Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Any red wine drinkers?

I had box wine, ewwww gross

Wow NAPA makes wine now???

I'm a merlot man, and two favorites available at the grocery store for less than $20 are Blackstone and Kendall-Jackson

don't forget red wine is good for the heart!

Cost Plus World Market is an excellent place to begin. Not only do they have knowlegeable staff in their wine departments, but a lot of excellent wines for under $10.

I would start trying a good merlot, a good red zinfandel, a good shiraz (syrah), and a good rhone. See what you like and what you don't like, and go from there. I am sipping on a Chariot 2001 Sangiovese right now... it's really good, but needs time to open up (never uncork and pour and drink). I find Pinot Noirs water, shirazs to peppery, and red zins are generally what I favor.

Proper glasses and storage are a must, as is a good corkscrew.

Too bad IKEA isn't open there yet, as they have good basic wineglasses cheap (I bought 12 red, 12 white, and 12 champagne from there). You are looking for the wider glasses with a bowled bottom so the aromas disperse correctly. Cost Plus is another good place

Wine must also be stored on its side to keep the corks wet, and a corkscrew that will give you the leverage to open the bottle is essential... this does not necessarily mean fancy... try and see.

I think Cost Plus is the good place to start for all of your wine beginner needs. Note they may ask your tastes in other foods (chocolate, coffee... to get an idea of what your wine tastes will likely be).

I am not too fussy on origin, but I tend to Chilean wines. Excellent quality and excellent value.

Favorite Merlot: Santa Alicia (hard to find)
Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo (Devil's Cellar)

Can't find my notebook for more picks... I write down what I like and what I didn't care for to guide my tastes further.

Alright. Don't ask vintages, as I didn't write any down (NOT smart on my part)...

Merlot: Sterling Vineyards, Coppola, Hogue, Columbia Crest, Terra Blanca, Chateau St. Michelle. Most of these are under $20-25.

Splurge - Duckhorn. I've got a bottle of '00 in the rack; it's excellent. Grapes are from the Three Palms Vineyard in CA. Sterling Vineyards did a Three Palms Merlot back in '91 that was to die for...

Pinot Noir: Brick House, Bannister, Kenwood, Smoking Loon ( I like it, some think it's junk) for starters. Most of these are under $20.

Splurge - Can't think of a Pinot that I've spent over $35 on. Tough call.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Cakebread, Stag's Leap, Frog's Leap, Caymus, Apex, Robert Craig, though all are $$$. The only good cheap Cab I can recall was Xanadu (I remember the strange name). I've not a clue where it was made, but I know it wasn't more than $20.

Splurge - No comment.

I'd get your feet wet before starting to mess around with Italian, Spanish and French reds. They ship so much cheap trash across the Atlantic it's not even funny. If you want a few sparklers (I'm more on Spanish and Italian reds than French, mainly due to price), ping me. There are some Spanish reds that are killers for ~$15...

Do you have a Costco in your area? If so, they've got a great selection of wine at proper prices. They also carry a rabbit-type corkscrew for $14. That's right: $14. This is pretty much the same thing that you would walk into Williams-Sonoma and spend $90 on.

Glasses? Crate and Barrel will take care of you nicely, unless you want to pop $50-60 a glass for Waterford.

I can pick up this bad boy for around $11. Neiman Marcus owns Chef's Catalog.

We do have a Costco. I'll have to get my mom's membership card and check it out. There's a Crate/Barrel by my house, as well.

I'll check out some starters and tell you what I think! Thanks for your help.

What are vintages?

I'm a Cabernet Sauvignon fan, although I mostly drink wine during late fall or winter. (don't know why) Chardonnay for white. But, my favorite is wine from blue Portugese grapes. Thrives in the southern part of Czech Republic and northern part of Austria.

Ice wine or frozen wine, basically wine that was picked while it's frozen is excellent if done properly, but dunno if you can find something like that here in the US. Tends to be pricey as well.

NOTHING beats going into a wine cellar and tasting different types of wine w/ your buds directly out of barrels. Keep some good cheese on hand.

You generally end up crawling out, not walking out. Or at least in my case.

Yours truly after a wine tasting session in a wine cellar that lasted over 2 1/2 hours, in which we sampled 70+ types of red/white wine. As you can see, my right hand is still holding an imaginary glass of wine.
http://www.czech1.net/czech007/wine.jpg

-J

Two Buck Chuck

Have Trader Joes? start there