The LIT Sommelier

[Aphro]

Wine recommendations. Lay them on me, baby.

I'm no wine afficionado by any stretch. I like wine with a nice meal, or to sip in the evening after dinner. I tend to prefer wines that are not TOO dry.

My 'go to' white is a local Reisling. I never used to care much for reds, but have found I enjoy Amarone and occasionally, Shiraz.

So, hit me up...let's compile a LIT list of fab wines.

 

[KingOrfeo]

There are two and only two kinds of wine: Grapes, and not-grapes.

 

[Aquagal]

I like this Malbec the local mart has. Who it's by, I always forget. Or is it whom?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I drink sangria or Florida citrus wines. Period.

 

[KingOrfeo]

What wine goes with Cap'n Crunch?

 

[oggbashan]

I buy my wine in France.

It is much cheaper there, especially if it is French.


From Wikipedia:

French law divides wine into four categories, two falling under the European Union's Table Wine category and two falling under the EU's Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) designation. The categories and their shares of the total French production for the 2005 vintage, excluding wine destined for Cognac, Armagnac and other brandies, were:

Table wine:

Vin de Table (11.7%) – Carries with it only the producer and the designation that it is from France.
Vin de Pays (33.9%) – Carries with it a specific region within France (for example Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc-Roussillon or Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne from Gascony), and subject to less restrictive regulations than AOC wines. For instance, it allows producers to distinguish wines that are made using grape varieties or procedures other than those required by the AOC rules, without having to use the simple and commercially non-viable table wine classification. In order to maintain a distinction from Vin de Table, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties or blends.

QWPSR:

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS, 0.9%) – Less strict than AOC, usually used for smaller areas or as a "waiting room" for potential AOCs. This category was abolished at the end of 2011.
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC, 53.4%) – Wine from a particular area with many other restrictions, including grape varieties and winemaking methods.


But that is not the whole story. Some wine sold in France is of a lower quality than Vin de Table and is marked as 'from various countries'. It isn't even suitable for cooking.

Even within each classification the quality varies significantly by region, label and year. Since more than half of all French wine is AOC, not all of AOC is good.

The only way to really find out is to drink it. If you like what you buy, buy some more.

Whenever I go to France I usually buy AOC at medium prices and I am rarely disappointed. I also buy a few bottles of Vin de Pays and have enjoyed some. If I have any spare change I might buy very cheap wine as an experiment. Some has been a disaster. I bought a four-pack of white wine in plastic bottles at less than 1 Euro the pack. That was undrinkable unless following a couple of six packs of beer.

I should have known better than to buy bottles labelled 'Mule's Kick' and 'Onion Skin' (My translation). The wine was accurately described.

 

[JohnnySavage]

What wine goes with Cap'n Crunch?

A good snort of Ripple.

 

[Sinny]

I steer to Washington produced. My favorites now are Saviah's 2012 Barbera and L'ecole No 41 2010 Estate Syrah from 7Hills.

Some excellent pinot noirs out of Oregon, too.

 

[Bidin~Time]

This thread makes me miss LukkyKnight. For the longest time, he was the go to guy for questions about wine.

 

[KingOrfeo]

A good snort of Ripple.

I'm thinking Mad Dog 20/20 with Cheerios and Thunderbird with Froot Loops. Do not chill it!

 

[thør]

Wine recommendations. Lay them on me, baby.

I'm no wine afficionado by any stretch. I like wine with a nice meal, or to sip in the evening after dinner. I tend to prefer wines that are not TOO dry.

My 'go to' white is a local Reisling. I never used to care much for reds, but have found I enjoy Amarone and occasionally, Shiraz.

So, hit me up...let's compile a LIT list of fab wines.

You might look to see if your local wine shop has a wine club where you can get a couple bottles a month to try.

 

[KingOrfeo]

You might look to see if your local wine shop has a wine club where you can get a couple bottles a month to try.

The first rule of Wine Club is: You do not talk about Wine Club!

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

Ravenswood Zinfandel 2009 is a steel a 10 bucks a bottle, if you can find it. The 2010 is undrinkable.

 

[thør]

I steer to Washington produced. My favorites now are Saviah's 2012 Barbera and L'ecole No 41 2010 Estate Syrah from 7Hills.

Some excellent pinot noirs out of Oregon, too.

I had a nice Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley when I was in Houston last week.

 

[Sinny]

I had a nice Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley when I was in Houston last week.

We should start a companion beer thread to talk about all the outstanding NW brews coming out of AK, OR and WA. I had an Elysian porter the other night that made me super happy.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

]

The only way to really find out is to drink it. If you like what you buy, buy some more.

Totally agree!!

I do like French wine as well. My favorites are Rhones.

http://static.wine-searcher.net/images/labels/65/46/perrin-fils-chateau-de-beaucastel-chateauneuf-du-pape-rhone-france-10156546.jpg

 

[TrailDawg]

Pinot Noir

If you can find it 2010 Bergevin Lane Pinot Noir is a real treat from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

 

[Bert Notorius]

i live 4 miles from a winery/vineyard owned and operated by a cute swiss-german couple. unfortunately their wine is horrible. still i go and sit and drink. it must have to do the the prevalent wafts of poignant cow shit permeating the air that spoils the berries.

 

[Torinona]

En vino veritas...

These are all in the $10-15 range here in NYC...

"One" - Antigal Winery - Mendoza Argentina - Malbec - it's actually got a 3-inch tall what I can only describe as an address numeral-style "1" seemingly riveted to the bottle

"Primal Roots" - California - Red Blend

"Root:1" - Colchagua Chile - Cabernet Sauvignon

"Altos Las Hormigas" - Mendoza Argentina - Malbec

"Red Velvet" - Cupcake Vineyards, California

"Apothic" - red blend, I believe from California too... and my one rare nod to the occasional over $20 - The Prisoner, Napa Valley, red.

 

[trysail]

It's neither inexpensive nor unrecognized but the mere thought of

Cos d'Estournel 2009
​

(a Saint-Estèphe Bordeaux) makes me drool.

​

 

[thør]

We should start a companion beer thread to talk about all the outstanding NW brews coming out of AK, OR and WA. I had an Elysian porter the other night that made me super happy.

I'm swilling a bit of this:

http://oakbrew.com/sites/default/files/bottle_template_IPA.png

 

[Sinny]

I'm swilling a bit of this:

http://oakbrew.com/sites/default/files/bottle_template_IPA.png

Is this a good time to bitch about how overhopped IPAs are becoming?

 

[thør]

These are all in the $10-15 range here in NYC...

"One" - Antigal Winery - Mendoza Argentina - Malbec - it's actually got a 3-inch tall what I can only describe as an address numeral-style "1" seemingly riveted to the bottle

"Primal Roots" - California - Red Blend

"Root:1" - Colchagua Chile - Cabernet Sauvignon

"Altos Las Hormigas" - Mendoza Argentina - Malbec

"Red Velvet" - Cupcake Vineyards, California

"Apothic" - red blend, I believe from California too... and my one rare nod to the occasional over $20 - The Prisoner, Napa Valley, red.

Root:1, Apothic Red, and Red Velvet (Cupcake) are available at Costco. I'm not fond of the cupcake but the other two are good.

Speaking of Costco, Kirkland brand wines are generally a VERY good value.

 

[thør]

Is this a good time to bitch about how overhopped IPAs are becoming?

This one is a 70 IBU's. I like it.

But some places are REALLY pitching in the hops.

I'm getting to be a slut for barleywines or porters.

Picked up a fav, Harviestoun Old Engine Oil. They didn't have Engineer's reserve. But, I also picked up a bottle of Ola Dubh 12, which is matured in highland whiskey casks.

 

[thør]

Also, I picked up a bottle of Noble Rot from Dogfish Head. This should be a meshing of beer and wine. Dogfish Head isn't normally sold up here, but my girl Pamela gets some interesting brews to Alaska.