[ebarone968]

DS968, There was a french wine at one time.. " Deux Francs Charles " but I think it changed hands a couple of times, " Dos Pesos Carlos " became big in Chile's booming wine industry a while

Could that be ? "Two buck chuck " from Trader Joes. Charles Shaw wines. Unbelievably good wines for $2. plus change [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[ds968]

Yes indeed, it is the famous " two buck chuck " widely available at Trader Joe's, among a few other places [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] I seriously thought a $ 2 bottle of wine would be so foul, you could not even use it for salad vinegar , but much to my shock it is very drinkable, as a table wine with your pasta or a BLT, or a salad, or whatever else at lunch..
Trader Joe is known to carry some incredible wines under $ 10 , but it's hit or miss.. you could also end up with pure crap ..

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[flash]

as i said, there was actually a "2 buck chuck" that was not the charles shaw - not really drinkable

i used to use the shaw to bbq with though - made a decent marinade and glazing wine

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[Chris Vais]

My favorite wines are basically any wine that is well made.

A well made wine should exhibit distinct varietal character on the nose and palate. A well made wine should be fully integrated, the acid, tannin, alcohol, etc. are so impeccably interwoven that one characteristic stands out. All of the components have come together in a harmonious fusion. A well made wine should be expressive, that is the wines aromas and flavors well defined and clearly projected as opposed to muddled and diffused. Complexity is another characteristic of a well made wine. Complexity is like a force that pulls you into a wine and impels you to repeatedly return for another smell and sip because each time you do, you find something new. Lastly there is connectedness, the sense you get from the wines aroma and flavor that it could not have come from just anywhere but rather is the embodiment of a single piece of earth. Connectedness is the bond between the wine and the plot of where the grapes were grown.

There are a lot of wines in the market place, many of them poorly made. They come from everyplace that wines is produced and at every price point, but there are just as many that are well made at all price points.

So what do I like:

Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley, and Alexander Valley; Napa - Mountain grown from the Howell Mt., Mt. Veeder and Staggs Leap Districts

Merlot - Done in the style of a fine Pommeral such as the one from Lambert Bridge in Dry Creek

Syrah - From cooler climates, such as the one I made for myself in 2008. Less alcohol, less extracted and most importantly no cooked fruit that comes from over ripe grapes

Zinfandel field blends, the original "Dago Red" that my grandfather and other winemakers of his made. Mostly Zinfandel blended with Petit Sirah, Carigagane, Charbono, or Alicante. The different grape varieties are grown together in the same vineyard and all harvest together, crushed together, and vinted together. Found mostly in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

Pinot Noir produced in the burgundian manner, lean, not over extracted, minerally, not the high alcohol fruit bombs that have become popular.

Chardonnay - only when grown in a cooler climate and it is fermented in stainless steel, and with just a kiss of oak.

Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc but not so acidic that it gives me heartburn when I drink it. Other stainless steel whites would include Vermantino, Pinot Grigio, Albarino,

The Rhone whites Roussanne, Picpul Blanc, Marsanne

Rieslings

Among European wines I prefer a good Bordeaux Blend, a good Chateau Neuf du Pape, a good Montrache, old German Rieslings and from Italy - Barolo, Brunello, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Super Tuscans.

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[pmcrespo]

The best wines are those found at wineries with exceptional locations. For example, I LOVE the wineries around Lake Seneca (aka: Watkins Glen [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] ).

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[williamoss]

Lucky us who live in Oregon. A small state with ton of great wineries. Especially i live close to Portland and about 20 minutes from where I live up to maybe 45 minutes are approx 50 or so great winery's with all sorts of wines to choose from. Then if I go 2 hours North East I am in Washington with another 100 or SO great wineries. SO I could stay drunk for a long time.

William Moss
Tigard OR

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[ds968]

"Lucky us who live in Oregon. A small state with ton of great wineries."

Yes, indeed ! Some remarkable Pinot Noir(s) - can rival the best of them, produced anywhere else !

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[mrmister]

I lived in Oregon for a while, beautiful state. I took this picture between glasses of pinot at WillaKenzie Estate in Oregon's Willamette Valley.


willakenzie4 by - Jared -, on Flickr

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[94SilverCab]

Reviving an old thread...because I still love a glass of wine now and then (more now than then <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />).



I picked up a couple of bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau today. My Brother is coming to town for Thanksgiving and it is his favorite drink for the holiday.



While I was strolling the aisle I came upon a Bergström Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Bergström Vineyard 2009 ($77.99), considering this for "the collection", but at 90.5 points I think I can do better. Thoughts?



Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving,



Jay

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[Rap]

Good lord the third Thursday slipped by. What's the word on the Nouveau this year? Strangely enough I've not seen any ads. Tell me Jay, how large is your collection? I bought a Eurocave years ago and just seem to keep filling it up. I keep some off to the side that I really like until special occasions or holidays. But unless it needs to age, no time like the present. Just an opinion from an opinionated person of course. I'm not familiar with that one. Seems expensive but then again I'm not familiar with this one!

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[94SilverCab]

See more at Reuters



"The 2011 vintage, a year characterized by unusual weather leading to relatively early harvests, appears to have provided higher quality wine from fewer grapes. The 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau was harvested early and could mature a bit longer until the traditional third Thursday of November.

Christophe Pacalet is based in Ville-Morgon, part of the Beaujolais area, and produces several kinds of wine as well as some Beaujolais Nouveau. He is respectful of nature on the vineyards he acquired in 1999 with his uncle.

At a tasting on Thursday the wine had the typical Gamay smell with a whiff of banana. The first impression was of red fruit that lingers in the mouth turning toward a riper dark fruit with a hint of liquorice. A balanced wine with no acidity. Pacalet's wine sells for eight euros a bottle."



Currently, the collection stands around 150 bottles. This does not include the "drinking rack" of around 30 bottles for every day. I have room to expand to 300+ bottles.



I'm currently out of the '80s and starting to drink Cabernets from '90 to '95. I opened a '91 Chimney Rock a couple of weeks ago and, while it was still very good, it is definately time to clear the Californians before its too late. My current targets are 2007 and 2009 Pinot Noirs from Oregon.



I love talking/tasting wine, and wish I had more time and experience.



Jay

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[Darth Vadar]

I agree that the best wine is the one you like! Being from the Finger lakes in NY, (Seneca Lake, Skaeneatlas Lake, etc.) I tend toward the sweeter whites and lighter reds. Now living near Michigan Wine Country, the same applies... the wife and I enjoy exploring the local wineries for whatever strikes our fancy... luckily you can get at least four cases in the hatch of a 968, and look very cool doing it!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/clap.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Rap]

Well Jay being sooooo much older than you, I have decided that collecting runs counter to my enjoy every day to the fullest. I do agree that some wines will age and get better with time but I also don't want to wait to enjoy. For those of you that might think this immediate gratification philosophy is somewhat immature or illbred, it really is more of a enjoy now who knows what tomorrow might bring. I used to come down to Philly to sample the nouveau at affairs put on by the French embassy. What a blast. Somewhat unseemly now unfortunately! I'm somewhat just a little behind you in count and don't segregate a drinking rack. I love pulling out the shelves to see what I have forgotten and what I want for a meal or just a simple quaff.



Quaff on Wayne

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[94SilverCab]

The reason I collect is that I like to drink very old, well kept wines and I can't afford them. The only solution for me is to buy good wines young and then wait them out for 10 years or so. I have a revolving stock and try to wait the longest time possible before consuming. This strategy has worked for me since I discovered my taste for wine in the mid 80's.



Since it appears that Flash will be "going native" in the next couple of years, maybe we will make this a 968 and wine enthusist site <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />



Jay

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[ds968]

In wine there is truth

In beer there's freedom ( but also a lot of carbs )

In water there's..bacteria ( and fish f**k in it..)

..so.. drink only wine and you'll live a happy and healthy life..

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[flash]

hmmm - i wonder if we should add a wine and beer section in the 968Forums Pub?

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[94SilverCab]

....and single malt scotch....



Jay

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[Chris Vais]

Jay:



Regarding the 2009 Bergstrom Pinot Noir. It will definitely benefit from three years of bottle age and will get better up to about 8 or 9 years. The 2009 Oregon Pinots are light in structure with a lot of bold flavor. I think that it will definitely improve with age, but whether a lightly strucutred wine will go more than 3 to 5 years will be dependent upon the acid/ tannin balance in the wine.



Most of the wine produced in the US is produced with the expectation that it will be drunk more or less immediately. The big corporate producers try and produce wines that meet that expectation so there is, in my opinion, not much point in subjecting them to additional bottle age because there may not be much improvement. I only celler wines for later consumption that that have the structure and balance to benefit from bottle age. As it happens, most of these wines come from smaller produces and almost none from large corporate wineries.



If you like Pinot Noir, you might find that the aging potential of French Burgundy to better than that of most US Pinot Noirs. Most of the Pinot I drink is produce by small vintners in Sonoma and Mendocino. Thus far, I think they hit their peak at about 8 to 10 years at the outside and sadly I've had a few that were over the hill at 7 to 8 years of age.



Wine is an agricultural crop and the makings of a truely exceptional bottle of wine begins in the vineyard. I view my role as a winemaker is to capture and nurture what comes out of the vineyard to produce a wine that reflects my winemaking style and preserves the nuances of the fruit. To that end I always try to secure the best fruit that I can and keep the winery manipulation to a minimum.

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[94SilverCab]

Thanks Chris,



I'm looking toward keeping the Bergstrom until 2019..tasting every so often.



I'm still mystified by the French because 1) I don't speak French and 2) they categorize their wines by appelation rather than varietal. Which part of "Bordeaux" tells me it's a Pinot Noir?



I practically never purchase wines from (very) large producers...If I had your access I would drink my way from one end of California to the other (and on into Oregon) on a regular basis. Probably going to explore parts of Virginia wine country very soon.



Thanks for the advice,



Jay

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[Chris Vais]

Jay:

You are correct French Wines are larely marked by region and appelation. If you like I'll send you some information that might help clear up the confusion.



I took a class at school last year on world wines, which required we learn the French system of classification. The short story is that the Bordeaux region is broken into to areas, the "right" bank and the "left" bank, relative to the Gironde River. The left bank wines are for the most part Cabernet Sauvignon based blends that include Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Malbec. Some left bank names you might recognise include Medoc, Margeaux, and Pauliiac. The right bank wines are Merlot driven blends that include some of the same constituents as the left bank wines. Names you might recognise include Pomerol and St. Emilion. White wines from this area include Sauvignon Blanc.



Whereas the Bordeaux region is located in close proximity to the ocean, Burgundy is inland to the east of Bordeaux. Burgundy reds are almost always Pinot Noir. The best of these come from the Cote d'Or, Cotes d'Nuit, Cote d'Beaune and Nuits St. George. Gamay Beujolais also comes from this region as does the best Chardonnay and Chablis( Chardonnay made without oak or malolactic fermentation influences).

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