The Wine Thread (1 Viewer)

[Cards81fan]

I love Gruet. My wife and I toasted the Methode Champenoise, Blanc de Blancs on our wedding day.
The Grand Rose is also an awesome sparking wine. And the Pinot Noir barrel select is fantastic. God I love Gruet

Copain is a Sonoma winery; I highly recommend their Broken Leg Vineyard Syrah.

And Natalie's is a Willamette winery in Oregon. VERY small but worth it if you find it.

 

[Cards81fan]

On the cheaper side of things (even though the Gruet is suprisingly affordable), I like Red Truck California Red Wine (their red blend), about 10 a bottle. My wife digs Relax Riesling.

 

[OZCAL]

That's an interesting thought. The exchange is $1 USD = $.93 AUD. A year ago it was $.75 or so.

Australian wines are generally very good but very similar. There is an ocean of grapes down there. There is a statistic that a new winery opens in AU every 3 days. I heard that a couple years ago so it's probably not accurate anymore.

I don't really know what Aussies would think of US wines. Our $10 wines will probably be about the same quality as yours and maybe a bit worse. I could see some of the rare CA wines selling but would Aussies buy enough of it to cover the shipping/ effort??

I have one wine label that I think would sell great down there from CA. Might think about that a bit more.

I think Aussies might buy California wines just to snub the domestic labels, who have, frankly, abusing the market's loyalty by providing a plethora of headache-in-a-bottle reds.

Aussies are big on New Zealand suavignon blancs, which are in a good cycle, but the Aussies are into it as much to be different as for the quality of the wine.

Aussies have also realised that the good Aussie wine gets exported, leaving the lookalike second label on the shelves here. Some friends in Reno keep Mad Fish vintage chardonnay as their house wine. It's great and I look forward to it. Than I get back down here and can't find it on the shelves.

I know these are cynical views, but I call them like I see them.

Tell me about the one you think might work?

 

[johnny4ever]

Take the express baby.

 

[40Flipper]

Kinda what I thought. Starbucks has the same problem with the coffee beans they sell - the quality is variable because coffee bean vintages are even more variable than grapes and the harvests are generally smaller.

I only go to TJs about once or twice a year when I visit the Chicago area. We don't have any up here in the boonies. I've had some good wines from there and some horrible ones, and have had no luck figuring out how to choose...

Next time grab the wine dept manager and have him throw together a case of wines that he would pik out for himself. Tell him a price range. Saves you the hassle and risk of guessing. Works great in all stores.

 

[40Flipper]

On the cheaper side of things (even though the Gruet is suprisingly affordable), I like Red Truck California Red Wine (their red blend), about 10 a bottle. My wife digs Relax Riesling.

Red Truck was owned by Cline but I think they just sold it off a few months ago. It sells huge here in MA.

 

[40Flipper]

I love Gruet. My wife and I toasted the Methode Champenoise, Blanc de Blancs on our wedding day.
The Grand Rose is also an awesome sparking wine. And the Pinot Noir barrel select is fantastic. God I love Gruet

Copain is a Sonoma winery; I highly recommend their Broken Leg Vineyard Syrah.

And Natalie's is a Willamette winery in Oregon. VERY small but worth it if you find it.

Willamette Valley stuff is the shizznit. Find Sokol Blosser wines and grab the upper end pinot noir. Friend of mine runs the place. They also amke an amazing white wine called Evolution. Top 5 favorite whites for me.

 

[OZCAL]

Also have you followed the Hardy Rodenstock affair? I sold some high-end stuff I'd had cellared for two decades (82 Margaux en magnum) just before he made a mess of things.

 

[OZCAL]

Take the express baby.

I think the train on that label is a Russian fast train from the twenties or thirties. Cool.

 

[hatfieldcb]

When would you have a Petit Syrah vs. Zinfandel vs. Cabernet? What are the essential differences and what are good food pairings with these? Also, a Shiraz is the Australian Cabernet, yes?

Besides reds with meat and chocolate, my favorite is a good Sauvignon Blanc with a spicy shrimp & garlic dish I make.

 

[40Flipper]

I think Aussies might buy California wines just to snub the domestic labels, who have, frankly, abusing the market's loyalty by providing a plethora of headache-in-a-bottle reds.

Aussies are big on New Zealand suavignon blancs, which are in a good cycle, but the Aussies are into it as much to be different as for the quality of the wine.

Aussies have also realised that the good Aussie wine gets exported, leaving the lookalike second label on the shelves here. Some friends in Reno keep Mad Fish vintage chardonnay as their house wine. It's great and I look forward to it. Than I get back down here and can't find it on the shelves.

I know these are cynical views, but I call them like I see them.

Tell me about the one you think might work?

NZ Sauv Blancs are great. They're cheap and it's almost impossible to find a bad one. Always a winner.

Mad Fish is big here and a friend of mine designed the label. There are a lot of wines from many countries that are only exported. I have 4 labels that I've designed exclusively for US import and can't be found in Spain. I also have a sparkling that I sell to a Tokyo, japan importer that I don't even sell here in the US. We made up the name "Solita" for a spanish wine we have and doodled the label in 20 minutes. Sells great locally.

The label I am thinking of is a private bottling that we do from our Chilean winery that we exclusively sell to one account near Vail, CO. The wine is called Muse and has a design of the silouhette of a naked girl like on the trucker's mud flaps and has a funky background. I'd probably use the same label and put it on our CA stuff for export. Could be fun.

I'll ask a bit about US wines heading to AU. I'm sure someone has tried it....but maybe not. Worth asking anyways....

 

[rusty_tlc]

When are we moving to Florida?

Oh wait wrong kind of whine.

Are there any good domestic Barberras?

 

[40Flipper]

When would you have a Petit Syrah vs. Zinfandel vs. Cabernet? What are the essential differences and what are good food pairings with these? Also, a Shiraz is the Australian Cabernet, yes?

Besides reds with meat and chocolate, my favorite is a good Sauvignon Blanc with a spicy shrimp & garlic dish I make.

Those 3 grapes depend on where they're from and how they're made. Generally Syrah is a good all-round wine and is dynamic with many foods. Zinfandels tend to have higher alochol percentages due to the high sugar levels at harvest. Zin's are great with game type meats because the alcohol scours out the gamey-ness flavors that linger. Zins generall have some balls.

Cabernets tend to be a bit overrated when they are expensive. There are plenty of good ones but the expensive ones are generally made by men who want to show how big they can make a wine taste. Kind of a Napoleon complex for wine. Cabs also work well with many foods but definitely stay towards the red meats. Villa Mt Eden is the best ******* bottle of cabernet sauvignon for under $14 you'll ever find. Buy it by the case!

Red wine and chocolate is a myth. Very bad pairings. The sweetness of the choclate clashes with the nuances of the red wine's bitter edges. Most cheeses are bad with wine as well. Some do work well but they are rare. Chardonnay and fish are a bad match too (oaky chardonnays clash with the delicate flavors of fish) They overpower and mute the flavors of food. Most CA chards are only good for guzzling.

Your Sauvignon blanc pairing with your seafood dish sounds amazing. For a change try an Alsatian or german Riesling or a gerwurtztraminer. Spicy foods pair well with slightly sweet wines. Slightly is the key. Sauvignon blanc, although bone dry, matches very well for other reasons. There's never a perfect answer and perfect food/wine pairings are extremely rare.

 

[OZCAL]

NZ Sauv Blancs are great. They're cheap and it's almost impossible to find a bad one. Always a winner.

Mad Fish is big here and a friend of mine designed the label. There are a lot of wines from many countries that are only exported. I have 4 labels that I've designed exclusively for US import and can't be found in Spain. I also have a sparkling that I sell to a Tokyo, japan importer that I don't even sell here in the US. We made up the name "Solita" for a spanish wine we have and doodled the label in 20 minutes. Sells great locally.

The label I am thinking of is a private bottling that we do from our Chilean winery that we exclusively sell to one account near Vail, CO. The wine is called Muse and has a design of the silouhette of a naked girl like on the trucker's mud flaps and has a funky background. I'd probably use the same label and put it on our CA stuff for export. Could be fun.

I'll ask a bit about US wines heading to AU. I'm sure someone has tried it....but maybe not. Worth asking anyways....

Problem is, Aussie distributors shamelessly (maybe innocently but I doubt it...) tout the stuff sold here as the same stuff the Wine Spectator et al raves about in the States. Most wine is sold in distributor-owned bottle shops, which are co-owned by big grocery chains. So the buyer just has no idea. I "see behind the curtain" because I see both markets (and worked in wine for many years in California).

But yes - a Chilean might do nicely. Especially with that label.

 

[40Flipper]

When are we moving to Florida?

Oh wait wrong kind of whine.

Are there any good domestic Barberras?

barbera is not widely planted in the US but there are some. Montevina (owned by Sutter Home) is good and well priced around $10. There are others but they escape me now. Stick with cheap Italian barberas....they have the history and knowledge to make cheap wines taste great!

 

[rusty_tlc]

barbera is not widely planted in the US but there are some. Montevina (owned by Sutter Home) is good and well priced around $10. There are others but they escape me now. Stick with cheap Italian barberas....they have the history and knowledge to make cheap wines taste great!

It's a good thing they can make wine their beer sucks.

 

[40Flipper]

When would you have a Petit Syrah vs. Zinfandel vs. Cabernet? What are the essential differences and what are good food pairings with these? Also, a Shiraz is the Australian Cabernet, yes?

Besides reds with meat and chocolate, my favorite is a good Sauvignon Blanc with a spicy shrimp & garlic dish I make.

Sorry I missed a few details.....Shiraz is a different grape than cabernet but it is the most widely produced red grape in AU.

Zinfandel is the most widely planted red grape in CA (useless trivia)

Petit Syrah and Syrah are 2 different grapes although they are genetic cousins. Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape.

 

[40Flipper]

It's a good thing they can make wine their beer sucks.

Moretti beer ain't so good. i used to sell it back in the day. Tough to choke down.

 

[stanley]

Wine gets it's color from grape skins. .....

You mean the color comes from the tannins in the skin, right.

 

[40Flipper]

Problem is, Aussie distributors shamelessly (maybe innocently but I doubt it...) tout the stuff sold here as the same stuff the Wine Spectator et al raves about in the States. Most wine is sold in distributor-owned bottle shops, which are co-owned by big grocery chains. So the buyer just has no idea. I "see behind the curtain" because I see both markets (and worked in wine for many years in California).

But yes - a Chilean might do nicely. Especially with that label.

I'm sure they spin it all different ways for their benefit. many wineries send different bottles to the Spectator for ratings than what they actually sell on the shelves. It's an old trick. Some other places spend crazy money for the initial vintage release and put out great wines. once they catch on and start to sell, they cut quality and pocket the money.