- Thread starter
- #61
Don't know him but there's 1 degree of separation in the wine business. I guarantee I know someone who knows him.
The Wine Thread
- Thread starter 40Flipper
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Don't know him but there's 1 degree of separation in the wine business. I guarantee I know someone who knows him.
- Thread starter
- #62
I'm doing a line of wines for charity with Drew Brees and Bobby hebert. We are having the kickoff party in NOLA on Tuesday afternoon. Should be fun. They are interviewing me for the local news......I actually really hate that part. I have a gigantic head (physical size, I mean) and it looks huge on a flatscreen tv. We donate 75% of our profits to the player's charity of choice.
my site is on my sig line for people that have any interest.
- Thread starter
- #63
Malbec- Malbec is getting huge right now. Most stuff from argentina is great. Try Elsa Malbec, Alamos Malbec, and Bodega Norton. Good shizz.
Screw tops are the greatest thing to come by in a long time. 8% of all wines are ruined due to tainted corks or bad cork seals. The screwcaps eliminate this gamble. It's the romance of popping the cork that people like. Corks have been used for millenia to seal wine bottles. Screwcaps are new technology. Think of anything else we use from hundreds of years ago that hasn't been improved upon. We love new technology but we are fighting the screwcap???? That's screwy!!!
- Thread starter
- #64
Your thoughts/suggestions on the following:
Organic wines (I've liked Bonterra, among others)
Sulfites
Other Chilean wines/labels.
Great idea for a thread.
I import an organic winery from Chile called La Fortuna. They are certified organic, vegan, and Oxfam Fair trade certified. Think about all the supermarkets you go to these days. 3 years ago you couldn't buy ANYTHING that is organic. Now they all have 8 aisles of organic crap. It's a matter of time before the wine world catches up. I'm trying to be there whne it does!!!
Bonterra is good but Lolonis is amazing. I'm friends with Maureen Lolonis and she makes amazing wines. They are a bit more $$$ than Bonterra but it's well worth it. 75% of organic wine is s*** bu they are all improving every year. The days of hippies making organic wines are gone. It's a serious business now.
Sulfites are bull****. People that say they get headaches from sulfites usually have a headache from drinking a whole bottle of wine. It's called a hangover. 1% of the population is allergic to sulfites. 1%!!!!! Wine contains alot of histamines so sometimes people will get a headache from those or get a sinus headache. Have them take some sinus meds and get back to drinking!!
Sulfite levels in wines are a fraction of what they were justa few years ago. Sulfites act as a preservative so your wine stays fresher longer. Wines with "Contains No Sulfites" usually means the wine is dead by the time it hits the store shelves. Sulfites is sulfur. it won't kill you and they aren't bad. I'd be more afraid of what's in a candy bar than sulfites.
Veramonte is a good sauv blanc from chile but stay away from the reds.Valdeviueso and ventisquero are good too. Again, ask your local wine shop MANAGER for recommendations. Don't ask the register jockeys cuz they won't care and will point you towards anything to placate you. The manager/ owners care. Befriend them and they will teach you as you go. Might as well learn a bit while you're getting hammered.
I thought about startin g this thread a while ago. Things seemed to take a dark turn in chat this week so I thought I'd lighten it up a bit. I could answer these questions all day!! Should have started it months ago!
- Thread starter
- #65
I've been to Paris and the RHone valley before. There is a chain of wine shops in paris called "Nicolas" they have excellent and rare wines at stupidly low prices. Don't know any names of wines to get since I've only been there twice. Bad memory. Alcohol kills brain cells remember.
Gigondas is a part of the Rhone Valley. You can take the bullet train from paris to the Rhone Valley in about 2 hours. Beautiful wines and excellent values. Rhone is all Syrah and Grenache for reds. It's almost impossible to go wrong with Rhones. Stay above the $10 to guarantee excellent wines but there are plenty of $7-8 cotes du rhones in the US that are amazing values. Also try St. Joseph, hermitage, and chateauneuf du pape. Bit pricey but wow!!!!!
Do you know the people from the Saxon Brown vineyards? I had a few bottles of their syrah and it was awesome!
Also, do you just open and rest or do you decant younger reds?
Also, do you just open and rest or do you decant younger reds?
How does the average novice buyer choose their wines when they go to the store? I would figure price first, but I sure notice alot of wines have some sort of animal in their label. Is there a reason for this?
- Thread starter
- #68
Don't know Saxon brown but there are a lot of wines that don't make it to the East Coast even though Boston is the 4th largest wine market.
Most reds are perfect right out of the bottle. If the wine tastes "tight" or tannic (basically has some rough edges) you might want to throw it in a decanter for 20-30 minutes. Most reds will open up in your glass once they are poured. Again, I'd say 98% of all red wines are fine right out of the bottle.
- Thread starter
- #70
Animal labels have been the rage for years and it's purely marketing gimmicks. I have 2 wines with animals on the labels. They want people to look at the bottles and say "how cute! I'll grab this one!"
Your best friend is the store manager, wine manager, owner of your local wine shop. Find a decent store (not the s***ty 6-pack and a nip store) that has a notable wine selection. Look for a place where you can tell people actually care that they sell wine. Get with the store wine people and have them grab you a few bottles in a price range. They'll probably grab the bottles with ass-ugly labels but plenty of times there are great wines hiding in them. Cutesy labels usually means people are more concerned with marketing than winemaking.
Buying off of a label is a complete gamble. Even if the back label says great stuff it could be BS. I write up plenty of back labels myself and I always have sales and marketing on the brain when I do write them.
- Thread starter
- #71
I got the Saxon Brown from wine.woot which I really loveExposes me to new vineyards and blends that I wouldn't normally have access to/try.
never seen that site before! We couldn't get wine shipped to MA until recently so the web wine stores are new to me (ironically I have an online store)
Many of those sites get private labels done and make up names of wineries. I have several that I sell that I just made the name up. traveling vineyard does this alot and their wines are generally poor quality and usually way, way overpriced.
NaterGator- Noticed that you are in Tampa. We're launching a series of wines to raise $$$$ for the Dan Marino Foundation for Autism. Dan Marino Estates is kicking off just before christmas in all Publix and all other major retailers in FL. The wine is unbelieveable. I'm a snob and so is Dan so we really went all-out on doing his wines up nice. $12-13 on the shelf.
I am part of that 1%, sorta kinda. I get a tremendous headache from reds, as well as from cured/smoked cheeses and meats (salami, bacon et cetera).
If I know some tempting red wines will be on the menu, I take an antihistamine) before and after. it works.
I say sorta kinda because I don't always get a headache, and it isn't related to quantity. I can get a headache from one glass, or feel fine after a bottle. But the antihistamine always works.
- Thread starter
- #73
Like I said there are people that are actually allergic. I've started developing some allergies to wine unfortunately. I can have 8 budweisers and feel fine the next day but if I have 3 glasses of red wine I'm junk. Definitely more the histamines. I stand by my sulfites statement. Basically people allergic to eggs might have a problem with wines
I drank Heineken when I was in Italy on business, it's the Budweiser of Europe, but it beat anything the Italians brewed. I'm a beer guy but I was introduced to Barberas on that trip and I like them. The barberas rosas are really good, I've never seen any of them in the US. Actually IIRC only had them at private homes over there.
My favorite Barberra is Conterno. Kinda variable vintage to vintage. Usually not too expensive.
I am drinking a glass of $3.(in Nevada) buck Chuck Shiraz out of a juice glass (I think approbate) just to let you know who's reading your post P.U.I. posting under the INfluence some I Drink the better stuff out of a wine glass just got home a other 12 hour shift.
I like this chat !
Dusty 66
I like this chat !
Dusty 66
- Thread starter
- #77
I am drinking a glass of $3.(in Nevada) buck Chuck Shiraz out of a juice glass (I think approbate) just to let you know who's reading your post P.U.I. posting under the INfluence some I Drink the better stuff out of a wine glass just got home a other 12 hour shift.
I like this chat !
NIIIIIICE!!!! I've already killed a bottle of chardonnay and I've been swigging some "Red Delicious" (budweiser) from ye ole keg-o-rator tonight.
$2 buck Chuck is going to permanently be $3 Chuck due to inflation and the situation with bulk juice in CA. Drinking from a cup is fine and encouraged. Drinking with straws is even better.
Aside from that I'm psyched people are actually interested in this thread.
- Thread starter
- #78
Barbera's are the most interesting inexpensive wines from Italy IMO. Chianti's are usually overrated and cheap ones are mostly garbage.
Find some Valpolicella too. Dirt cheap and really F-ing good. Spring for the Valpolicella Ripasso on a splurge. Amazing shizz and not all that expensive.
Excellent, I'll definitely pick up a few bottles. Is it a pretty young wine? Is there a nice dry red, I'm a sucker for dry reds.
- Thread starter
- #80
Nater- Just had samples FedEx-ed in from Sonoma on Thursday. had the merlot last night and the chardonnay tonight. All of them are bone dry. The merlot is phenomenal. No green pepper taste that you get sometimes with merlot. Really rich and tastes wayyyyy more expensive than $12. I'm not a merlot guy and that bottle was gone in a couple gulps.
Think people in FL will buy it???? labels are pissah!!!
(all the wines are 2005-2006 vintages.)
Think people in FL will buy it???? labels are pissah!!!
(all the wines are 2005-2006 vintages.)