Anyone here like it? I’m really starting to develope a taste for it. Only the stuff worth drinking, mind you. No box crap or anything out of a container larger than 750ml.
I shall hear no crap about this being pansy, good wine compliments good food perfectly.
IKE I am w/ u I drink a glass of wine every now and then. I’ll rather drink that then beer.
I was over my cousians house for christmas and he was showing us how to taste wine. He has his own wine celler down in his basement. Its was cool. I actually got to taste and drink a bottle of wine that was worth $500. And you can taste the diffrance between a $20 bottle of wine to a $500 dollar.
He has wine in his celler that are worth $10,000 a bottle… He never will open that bottle or any of his bottle that worth $1000 on up. At least I taste a $500 bottle of red.
Damn do I evey the rich. Oh well…
I’m into wine, but I can’t stand the snobbery that accompanies it. I could care less for years, vintages etc, but if its good, I’ll drink it. I can tell good wine from bad (you’d be surprised how many people can’t) and I know basically what I like - Shiraz good, Merlot bad. The thing is, once you learn a little about wine, you realize that you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg for a good bottle. I’ve had many $13 (can$) wine that were definately worth drinking again. Don’t really spend more than 25 bucks in a store, although if I had the cash I would.
fit: I imagine that was some tasty stuff!
SPBM: You’re absolutely correct about finding those, to use a cliche, ‘diamond in the rough’ vintages. It is an unfortunate fact that the really good stuff does tend to cost more, but you can definately find the exception. Hell, that’s half the fun, finding an afordable, tasty wine.
My girlfriend own’s a winery in the Santa Clara Valley. I like bold Dry Reds like ZIN, CAB, And Merlot. If anybody has any questions (she’s not a snob at all) shoot em and she will answer them!
KraigY
Can’t stand the stuff and I’m pretty happy about that - it’s a darn expensive hobby.
Ko’s the one who knows wine. You know, we just don’t drink beer 
Due to Ko’s wine tasting skills, I’ve developed a stronger appreciation, especially for dark, bold wine. But I really don’t have any preferences, just as long the wine ain’t being poured from a cardboard box.
I love wine. I drink a couple of glasses every night, and a couple of bottles on the weekend. I even drink wine in a box on occasion. The most expensive wine I ever tasted was only like $45 a bottle. It was definitely better than a $5 bottle, but not that much better. A $10,000 bottle of wine had better give me the longest lasting, most toe-curling orgasm of my life.
My cousins not a snob either. Hell, he listens to rap music. And when we were growing up he listens to heavy metal.
I can relate to him at least.
He’s a billionare but I can relate to him.
Most rich are Snobs. So I understand were SPBM was going w/ that.
Hey, Ike, come on up sometime to the Yakima Valley where the wineries dot the landscape from Yakima to the Tri-Cities. The wines compete very closely to the California and even French (ouch, hurts to say that) wines, and are becoming well known internationally.
They even have bus tours that will take you to some of the finer wineries, where you can sample different varieties of wine from each one (great for a cheat day – not to mention a free drunk! I know, no class ;))
I love wine. I prefer it over all other “spirits.” Red, white, whatever…it’s all good.
I grew up in Napa, so I can’t help but have a soft spot for wine. Actually, I hope to some day be able to have my own vineyard…
Anyway, yeah, there might be a certain snobbery associated with wine, but it’s also a bit of a sterotype like all weightlifters are dumb meatheads. If you like wine, it’s a personal thing to be enjoyed, just as ultimately lifting comes down to a personal enjoyment.
I’m not a huge wine expert, but a quick tip, if you browse through a copy of a wine magazine like Wine Spectator, they will often list bargain wines. Just the other day I bought an amazing $6 bottle. It’s hard to pick a $6 wine (or any wine) off the shelf and know it will be good without tasting it, but by browsing through the magazine section first, it might help narrow your search.
Boon’s Farm, baby!
OK, just kidding. I like wine. Like others here, I think the whole wine culture is somewhat snobby. But I do like to try different kinds, and it’s nice to try certain wines with certain food as see how they pair. It’s awesome to cook with, too. I wouldn’t ever drop $10,000 on a bottle of wine though, or even $500.
I like shiraz a lot. I also like merlot and chianti. I’m mostly a red guy, but I also like pinot grigio and gherwetztraminer… I know I totally mangled that second one, someone know how to spell it?
Being lucky enough to be born in England meant that driving to France and back for wine shopping could be done as a day trip.
I would go for new world wines given the chance. Chile makes nice reds and Australia, New Zealand and South Africa come out with some nice whites. A good one is Jacobs Creek.
As I am now living in Japan it is difficult( and expensive!!!) to get good wine.I am trying to ween myself onto sake. When in Rome do as the Romans!
I think it’s Gewurztraminer. Too sweet for me.
Thinking more about the snob thing. I think it’s important to be
well rounded. It’s a cool experience to taste a good wine, but
so is tailgating at a ball game drinking cans of coors lite with a
bunch of bros. If you’re not willing to do both it’s limiting your
life experiences.
Thanks Anderson. I’m heading to California in April and plan on hitting Napa for a day or two… any good wineries you’d recommend visiting? What about that wine train thing, is that worth it?
Trader Joe’s probably has the best deals on wine, starting at $2/$3 per bottle. Don’t let the price fool you, though: a $2 bottle from TJ’s is better than ANY wine in the $13 range and below from Safeway or the like.
Also, the best deals, overall, are on the foreign labels. With the explosion of domestic vineyards in the recent past, many of them have become waaay overpriced. You can find some real deals on French/Chilean/Australian wines if you keep your eyes open.
Oh yeah, and if you couldn’t tell, I like wine. Me like it a lot.
Wine is one of the great pleasures of life, most especially when accompanying a good meal. I wouldn’t turn down a glass of wine by itself, but I think wine was really meant to be enjoyed with food. My favorite meal in the world is a nice, sizzling T-bone accompanied by a really good CA Zin (not one of those sweet, pink “white” zins, but a real zinfandel) such as Cline Ancient Vines (that bottle should only run you about $22 or so if you pick it up at the store).
As to the discussion on price, if you deal in the price range that I’m willing to spend on a bottle, which is generally under $30 in a store and under $60 at a restaurant, I don’t think price correlates well with quality. Of course, I’ve never tasted a $10,000 bottle either (or a $500 bottle for that matter).
BTW, for those of you lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s market, you should look there for some incredibly good wine deals. If not, find a small store in your neighborhood and talk for awhile to the owner – owners are usually more than happy to steer you toward a good bargain if you’re interested and don’t come off like an ass, and they want your business.
Personally I’ve never done the wine train because it’s expensive and limits where you can go. I’ve had a great time at Sterling. You take a tram to a top of a hill where the winery is, great views of the valley. Plus if you’re visiting in the winter, the tasting room will have a fireplace and it’s really a cozy place to relax. If you’re in to sparkling wine, Mumm is good place to go as well. As far as the smaller less mainstream wineries go, I like Robert Sinskey, and Luna. Also, Frogs Leap is kinda cool because the vineyard is organic. Paradigm and El Molino make really good wine, but I believe the tours are by appointment. And of course there are the giants (Mondavi, Berringer). Anyway, you’ll have a great time no matter where you go. When you’ve had enough of the high society wine and restaurants (and there is some damn good food there too) hit up Villa Corona for some of the best Mexican food you can find.
Anderson, I just copy and pasted your post. Great stuff. Thanks!