Wine reviews

[waybomb]

I'll report on wines every once in a while if you'd like.

I like sparkling Bruts and dry red wines, such as Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot, Valpolicello, dry Chianti's, and blends.

The most recent really good wine I had was HobNob Merlot. Though a French wine, I still tried it, and then proceded to buy two cases of it. This is a delightfuly smooth and easy to drink Merlot, after it airs out for about 15 minutes. I could overindulge myself on this one.

I'm not much of a wine reporter. I have no idea what all the flavors were. So I went to find a review and found this:

Rich like a black-currant cobbler, our Merlot contains a savory array of ripe plum and blackberry aromas mixed with hints of mint and licorice, giving way to a soft, dark finish fit for a king.

I approve this review! I would say that pretty much describes it. The reviews only give this one a 3 star rating out of 5, but I sure do like it. I give it a 5!

 

[BigAl]

I'll report on wines every once in a while if you'd like.

I like sparkling Bruts and dry red wines, such as Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot, Valpolicello, dry Chianti's, and blends.

Not so damn fast ! Please explain for us dumb winos what and why each wine is called these different names . I know there are white wines , red wines , and if i run low and mix them together I get pink wine .

Whew !!!! I'm exhausted ... How tell me whats the difference ???

 

[Melensdad]

I'll chip in with some Resling reviews from time to time. They are typically inexpensive wines, always best when they are young and run a wide gamut from dry to very very sweet. I have my favorites, but I'm willing to try others for the sake of writing a review (I can claim these as an expense against my taxes . . . right?)

 

[waybomb]

Really, get a book on wines. It takes a book to explain. But here's a short version:

The name of the wine is <usually> the type of grape.

In some cases, that is not true, such as Chianti. Chianti can be made from any grape from the Chianti region.

Wines are generally classified as sweet or dry. Kinda self explanatory. Sweet wines to me are horrible. To many, dry full bodied wines are horrible. To each his own, but no white wine at my place, other than the Prosseco I have.

White wines can be drunk right out of the bottle. Red wines generally need to be exposed to air for a while. There are instant aerators sold - the wine is poured over them, exposing the wine to alot of air.

Red wines can be stored for a long time. White wines generally can't be.

Champagne is a sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Prosseco, made in Italy, is a much cheaper alternative, and the same quality. Sparkling wines come in varying degrees of dryness - Brut being the most common driest version.

But really, buy a book on ebay or borrow a book from the library. Then go to some wine tastings to learn what you like.

EDIT - Oh, and you can find GREAT wines for 7-10 bucks a bottle. You can also find horrible wines at 7-10 bucks a bottle. You don't need to be buying expensive wines to enjoy great wines.

 

[EastTexFrank]

and you can find GREAT wines for 7-10 bucks a bottle. You can also find horrible wines at 7-10 bucks a bottle. You don't need to be buying expensive wines to enjoy great wines.

I'll leave the Reislings to Bob. I'm a dry red wine kind of guy but I'm no expert. And you're right, I've paid $120+ for a bottle of wine (it was my wife's birthday - gimme a break) that I thought was no more than "barely drinkable" but the fun is in finding an $8 bottle that is really easy and smoothe to drink. I can tell the difference between a good bottle of wine and a bad one but the difference between a good bottle and a very good bottle bottle gets more problematic. All the BS about "ripe plum and blackberry aromas mixed with hints of mint and licorice, giving way to a soft, dark finish fit for a king" is totally lost on me.

I once went to a very "snotty" wine tasting in Dallas and the sommelier was rather put out that I didn't taste the wine, slosh it around my mouth and spit it out into the supplied bucket. I told him that I was Scottish and when we got alcohol in our mouths, we swallowed it, we didn't spit it out but we may throw it back up at the end of the evening if we got enough of it. The look of absolute and total distain on his face was priceless. SNOB.

Look forward to your posts, opinions and recommendations.

 

[daedong]

Not so damn fast ! Please explain for us dumb winos what and why each wine is called these different names . I know there are white wines , red wines , and if i run low and mix them together I get pink wine .

Whew !!!! I'm exhausted ... How tell me whats the difference ???

I am nothing more than a drunk but each of those names are the name of the grape used. You can also get white wine from red grapes, to do this the skins are separated from the grape as the colour is in the skin.

Now just as a recommendation, one of the most inoffensive white wines you can serve to a new comer or sensitive drinker is Sauvignon blanc

 

[Big Dog]

Cheap and by far the most popular wine in our area. The wife and I do a carafe at least once a week. Semi sweet and very flavorful. I'm no connoisseur but I know I don't like sour grapes ......

Buy the 3L, the 1.5 goes down too soon, and it frugal.

Riunite Lambrusco
Everyone's favorite Riunite. This lively red wine with a forthright fruitiness, tingle and quaffability that bursts in the mouth is a charming complement to all your favorite ethnic foods such as Indian, Spanish, Chinese, or even burgers.
Riunite is best-served chilled and is a popular thirst quencher at picnics, the beach, and at all casual social events.
Grape Varieties: Lambrusco Maestri, Marani, Montericco, Salamino, Lancellotta
3L, 1.5L, 750ml and 187ml sizes

 

[waybomb]

^^^ Too sweet for me...

 

[OhioTC18]

^^^ Too sweet for me...

Yeah but Dawg needs "something" to sweeten him up to match his lovely wife.

 

[California]

I'm not much of a wine snob myself, (usually drink $6 wine if at all) but my little apple orchard has some world class snob vineyards on all sides. Russian River AVA

Here's an example. They claim this stuff meets the high standards of the Pope and Jenna Bush: The Wine of Presidents, Kings, and Now the Pope. (Iron Horse Winery, a few miles up the road.)

 

[OhioTC18]

On the odd occasion that I pick up a wine, this winery which somewhat local, has never failed to please me. Firelands Winery, Sandusky OH

 

[Big Dog]

Yeah but Dawg needs "something" to sweeten him up to match his lovely wife.

Quit suckin up, it puts pressure on me ..............

 

[waybomb]

Last night we shared a bottle of Callabriga Alentejo, 2003, a product of Portugal. It is a red wine, but the label did not say what grapes it was made from, just that it was made from a variety. The label claims it is a "soft" wine, but I thought is was to sharp (probably not a connoisseur's term, but that's what it was - sharp). I did not care for it.

It might go well with some foods, but, it was the last bottle I'll buy. Strike this one from the list.

 

[waybomb]

Last night we did not do the LaCrema Pinot.

We had a Chianti, Straccali, 2006. Nice wine, but needed about 1/2 hour to air out. I iked it - asked my buddy for 6 more bottles.

Then he and his wife came over with a open bottle of the HobNob Merlot I bought two cases of. The wine is great, and what a value.

My wife made my favorite foods for valentines - Portabella Mushroom soup and her 1 pound cheeseburgers. But our friends wanted to go out to eat, so we tagged along. Went to a new Italian restaurant in the Orchards mall in BH. What a disaster! After dinner, we spoke with the owner for a half hour on what was wrong with his restaurant. Even offered to have him spend an afternoon with the owners at La Scarolla (a 5 star in Chicago) to help him out. We;ll see if he calls or sends his business to closure.

 

[Melensdad]

Might I suggest that you review each wine in a new thread? I hate to whine about this but there will be no way to logically find specific wine reviews if we don't start new threads for each whine, I mean wine.

 

[Cowboyjg]

Some years back, the wife and I discovered Liberty School Wines. We enjoy their Cabernet and their Chardonnay. Is anyone else familiar with the brand?. A bottle runs about $13-$15

 

[waybomb]

Might I suggest that you review each wine in a new thread? I hate to whine about this but there will be no way to logically find specific wine reviews if we don't start new threads for each whine, I mean wine.

Soytenly! That's what I'll do from now on.

 

[California]

Last night we did not do the LaCrema Pinot.

Have you tried this before? Did you like it? My neighbor grows for them.

He continues to run my orchard and a couple of other apple orchards under contract, but he replaced his own orchard with a Pinot vinyard on his home ranch. He also operates some other Pinot acreage. He grows exclusively for La Crema and gets top dollar from them.

I occasionally ask if he thinks I should convert. He invariably replies that its too much of a gamble now, as the large producers continue to buy up land and produce their own grapes.

From the consumer's point of view, prices for quality wines may come down in the future.

 

[waybomb]

Oh yes, I love LaCrema. This is a very nice, light, smooth Pinot. It's not cheap, but worth it for special occasions.