dgris's Profile
Your Favorite Petite Sirah
Last summer on vacation, we hit the wine store daily. The Bogle PS was the only red in this price range that was bought several times. It was a hit with all the red drinkers.
" Points "
There are a lot of discussions on various boards about the value of points. Tasting notes are the most valuable after points catch your interest. One of the best sources is CellarTracker. I used to buy based on the 90 pt for under $20 recommendations. Now I always check the notes on CT before I buy. The information on when to drink based upon the notes in invaluable for the better, age quality wines. For daily drinkers, you can get an idea if the wine fits your style; fruity, too acid or tannic, etc.
Do you ever blend wines for yourself?
I have numerous wines that do not suit my style, bought without due diligence. Instead of pouring them doen the sink, I will take an over oaked wine and blend with a flabby one. The sum is greater than the parts, and a drinkable wine usually results. Now a good premium wine should not need this treatment. I'm talking about wines that are too young and raw or over the hill and have lost their fruit, acid or tannins.
What got you "into" wine?
I got to know a young woman in college who had spent the previous summer traveling in France and Spain. She is now my wife of 45 years. Before then wine was just CA crap, she introduced me to Boujalais and the rest is history. It is ironic that now she mostly drinks Pinot Gris. I used to drink a lot of Riesling, Now I have progressed from Cab Sav through Pinot Noir to Italian and Rhone reds.
Oregon wineries for a Burgundy Lover
Hi Vicki,
Head out to 99W Newberg, Dundee, Carlton, McMInville south to Salem. There are many nodes of wineries to choose from making Pinot wines, even some Syrah (Biggi Hamina) I believe local fruit, and Lillian Syah (Cali fruit) is first class along with their Antica Terra PN, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge are some of the best AVA. You could spend a week and not visit them all.
Ciao, Dennis
How do you prefer to buy your wine?
I was doing pretty well at limiting the buying. I was sighning up for Columbia Valley lists. Then the specials came on which lead to some very good inventory reduction sales. The big killer to the plan was the WineBerserker Anniversary specials of which I took advantage and got some super values for some highly rated boutique wines. Back on the wagon now.
montesquieu wine exchange
I haven't been on this forum for a while. Just checking to see what was up, and lo and behold Montesquieu is still at it. I was taken for a pretty good ride a number of years ago. And while I paid a lot more than the wines were worth, some were actually pretty good and have aged well. Some others were good when I bought them and have aged poorly. The price was for premium and I got daily drinkers which should not have been cellared but popped and poured. The galling point is that they could make money by being honest and selling their wines for market price. I thought I was taken, but others in the know have been hosed for more than I was. I re-evaluated all my purchases from 1/2 to 1/4, and I am drinking them as fast as I can to make way for the more recent better purchases I have made. The call scenario I think is timed to get you when you are busy. Unfortunately, I would agree to a buy just to get them off the line. Only recently when was cataloging all my wines did I realize how many purchases were made and at the frequency. I try not to dwell too much on it any more and put it behind me. I could have bought so many really good wines for the same money that would be drinking now, CdP, Barolo. Well, at least I seldom bought their higher priced stuff.
2010 - What are you buying?
With in the last two weeks:
1 case 2006 Havens Merlot
1 case 2005 Trailblazer NC Syrah
mixed case 2005 Basel Cellers Syrah & Merriment
3 2006 Balboa Winery "Salyulita"
1 2007 Vietti Barbara d'Asti Tre Vigne
1 2004 Ch. Lanessan Haut-Medoc
1 2008 Deboeuf Morgan
1 2008 Deboeuf Chirobles
1 2007 Castello di Querceto Chianti Classico
1 2007 Vitiano Rosso
Suggestions for a sub-$20 bottle of French wine (easy to find)?
Go for a Loire Gamay, Beaujolais, Rhone or Languedoc. Villages designation are better. Perrin or Jadot are good.
How do you prefer to buy your wine?
For some time I was on call list and bought way too much wine. Then I went on line to K&L, & Wine.com and bought more wine, smaller more selective amounts, but still too much. Now I am on the Garagiste e-mail list and am buying less and more selective, but still too much. My next phase may be to visit the local wine shops and buy the occasional bottle with the money in my pocket. I will try to do more "shopping", less buying. I tried to buy less last year. Guess what, I bought just as much.
If I have a subscription to Wine Spectator's print magazine do I NOT automatically get access to winespectator.com?
I think a lot of publications use the online for a separate revenue stream. I have other trade type subscriptions that do the same thing.
Yapa - Are North Carolina wines any good?
Give them time. There was a time about 40 years ago when Oregon's best wine was rhubarb, then came along fruit wines, now we have Pinots and Syrah. Washington had beer, now they have Cabernet and Syrah. In both cases some of the best in the world.
montesquieu wine exchange
Another issue that I found or did not find was any information they had on the domestic wines they were sellling. the web site is just a cover sheet with no real information. The imported wines at least have some information that you can track down. One of their major names, Derenencourt has interests all over the world. A Bdx wine, Terra Burdigala in Europe sells for $16.50. Montesquieu sells it for $36.00. The same with the other imports, from 2-4 times the price domestic version.
Urgent!! I need help finding Wine Spectator ratings
I use CT as well as buy from K&L & Wine.com which has a ratings history past vintages of the wines they carry. Some may be optomistic, but I have been generally satisfied with the results.
Why do so many corkscrews suck?
I have used many different types, the double handle from Italy worked for years until the body delaminated, now it's for display. the cheap double handles are junk and a machined screw often pulls not the cork but the center out. I've also used double pronged ah-so for years and they work well for cheap or old deteriorating corks. My favorite is the simple $6 two step waiter's Pulltap. My son got us a Rabbit for Christmas, so I need to use it when they come over. $200 for a corkscrew, gimme a break.
Wine store question- Lost case- what would you do?
I'm with TonyO. If you are going in periodically to buy and ask about the wine, there should be an ongoing memeroy. I have placed things on longterm consignment because I do not need or want them. After a while the storage balances the value. I would not leave wines for ten years, I do have wines at a vinyard for the last 6 months awaiting pick up, but if I haven't gotten them in 10 years they are not going to be any good. Work out a trade equitable to both. Now if they were first or second growth Bordeaux, we would have something to worry about.
Why can't Americans have good cheap wine?
Need to check out Airlie for the whites as my wife and friends are major consumers. Raptor Ridge pinot gris is the latest on the radar and rated well in the wine issue of Oregon Magazine. Evolution is another good QPR as well as Twin Forks Allegra NV, a second lower priced brand from Laurel Ridge.
Amazing Wine Bargains Beginning to Appear
I am a cellar club member of a top Yamhil Valley winery and have been getting e-mail specials lately. It's hard to resist. I do not go to wine shops much to compare. I need to limit my temptation to buy. I now get most from the on-line merchants, and there seem to be a lot of good deals in the $10-20/90 pt range that I have been testing. I am trying to work down my cellar and not buy too much in bulk, just assorted cases of good buys with 1 or 2 better items. Now it does seem like a good time to stock up. Prices will probably be down for several years. There is worry by some new wineries and vinyards about their future.
Does Wine Taste More Pronounced In Crystal Stemware Versus Glass?
A couple of months ago, James Siking in Wine Spectator had an Op-Ed artlcle on stem ware, saying he had just decided to us a couple for reds, whites and I presume desert wines. I do not have the artlcle in front of me for accuracy. I do not recall if he discussed the quality of glass. I do know that I personally desire stemmed over non stemmed, just the way it feels in my hand. You also have the choice with stemmed to cradle the bowl to add or not add warmth.
Willamette Valley Wineries
Glad you added Lange, one of our favorites, could try Bella Vida, they have Tori Mor, or at least did vint their's (Pinot Noir only), Adelshiem for whites, WillaKenzie for red & white. Had Bergstrom Pinot in local resteurant & Doumaine Serene has great ratings, but a bit pricey. We have a general tour and try to add 1 or 2 to the list. I must admit the I have number of cases of Pinot Noir but now rather have Washinton Syrah, so I get mostly Pinot Gris and Blanc for my wife.
Why can't Americans have good cheap wine?
Good handle and good comment. Will they go down with the great recession. There is major worry for the new vinyards and wineries here in Oregon. I've noticed a number have introduced second labels. AtoZ has done a great job of using excess production of grapes for their wines. they are good and several $ cheaper.
Wine Window For Drinking
The wine I was refering to is a 2001 Santa Barbara nebbiola from Lucas Luwellan, sold under the name of Casata. I bought a case about 4 years ago and have gone through most of it. It seemed pretty good when I started drinking it several years ago. The last two bottles on opening just had no finish at first. I left the bottle over night, and the last half was a pretty nice wine. The acid, tannic, fruity start seemed to spread out to the last, less harsh in the front and pleasant in the finish. With the remaining bottles, I think I will open the night before drinking. I agree, drink now, well tonight.
Wine Window For Drinking
Hi all,
I have been drinking some nebbiolo that has is very fruit forward with a weak finish. The same wine I featured in another post on blending. Now here is the question. When I first open a bottle, I let it breath, then pour a glass. The first half of the glass is pretty drinkable but the second half is really blah, a mellow red, and I will blend in 25% of a more tannic wine. On the second night after 24hr rest, the whole glass is pretty drinkable. After that they are all improvingly drinkable. I'm thinking it is past it's prime and I should drink it now. Breathing and resting seems to bring it into balance. Should it age longer or just be consumed now? After all, the last half of the bottle goes down pretty easy.
Ciao
Wine serving protocol
I have never had the problem of telling the busser of server that I want to finish the wine, even if I have ordered coffee or an after dinner drink.
Wine serving protocol
The lesson here is; just speak up. I will try that next time. May be have my wife do it for me! Not only am I a whiner but also a wimp.
Do you ever blend wine at home?
That is pretty much the way I look at it. We are trying to create a good wine that satisfies our taste.
Wine serving protocol
I'm glad I'm not alone out there, my wife says I am a born complainer. I say I learned it from my son who learned it from my grandson.
Blending wines
I bought 2 cases of a lackluster Fugano Chianti which I blended with some pretty harsh Los Andes Syrah from Argentina and an unspectacular Burdiglia Bourdeax. Those are mostly gone, now I have some not great Casata Nebbiola and Barbera that are getting blended with whatever I open that is too harsh or tannic. I unfortunately bought a number of crappy wines from Montesquieu that are looking to be past their window and not worth further cellaring. They need to be consumed soon to make way for the better wines I am purchasing at present. These will not need to be blended, as I pre taste now before purchase any quantity.
Do you ever blend wine at home?
Hi, all. I was directed to this old post by ricrios. I was asking comments on blending wines. I take two that are at opposite ends of the acid/fruit spectrum and get something in between. I was buying taste untested wines and need to consume them, it seems to work for me. We had a wine merchant in town that did that as a sales service, "blend your wine". My question was answered. I now only buy wines online with a test bottle before a case investment . Thanks, Dennis
