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NEVERENDING ♾️ The Richmond Jake's NEVERENDING Wine Thread

Cardinal said:
If I buy a Reisling it is from the Mosel-Saar-Ruhr region of Germany, or perhaps I may try an Austrian. For a Shiraz I will generally look to Australia. Those regions do that varietal better than all others.
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The Finger Lakes region produces very respectable Rieslings and other Germanic white varietals - Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Ottonel, and so on. They're hard to find outside of the Northeast, but it you stumble across a Dr. Frank, Hermann Weimer, Ravines, or Lamoreau Landing Riesling on the shelves, try it out. (Finger Lakes reds are generally kind of meh, but cool climate reds, like Pinot Noir and Lemberger, are quite drinkable.

Meanwhile, with the snow coming down, I thought I'd break out a red - Bob's Pinotage (2011). Pinotage is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of varietal, and Bob's is a $10-ish bottle, but I'm rather enjoying it. Somewhat on the dry side, not very tannic, tart, somewhat smoky, a hint of tobacco ... really, a lot of tobacco in the scent, but subdued in the taste. You've done good, South Africa. It's interesting and different, in a good way.

Damnit. Whites are starting to compete with craft brews that I have in the fridge, and the little 24 bottle wine rack in the dining room is full. See what happens when you land a job in an AVA ...
 
Dan said:
....

3) Approach celebrity wine with caution....
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The Greg Norman labeled wines are not bad. :thumbsup: I've enjoyed many. :wine:


EDIT: I'm fairly certain Norman is not involved in the operations of the vineyards and winery. They simply pay him to use his name. Nonetheless, it's still decent wine.
 
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So many Finger Lakes Rieslings on the rack and in the fridge. Dr Frank, Ravines, Red Tail, Standing Stone, and ...

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Richmond Jake said:
The Greg Norman labeled wines are not bad. :thumbsup: I've enjoyed many. :wine:
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The Coppola wines I've tried are pretty decent. I see the Dave Matthew Dreaming Tree wines here, and I'm a bit reluctant to indulge.

A local liquor store has a growing selection of wines from "she good with plow" countries. "People's Revolutionary Vineyard Collective Number 16 make best estate grown Cabarnet in nation! Is thick like oil from Baku! Is good! You drink you like! It make you daguli big and strong like mighty stallion!"

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This morning's brunch included a bottle of Mirabelle, brut. It's Schrabsberg's second label. The wine is crisp, dry, and tart.

#WorthyofaSpecialSearch

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So, I went to a bar in town tonight that had WineStation vending machines.

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This was the first time I ever tried cult wine. Remember walking through a mall in the 1980s, and passing by the leather jacket store? Remember the smell? Remember just standing there, inhaling deep, and not wanting to leave? Now imagine it's next to the cigar store. Yup. That. I can't even begin to describe the taste - dense, smoky, balanced, big yet not in your face. A one ounce taste was $13, and it was worth every penny.

I finished the night with a glass of Lucas Tugboat Red. Tasted like a blend of Manischewitz and Red Cat. :victory:
 
Dan said:
So many Finger Lakes Rieslings on the rack and in the fridge. Dr Frank, Ravines, Red Tail, Standing Stone, and ...

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I have a Pompous Ass Winery t-shirt! I have never been there... my husband bought it for me on one of his bicycling-across-the-state trips.

We are still drinking the Finger Lakes wines that he bought on this year's excursion.
 
So, I'm in Buffalo. There's a massive wine store here; one of the largest in the country. I took the opportunity to do some shopping for unusual kinds of wine that can't be found back in I-town. Weird wines. Like, from Uruguay.

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And Canadistan.

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Finally opened that bottle of Hungarian wine when I made a beef goulash the other night. Balatonboglari Merlot, St. Donatus Estate 2012, from Trader Joe's. It is a little on the sweet side (as you would expect from a red in that climate) with strong fruit and a very nice balance. It is a very good pairing for food from the region, like the goulash or maybe some stuffed cabbage.
 
Dan said:
...Weird wines. Like, from Uruguay.
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The wineries in Uruguay are a well-kept secret. Probably a better-kept secret than the coastal tourist communities would prefer! Especially in coastal Montevideo, where there's also a wine museum. Gorgeous beaches, (from lazy resorts to challenging hiking), bathing beauties, nice wine...... and SO near Buenos Aires.;)
 
Cardinal said:
Finally opened that bottle of Hungarian wine when I made a beef goulash the other night. Balatonboglari Merlot, St. Donatus Estate 2012, from Trader Joe's.
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Bull's Blood is on the shelf of one liquor store in my small town. Ive been tempted to check it out, just for the awesome name.

Seana said:
The wineries in Uruguay are a well-kept secret.
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I'm really looking forward to trying out the Tannat. Supposedly Peru makes some decent wines, but they seem to have no shelf presence in upstate New York.

Another one in the case of misfit wines.

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And no, I haven't given up on beer. Never! :b:
 
We had a 2012 Rodney Strong chardonnay, Chalk Hill, last night. Solid wine and should be widely available. Don't drink it too cold...let it get to cellar or even room temperature and you'll like this one. Nice complement to the French onion soup I made.
 
PlumpJack, 1997, Sangiovese, north coast, last night with grilled steaks. Too old. It lost its talent. So sad. Probably didn't survive the cross-country trip. :(
 
Was out with friends celebrating a birthday tonight. Liquor licenses are hard to come by in NJ so there are a lot of BYOB places. Someone brought a 2010 Cabernet Franc from 4JG's Vineyard in Colts Neck, NJ and I was pleasantly surprised. Will look for it again.
 
Roederer Estate. Brut. NV. Anderson Valley. CA. Get it. Great sparkler. Fruity. Apple flavors. You can thank me later.
 
Raymond. 2010. Cabernet sauvignon. Napa Valley. Avoid it. Too acidic. The winery produced much better wines before the Frogs bought it. :not:
 
We went to my brothers house last week and he pulled out a Caymus Cabernet. Didn't look at the year however. Very nice and not overly dry, was fantastic with a simple tortellini dish we ate.
 
Planit said:
We went to my brothers house last week and he pulled out a Caymus Cabernet. Didn't look at the year however. Very nice and not overly dry, was fantastic with a simple tortellini dish we ate.
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It should be at $80 plus per bottle ;)

I have been enjoying B-Side as my everyday bottle lately. I strongly suggest it.

I am also falling over some Malbecs right now.... I can't get enough...
 
Mount Veeder Winery, 2006, Napa Valley, reserve, a blend of five varieties. A great wine that went perfect with the grilled steaks last night. :wine:
 
De La Costa Sangria, acquired from Costco. Light and fruity. Nicely paired with a grilled chicken breast and pasta salad.
 
I'm not a big white wine drinker, but...

Navarro Vineyards, 2012, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, reisling. This is the next generation of this verietal...made in a more dry style than past generations. Typically this grape was made in a sweeter style. The Navarro is dry, tart, fruity. I like this one a lot.
 
Dry Creek Vineyard, 2008, Somers Ranch zinfandel. Great wine. Soft, deep, rich...goes well with grilled steaks. Worth a search IMHO. :thumbsup: :wine: :unitedstates:
 
For our anniversary on Monday we drank a Dry Creek Vineyard, Anniversary Cuvee, 2005 zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley. Not a bold wine for a zin, but thoroughly enjoyable.
 
When we were out in California, I learned that one of my favorite wineries sold. Sausal Winery was purchased by Silver Oaks Cellars. I cried like a baby when I heard the news. Silver Oaks bought Sausal two years ago...and nobody told me!!! To mourn the passing, I'm drinking my last bottle of 2009 Sausal zinfandel tonight with grilled filets.
 
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Rusack, 2008, Santa Barbara County, syrah. Dry Creek Vineyard, 2005, Dry Creek Valley, The Mariner. Harsh wines. Avoid if at all possible, IMHO. And I'm not one to speak poorly of Dry Creek Vineyard.
 
If you have a split of 1998, Navarro Vineyards, late harvest gewurztraminer in your cellar, I recommend you pour it in the drain. This did not age well.
 
They simply shouldn't bottle the malbec as a single varietal. It's a grape that should only be used for blending purposes. We drank a 2012, Dry Creek Vineyard, malbec last night. The product is bone dry with absolutely no fruit flavors.
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EDIT: On ice for this morning's brunch: a Piper Sonoma, non-vintage, brut sparkling wine.
 
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Richmond Jake said:
They simply shouldn't bottle the malbec as a single varietal. It's a grape that should only be used for blending purposes. We drank a 2012, Dry Creek Vineyard, malbec last night. The product is bone dry with absolutely no fruit flavors.
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EDIT: On ice for this morning's brunch: a Piper Sonoma, non-vintage, brut sparkling wine.
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I have had quite a few good Malbec's. I will have to check the cellar when I get home, but I bought a 6 pack of something that I really enjoy. I can't think of the name though. I will update when I get home if I remember. Argentina does pretty well, but I feel like it might be from Chile.....

I don't think the US does Malbec's well. Particularly from California. I have had a Washington Malbec from Dusted Valley that was pretty good, but they are hard to find. I am assuming they don't bottle a lot of it.
 
The 2011 Cazar, pinot noir, Russian River Valley, went perfect with the Christmas ham yesterday. I'm not necessarily a fan of pinot noirs, but this one was an exception. Lots of fruity flavors. Two thumbs up. Search for this one, folks. You can thank me later.
 
Navarro Vineyards, 2010, cabernet sauvignon, Mendocino. Mendocino does not normally do cabs well, but this one is worth some attention.
 
To commemorate the birth of my grandson, we opened a 1978, Heitz Cellar, cabernet sauvignon, Napa Valley, Martha's Vineyard, bottle number 01923. An exception wine. :wine:
 
Decoy (the second label from Duckhorn Vineyards), 2012, Sonoma County, cabernet sauvigon. Soft, subtle wine--and a nice label. We picked it up at under $20 at Publix. I recommend it. Serve with grilled beef.

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EDIT: Mods, why don't you close this thread? I seem to be the only [strikeout] snob[/strikeout] one interested in wine. Look at the posts. It only gives me the opportunity to post pad.
 
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Richmond Jake said:
Decoy (the second label from Duckhorn Vineyards), 2012, Sonoma County, cabernet sauvigon. Soft, subtle wine--and a nice label. We picked it up at under $20 at Publix. I recommend it. Serve with grilled beef.

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EDIT: Mods, why don't you close this thread? I seem to be the only [strikeout] snob[/strikeout] one interested in wine. Look at the posts. It only gives me the opportunity to post pad.
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I love wine. I just don't post as much as you about it. I should do better.

We went to Duckhorn when we were in Napa last year. Beautiful setting. Decoy isn't my favorite, but for under $20 that is a great deal. Duckhorn runs $80+ around these parts.
 
Hink said:
I have had quite a few good Malbec's. I will have to check the cellar when I get home, but I bought a 6 pack of something that I really enjoy. I can't think of the name though. I will update when I get home if I remember. Argentina does pretty well, but I feel like it might be from Chile.....
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We don't drink much or know much about wines, but we found a nice (to us) Argentinian Malbec at Costco that we like very much - Broquel. Added bonus is that it is readily available at our local preferred grocery store.
 
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