so let's talk about wine

[silverwhisper]

midwestyankee, scalywag and i were discussing wines in another thread when the idea came to me that it might be fun to discuss wine, maybe learn a bit from one another. so at the risk of seeming obsessed with alcohol: are you a wine person? do you have any preferred styles of wine? personally, i'm a fan of the beaujolais style: it's a light red, somewhat sweet and fun.

what about you?

ed

 

[midwestyankee]

I'm generally a fan of the wine that's in the glass in my hand.

That said, I do have some preferences. Red over white in most cases, though a buttery chardonnay makes the Easter ham almost palatable.

Most recent wine story: the other night we were in a restaurant selected by my mother in law to celebrate her birthday. Let's just say that when the best-looking label on the wine list is an Australian that you buy at the grocery store for $10, you don't expect any miracles. Still, when the waitress brought me a bottle of White Zinfandel instead of the deep red real thing that I had ordered, I nearly had a cardiac event. I don't think that I've been that close to an open bottle of white zin in 15 years.

And this modest level of snobbery got its start with $2 bottles of Gallo Hearty Burgundy that we drank with cigars in college.

Cheers!

 

[bisexplicit]

My dad is a wine drinker. A glass or two almost every night after dinner. I think he tends to like merlot.

I, on the other hand, think wine is one of the grossest tasting things ever. Perhaps even worse tasting than beer.

 

[silverwhisper]

[trout-smacks bi]

uncultured savage.



ed

 

[Guest]

 

[bisexplicit]

The first time I drank wine, i was 17

You drank underage?

 

[SweetErika]

I'm a fan, and considering several wineries open here monthly, we go tasting often. My real weakness is Port. I'm currently drinking a 2000 Vintage Whidbey's that's wonderfully soft and was an incredible deal at the liquor store. I bought three more bottles yesterday to put up because it'll be amazing if we can keep our hands off of it for another year or so.

Other favorites include Wetzel's Fireside Port from Chateau Bianca in Oregon, and White Port from Hinzerling Winery (the oldest in WA, small, family-owned), but all of their stuff is great, especially the Cream Sherry.

I can't have any unfortified wines that come in contact with oak because I get an immediate allergic reaction to the histimines, so I usually go for whites like Rieslings, Gewurtrazminer, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, and sometimes a Muscat. I really like unusual blends, varietals, and things like Honeywood's (Oregon) fruit wines. Lemberger is one of the few reds that's not aged in oak, but I only taste and use it in sangria.

Dry or sweet preference depends on the wine, but often I'll end up with something off-dry to on the sweeter side because of the no-oak requirement.

My husband and I prefer less commercial/industrial, family-run Northwest wineries over mega-producers like Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia.

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[KrisGallagher]

*****

 

[M's girl]

I've seen a few references to wine being "soft"....can anyone explain that?

Also, mwy's buttery chardonnay sounds nice. How do you know it's buttery before you buy it?

I assume it has something to do with the percentage of Tannine in the wine. A lower percentage makes a wine milder, softer, in my opinion.

With buttery I associate "full", also described as a "thick wine". But that's my interpretation.

Personally, I like the lighter wines, but that also has something to do with me having migraine, for which tannine is a drag.

I find myself, for that reason also, starting to drink more and more white wines and rose's. When we were in France we had a very nice Bandol (rose) that was very light and was served chilled at lunch. Simply heaven... of course, IMHO, the atmosphere always has something to do with it as well. Drinking wine is an experience if done well.

 

[WearMeWell]

*Deep curtsey*...Greetings and sweet salutations


I am most definitely a wine person.

Semi sweet to sweet just for enjoyment, and semi sweet to dry with meals.

Beringer White zinfindel, Turning Leaf White Zin and Blush Chablis, Martini and Rossi,...so many many wines to choose from and enjoy.

Sweetened wines for dessert, 'power wines'...Merlot's, Rose's, Spumante's for 'love'....

Everyone seems to ask for a rule of thumb; generally it is, red with red meat, white with white meat...BUT
my personal one is...if you like the wine, it will go with whatever you are serving (or whomever you are having...*weg*)

I tend to shy away from dry to very dry wines......but, every great once in a while.....I'll go out with my parents and that is what they prefer. So we will all sip a glass over buttery crackers, imported cheeses and bitter chocolate.

I stopped trying to 'know' wines in the early nineties,...now, I just sample, savor, and enjoy.

I am always open to suggestions for new (to me) wines.....anyone have a few?

slow smile*

 

[SummerMorning]

My dad is a wine drinker. A glass or two almost every night after dinner. I think he tends to like merlot.

I, on the other hand, think wine is one of the grossest tasting things ever. Perhaps even worse tasting than beer.

Barbarian.

[kipper chop]

 

[bisexplicit]

Barbarian.

[kipper chop]

You and ed should make a calling me names club.

 

[SummerMorning]

Now you've done it

Wine.

Well ... to start, the selection of wines is enormous and to be honest, not all types appeal to all wine drinkers (I won't say connoiseur 'cos it sounds unduly snobby), but then neither should they.

A lunch isn't really a lunch if you don't have time for a glass of fine white with the fish or a strong red with the steak ... and maybe a winter wine for dessert.

I'm not really very familiar, but of the wines grown in the regions hereabout I can name (and occasionally even recognise) the cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon, pinot noir, pinot gris, pinot blanc, malvasia, teran, tokai, merlot, picolit, fragolit, grand red, blue franc (fem.), traminec, cvicek, janzevec, berbera, berbera-merlot, chardonnay, rumeni muskat and various other local varieties. The Italian wines I don't know quite so well.

My personal favourite is a pinot gris demi sec, but a sec is fine with fish as well.

Then you have the various "fizzy" wines as well, primarily the penina and spumante varieties (it's just types of champagne, to be honest).

That's for starters and off the top of my head

No, I'm not an alcoholic.

*hic*

 

[SummerMorning]

You and ed should make a calling me names club.

Nah. We just need to find a wine you'll like and we'll stop calling you a vandal, hun, visigoth, yurt-monkey, fur-hatter, trans-danubian, hyper-borean ...

Why don't you like the taste of wine? That's a serious Q.

 

[bisexplicit]

Nah. We just need to find a wine you'll like and we'll stop calling you a vandal, hun, visigoth, yurt-monkey, fur-hatter, trans-danubian, hyper-borean ...

Why don't you like the taste of wine? That's a serious Q.

Umm, because its gross?

Actually, I don't like the taste of any alcohol. The only way I can drink it is if its masked behind other flavors.

 

[SummerMorning]

Umm, because its gross?

Actually, I don't like the taste of any alcohol. The only way I can drink it is if its masked behind other flavors.

Umm ... wine is *all* about flavours?

Alcohol has no taste whatsoever. It doesn't even burn your throat, if it's pure ethanol. It's the byproducts and methanol that burn and give you headaches (that and dehydration) known as hangovers.

 

[silverwhisper]

bi quoth
you and ed should make a calling me names club.

bah: everybody's a member of that club, yurt-monkey!

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

Umm ... wine is *all* about flavours?

Alcohol has no taste whatsoever. It doesn't even burn your throat, if it's pure ethanol. It's the byproducts and methanol that burn and give you headaches (that and dehydration) known as hangovers.

You can tell me I should like it, yet I don't. I find it repulsive.

 

[bisexplicit]

bah: everybody's a member of that club, yurt-monkey!

ed

Can I be a member of that club? I don't like being left out.

 

[SummerMorning]

To continue - in Poland and Russia (and probably elsewhere, but I'm being an empiricist here) you can get hold of vodkas which are 70% pure alcohol - that's enough to catch on fire. Now, if said vodkas are of high quality you can drink them without flinching, without burning throat or tearing eyes ... in fact, they run down your throat smooth as silk. Of course they tend to whack you in the brain like a freight train approximately 10 to 15 minutes later.

... but I digress. Back to the wine.

A dessert wine like fragolit tastes and smells of ... strawberries. That's right, it's made from grapes that end up tasting and smelling like strawberries. And it also has a 13% alcohol content. Definitely not gross. (serve chilled at 8°C)

Now, a 3 star tokai from Eger tastes sweet as hell with a whiff of "noble rot" ... that may well freak you out, but if it tickles your palate it tends to be quite palatable. (serve chilled at 10°C)

The picolit, on the other hand (another dessert wine) smells, well, flowery and tastes very much like sweet grape juice. (chilled 8°C)

Not gross at all ... well, except possibly the tokai

 

[SummerMorning]

You can tell me I should like it, yet I don't. I find it repulsive.

I'm not saying you should like it. I'm saying you probably haven't been exposed to good wine yet!

 

[bisexplicit]

I'm not saying you should like it. I'm saying you probably haven't been exposed to good wine yet!

Nah, just wait 'til I lose some more tastebuds.

Thats why I old people like icky things.

 

[SummerMorning]

Can I be a member of that club? I don't like being left out.

Sure you can ... but we have a wine-chugging ceremony for all applicants.

*whisper* "Shut up the rest of you, I just made it up now ... I know you turned the chugger into the bong, it doesn't matter, get it anyway"