The Wine Thread
- Thread starter 40Flipper
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #102
Castle Rock is always good for the $$$$. Mark West Pinot seems popular. Allan Scott Sauvignon blanc, Prendo PG, Veramonte SB, Darien Rioja, Torres, Parker station, Kris Pinot Grigio, Los Vascos, Coppola wines (over $10) Luzon, and anything from spain basically.
Have any of you by any chance see Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure? It's one of the TopGear presenter's shows and it's pretty good. No TopGear, but worth downloading 
Anything decent in non-glass packaging?
<--- no glass on the trail, dontcha know.
<--- no glass on the trail, dontcha know.
Hardy's and Black Box (both in boxes, 3 liter I think) are good. Both have Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah (Shiraz).
I don't know of any specific non-glass packaged wines, but if it were me I might try chilling a glass bottle and switching the wine to plastic bottles (well cleaned 20oz sprite bottles, maybe?) while still cold, and then keeping the wine cold until consumption. I would of course switch as late as possible and brim the bottles as much as possible.
Dunno if it would work though; I'm not sure how much the plastic and air exposure would taint the taste.
I'll look for them. So far I've only tried the Fish Eye shiraz, which was tolerable, and some other vineyards pinot grigio - which was awful.
What about the varieties that Target sells? I dig their neoprene box-wine coozies.
I think I tried the lil four pack of this kind, and thought it was fairly enjoyable.
Like juiceboxes for grownups.
The variety the target sells is good for one thing (which you should always keep in mind)
slapping the bag
I was listening to the Splendid Table this morning, and they did a story on Portuguese wines. All I remember is that they said, besides the great ports from the region, there are also some really good wines coming from the Douro Valley, FYI.
http://www.wineanorak.com/douro_overview1.htm
I'll second the Black Box (learned to like it for river trips: no glass there, either). Cab is best, Merlot so-so.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2004
- Threads
- 23
- Messages
- 245
I like burgundy
- Thread starter
- #112
Have any of you by any chance see Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure? It's one of the TopGear presenter's shows and it's pretty good. No TopGear, but worth downloading
Not sure what you're talking about but it sounds interesting
- Thread starter
- #113
I'll look for them. So far I've only tried the Fish Eye shiraz, which was tolerable, and some other vineyards pinot grigio - which was awful.
What about the varieties that Target sells? I dig their neoprene box-wine coozies.
I think I tried the lil four pack of this kind, and thought it was fairly enjoyable.
Like juiceboxes for grownups.
Fish Eye is a bit tough but drinkable. I had it on a plane ride and I would have drank motor oil with booze in it after that trip. that's another story....
I THINK the Target stuff is made by Kendall Jackson. I've heard it's good. No Target stores near me and MA stores don't have liquor licenses.
- Thread starter
- #114
The Douro Valley makes great still wines. They are a bit tougher to find and slightly different in style than Spanish wines. The Douro River in Portugal is called the Duero in Spain. The Duero flows through some of the best grape growing areas in Spain and these conditions cross the border to Portugal. Buy some Portuguese still wines but make sure they are newer vintages (2004 or newer)
- Thread starter
- #115
Friday is Wine Day=
I just got back from a vino trip to New Orleans earlier this week. Heading to Spain all of next week. This weekend I'm taking my wife to NH so she can get out of the house for a few days.
I've bought 2 bottles for the trip so far (her family has a house up there and there will be about 8 people staying so 2 btls ain't gonna last long) The bottles are:
2006 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir- I tasted this at my friend's wine shop last week. Excellent stuff really rich but not overblown with oak. Has a bit of smoky edges and should be great with my in-laws burned cooking. This is the one I'll probably guzzle myself. $20
2005 Blackstone "sonoma reserve" Pinot Noir- I've always been a snob towards Balckstone in general. Blackstone merlot is the best selling merlot in the country. I figured such a high volume place couldn't make great wines but the sonoma (slightly more expensive) series is amazing. The pinot noir costs around $16 and tastes like a $25 pinot. I was truly shocked at how good this was so I had to buy a bottle. Granted I had already tasted 15 other wines so my taste buds might have been shot. I'll let you know what my liver thinks of it on Monday.
I just got back from a vino trip to New Orleans earlier this week. Heading to Spain all of next week. This weekend I'm taking my wife to NH so she can get out of the house for a few days.
I've bought 2 bottles for the trip so far (her family has a house up there and there will be about 8 people staying so 2 btls ain't gonna last long) The bottles are:
2006 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir- I tasted this at my friend's wine shop last week. Excellent stuff really rich but not overblown with oak. Has a bit of smoky edges and should be great with my in-laws burned cooking. This is the one I'll probably guzzle myself. $20
2005 Blackstone "sonoma reserve" Pinot Noir- I've always been a snob towards Balckstone in general. Blackstone merlot is the best selling merlot in the country. I figured such a high volume place couldn't make great wines but the sonoma (slightly more expensive) series is amazing. The pinot noir costs around $16 and tastes like a $25 pinot. I was truly shocked at how good this was so I had to buy a bottle. Granted I had already tasted 15 other wines so my taste buds might have been shot. I'll let you know what my liver thinks of it on Monday.
- Thread starter
- #116
Wine tip-
Wine tip of the week- "White wine takes out red wine" Just after college I was living in Denver and hitting on any woman that moved. Somehow I ended up on a date with a slightly older woman (30, I was 22) and went back to her place. She opened a bottle of red wine (this was way before I got in the wine business) and I dropped my glass onto her white carpet. I should say NEW white carpet.
She freaked and grabbed a bottle of white wine and dumped it onto the red wine spot. It practically vanished instantly. Works on clothes and just about anything. Not sure how it works but pretty amazing. I was sent home with no "dessert" after that goof up.
Wine tip of the week- "White wine takes out red wine" Just after college I was living in Denver and hitting on any woman that moved. Somehow I ended up on a date with a slightly older woman (30, I was 22) and went back to her place. She opened a bottle of red wine (this was way before I got in the wine business) and I dropped my glass onto her white carpet. I should say NEW white carpet.
She freaked and grabbed a bottle of white wine and dumped it onto the red wine spot. It practically vanished instantly. Works on clothes and just about anything. Not sure how it works but pretty amazing. I was sent home with no "dessert" after that goof up.
Last night my wife and I enjoyed a 1997 Ridge Montebello with our Honey-Baked Ham sandwiches. Surprisingly, it worked! 
I'm a big fan of the Cardinal Zin, too. Another Zin that I like a lot is the Jack London Zinfandel from Kenwood. It was one of the vineyards we visited on our NorCal vacation a couple years back.
Good stuff:
- Thread starter
- #119
Last night my wife and I enjoyed a 1997 Ridge Montebello with our Honey-Baked Ham sandwiches. Surprisingly, it worked!
That's a hell of a wine for ham sandwiches!!
- Thread starter
- #120
I'm a big fan of the Cardinal Zin, too. Another Zin that I like a lot is the Jack London Zinfandel from Kenwood. It was one of the vineyards we visited on our NorCal vacation a couple years back.
Good stuff:
Kenwood is good shizz....
Also, try Seghesio Zin from Sonoma. Their cheap stuff gets better ratings than most more expensive zins.