a blend with 25% Cab Sauv, and 15% Merlot. it comes from mt. veeder in napa. its a very intense franc with plum and tobacco in the nose followed with gentle oak, blackberry, and brioche flavors. looooong finish. i highly recommend. just a note: this vineyard in actually the properly of comedian/actor robin williams. he lives there, but really doesnt take any part in the vineyard which is owned by Brian Nuss who is also the winemaker.

← Good Find!

I would have to agree. Bartenders and servers are an intrical part of a restaurant and should be well versed in the menus because even if a person knows what they want, a well educated an persuasive server can sway them to a differnet wine/mixed drink if they know how. And frankly much of the dining public who consumes wine, does not know too much about what they're drinking and ask for recommendations anyway. And if they like them, they are bound to have another bottle od that same wine, have the server recommend another and/or come back to your restaurant at a later date. Ffrankly i think dinners should keep an open mind about wine when going to restaurants, dont be set on the producer that you want, or even on a varietal. With a well educated server, you will be able to find better deals, and explore wines (and varietals) you would not have tried otherwise.

congrats brad! read your post and saw this, maybe you want to add it to the cellar for memory's sake... http://cgi.ebay.com/Stags-Leap-Wine-Cellar...1QQcmdZViewItem

Well, since my company Grand Cru Productions does this for a living, i do have my opinion on the matter... i do believe in "focused tasting" to a point. i believe that a theme can be instituted without problem, you just have to use common sense. if you wanted to go from old world to new world, you might want to choose a cab based wine from bordeaux and continue into the new world cabs by place (wines that are easy to distinguish). dont jump from a Rhone to Burgundy to a califonia cab. you're not going to get enough out of the experrience. (in other words, if doign old world/new world stick to a varietal or blends thereof and if you wanted differnet varietals within your dinner stick to a general area, ex. wines of france, progress through them as you would a varietal menu, thus you still get your theme and the guests will get a better sense of place. when doing these types of dinners i always dumb it down a bit, even if customers are wine nuts, the wines more easily appreciated) This is why is usually create my wine/dinner menus in a varietal manner. you can easilly go from sparkling, white, rose, red, and dessert if you want to as long as you watch the intensities and texture of each wine and very importantly the courses that accompany it. i do not believe that focusing a DINNER menu to an all california cab sauv or all cab based bordeaux wines would be a good idea. this is something that is more reserved for a wine tasting with perhaps tiny palate cleansers/cheese courses. wine-dinner parties are invaribly less about the wine and more about the food, even if its a party strictly for wine snobs. hope that all made sense, im coming off a 18-hr day, with 2 hours of sleep..lol...gotta love the food business

Until next year. ← Isn't that the truth...thought i'd throw in a quote from Mr. Parker himself, from"Bordeaux".... "the greatest wines ever made are the ones that are available for sale" Ha! although the 2005 harvest does sound quite intriging. BTW binnys beverage depot just opened thier 2005 futures if anyones interested... http://www.binnys.com/search/winesearch.cf...1&pl=1&asy=2005

I also agree with many of the above statements. If you want a Loire Valley wine at a good price that's off the beatten path, i suggest the 2004 Bonny Doon DEWN Cabernet Franc. i'm a big fan of randal grahmn. as for food paring, id pair this wine with herb (thymne, rosemarry, and tarragon) crusted venison loin, served over a bed of braised beet greens that have a small hint of spice and garlic in them, and tomato and roasted red pepper con fit.. oh and heres the link... https://secure5.nexternal.com/shared/StoreF...ount2=132758736 its under wines, dewn, toward the bottom