After a small discussion, there was some consensus for a wine thread, overprivileged and self absorbed yuppies and X’ers that we are.
What are some your favorites? Any wineries you thought were particularly good to visit? Any other tips, tricks, or suggestions?
Right now, we’re particularly enjoying Albarino whites (from the Rías Baixas region of Spain) and any bubbly (Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, etc.). We recently took a side trip to Temecula, and tried out Wiens and Miramonte.
Our last real wine adventure took us to Preston and Meeker, among others. We rather enjoyed our experience at Alpha Omega.
For those who keep more than a few bottles at a time and like to keep track of them, I would recommend Cellar Tracker.
Ironically I just got into the Albarino whites and I found the Torrentes grape to be a new favorite. I have always been a big fan of Spanish wines and the reds from Jumilla are awesome.
For bubbly I am a big fan of J which is the daughter of the owner of Jordan in Napa. http://www.winex.com/ has the best price and largest selection including the wines from Jumilla.
Oregon wines are also a new favorite. The pinot noirs are amazing and the pinot gris is the best for summer time. One favorite is White Rose Wines.
I have never really been a fan of Cali Sauvignon Blanc but the wines from New Zealand are a whole new adventure. You literally can smell papaya and mango as well as taste it even if you are not a wine snob like me.
I am a cellar club member as well as the rare and reserve member for Eberle. He is one of the founders of the Paso area and if you go up there his winery is a must visit. Bring your lunch and eat at the picnic tables over looking the vineyards.
Funniest wine maker and best party thrower is Tobin James. He has a party at the beginning of summer and the end of summer. Truly a must do in life experience.
/sigh, well, at least this will give me a chance to try and embed a URL.
Speaking of "fun" wines.
Bonny Doon has a great table red. They also have a table white that’s worth a peek. Their bottles have snappy stories and avoid the staid "smokey hints of rasberry, blah, blah" on the back of most bottle. They also have a ~140 bottle of red with cork, and the same bottle with stelvin closure for ~150. They also use stelvin closures for their table wines.
You can call a stelvin closure a screw top, but a) that wouldn’t be snobbish enough and b) it’s still better than cork no matter what you call it.
If you like whites, TJ’s has a Chilean brand called Panilonco (or something close to that) for $3.99. It won’t be the best thing you’ve ever had, but for an everyday white, it’s not bad. Stay away from the red, though. That stuff was awful.
If you’re out near Pasadena, you can find some good buys at the Chronicle Wine Cellar. They have a French white for $6.99 that is summer in a bottle. Winex (noted by Graphrix above) is a more local favorite, and they have the same label, but with the Reserve designation, for $8.99.
As for the Stelvin closures, I’ll be a fan once they can figure out a way to make the bottle stoppers recyclable.
It just depends upon what i’m eating. As of late, i’ve been on a diet so i’m eating lighter fare, usually a lighter wine. But in the last few weeks i’ve been all over the map.
Cabernet, Riesling, Red Bordeaux, White Burgundy, Shiraz, Port (Twaney and Red) and a few others i’m forgetting. Again, it just depends upon what i’m eating at the moment.
-bix
Had the Preston ‘04 Madame Preston earlier in the week. It was brighter and less oakey than the ‘03, which was quite good. It’s an interesting Rhone style blend of Marsanne, Viognier, and Rousanne.
We also had the Val D’Or from TJs ($4.99) and were remarkably surprised that such an inexpensive red was fairly good. It will need about 30 minutes to open up, though. The Sierra Foothills region is really coming into its own. It’s also a great place to visit next time you’re on your way to Tahoe.
We recently bought some Lange pinot noirs through Woot.com’s Wine Woot. It turns out that we got them at a very good price (about 1/2 off). We haven’t opened them yet, but wanted to let y’all know about the deal that Woot sometimes has.
Anyone planning on going to the Wine & Food Affair in Sonoma this November? I’ve heard it is pretty fun so I think we’re going to check it out this year.
I can’t believe I found these at the District Costco ... and for good prices too.
- 2005 Terrazas Malbec
- 2003 Cuvaison Merlot
I’m sure there are other great finds, I was just so excited to find these.
It appears that Firestone is selling off their winery to Foley. Even more interesting is that Mr. Foley is the Chairman of Fidelity Title. Clearly, the last several years have been a good time to be affiliated with real estate.
Zovall - The Sonoma thing sounds like fun, but we hate crowds. If possible, get yourself on the Jordan mailing list. Every now and then they have a fundraiser that is inexpensive to get into (~$35/pp) and it’s free flowing wine and food from local artisans (Cowgirl Creamery, Hog Island Oysters, etc.). They had one this past spring and we drove up for the weekend just for that.
Don’t forget about Paso Robles.
That’s where the husband and I hang.
Belong to all the wine clubs.
Love Justin, Carmody-McKnight, Le Cuvier and others.
They do a great wine festival too. It is truly stunning up there.
We think the wines are just as good as Napa & Sonoma, but the charm and easier drive seals the deal.
I meant to mention I had Jake’s Fault shiraz from tj’s the other night and it was really good and I think it was $3.99.
Some other wine trips to consider that are half the distance in Paso are the harvest tour in Oct., the zinfandel festival in March and Toby James throws a great party in Sept. The harvest tour is probably pretty crowded thanks to Sideways but the zin fest may be a little less crowded.
A good thing to do is to sign up at your favorite wineries website for a newsletter of what is happening.
Whoa and I just edited mine so it is even more of a time warp.
There is a great winery in Paso that is tiny but had two B&B rooms called Dunning. Their cab is phenomenal. Be prepared for dirt road driving.
Also Turley just bought a winery there and white blend that is amazing and the zins worth fighting for.
