All About Wine! - The Orange Mane

Sassy · 02-02-2007, 05:47 PM

Share your knowledge of wines and what kind of wine you like best with what food!

Billy Clyde Puckett · 02-02-2007, 06:30 PM

I spent about 5 years in the Wine and Liquor business early in my schizophrenic career ad still have several friends in the business. Everyone has their opinions, here are some of mine:

1. Nothern California Wines you pretty much get what you pay except for the very high priced issues. I know i am cheap, but to me there is very little difference between a $30 bottle and a $100 bottle except the snob appeal.

2. You don't need to spend much to have an enjoyable wine. BV, Mondavi, Berringer and others have their Coastal wines that sell for $7-8 in Denver that are very drinkable. There are plenty of smaller wineries that have good bottles of wine for less than $10.

3. It is harder to generalize about imported wines, especially from Europe. There are bargains from Australia and South America now because of large investments in the wineries.

4. Find what you like, but always try new things. Don't let peer pressure tell you what to drink. There are good wines from places you wouldn't think - North Carolina, Michigan, Colorado, etc.

5. Remember if it is heavily advertised, the cost of that advertising is built into the product so you may be getting less value than a comparable priced bottle with no advertising load. (This is even more true in the liquor world, but that is a topic for another day)

Jump at a chance to visit Napa/Sonoma, try to avoid summer weekends. It's a zoo.

Some of my favorite brands of NoCal wine (based mostly on who I liked dealing with and the snobs won't agree) - Robert Mondavi, BV, J Lohr, Chateau Julien, Plump Jack, Korbel Champagnes, Keenan, Stags Leap and on the high end Silver Oak and Joseph Phelps. I know I missed some.

Sassy · 02-02-2007, 08:23 PM

A very inexpensive good merlot is "Little Boomey's"...it's the house wine at The Outback...I agree, not all cheap wines are bad.

Meck77 · 02-02-2007, 08:29 PM

Yeah I seem to recall seeing sassy behind the bus once with a brown bag of Boons farm.

Sassy · 02-02-2007, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meck77

Yeah I seem to recall seeing sassy behind the bus once with a brown bag of Boons farm.

Yuck!

I forget what I had but I had a $10 glass of Merlot in Diego one time...disgusting!

ak1971 · 02-02-2007, 08:40 PM

I have a great story about spraying Cristal over my thne future wife if that counts

Sassy · 02-02-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak1971

I have a great story about spraying Cristal over my thne future wife if that counts

Hey...if TJ let's it pass as PG-13 go for it

Just opened some Corbett Canyon...not sure I'm crazy about it.
I think it's the "blackberry" in it.

Pezman · 02-03-2007, 06:14 PM

Lets see, Mad Dog 20/20, Nighttrain, and Red Label King Soopers Generic Wine are all fantastic ways of getting you tore up supercheap.

Sassy · 02-03-2007, 08:06 PM

Hey Pez...thought you'd sneak in here...but surely, you have better advice than cheap wine!

TailgateNut · 02-04-2007, 01:18 PM

The best wine is one which you've added a bit of butter to it, then heated it and then dragged some Alaskan King Crab through it!

Pezman · 02-04-2007, 05:35 PM

Syrahs are becoming some of my favorites FWIW.

Sassy · 02-04-2007, 05:46 PM

Syrahs?

Shiraz

Pezman · 02-05-2007, 10:39 PM

Yeah, Shiraz = Syrahs (depends on which winery you buy it from)

I've also begun to dig more wines that have a hint of grapefruit. Mmmmm! Good stuff there. Also, I'm always looking for a good Cabernet to put down. Suggestions?

ak1971 · 02-06-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pezman

Yeah, Shiraz = Syrahs (depends on which winery you buy it from)

I've also begun to dig more wines that have a hint of grapefruit. Mmmmm! Good stuff there. Also, I'm always looking for a good Cabernet to put down. Suggestions?

No cab suggestions but .....Go to NZ! Its warm there when the Broncos are playing in the snow...

Go to the Cloudy Bay vineyard....yum yum

Master___Pain · 02-07-2007, 08:18 PM

I'm a relatively novice wine drinker but I love Zins (not white Zins you fools) Aside from Pinot Nior, it's the best wine for a variety of different foods, everything from fish to a big steak. I have also been trying various red blends, lots of good ones out there. I would say Pinot Noir and Cabernet are just behind Red Zin for me, but it all changes.

A really good Spanish wine I had recently is Marquesa (or Casa De Marquesa, can't remember right now) Moderately price and fairly full bodied.

I'm a huge fan of Oregon, specifically Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir.

cbs1177 · 02-11-2007, 12:22 AM

We recently had a wine tasting at our club and Lolonis Fume Blanc was a great tasting white wine. (not really a white wine lover). And the price was great also not expensive at all. http://www.wine.com/wineshop/product...EPCLOLFBC_2004
it is a Californian wine and they use Lady bugs to help with pest control on vineyards. Had a really nice crisp taste and was pleasing to sip even to those like me that careless for whites.

Sassy · 02-11-2007, 01:07 PM

How dry is it?

cbs1177 · 02-11-2007, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassy

How dry is it?

It wasn't really dry at all to me it was more fruity. It was just fun for me. I know that is not a sophisticated way to say it but I saw it as a summer wine for fun times.

Bronco Billy · 02-11-2007, 11:39 PM

If I drink wine, it's usually a merlot. Not a big fan of "fruity" wines. A Forbes article rated Yellow Tail for having the best inexpensive merlot. It is actually pretty decent and only $6 a bottle. It's got a peppery taste.

cbs1177 · 02-12-2007, 05:16 PM

Yeah usually I stick to reds most of the time and really only venture out at the wine tasting at the club when a new distrubator brings new products.

ak1971 · 02-12-2007, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master___Pain

I'm a relatively novice wine drinker but I love Zins (not white Zins you fools) Aside from Pinot Nior, it's the best wine for a variety of different foods, everything from fish to a big steak. I have also been trying various red blends, lots of good ones out there. I would say Pinot Noir and Cabernet are just behind Red Zin for me, but it all changes.

A really good Spanish wine I had recently is Marquesa (or Casa De Marquesa, can't remember right now) Moderately price and fairly full bodied.

I'm a huge fan of Oregon, specifically Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir.

I like Cline Zinfandel. Its pretty cheap and good

Rascal · 02-16-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Guy

Some of my favorite brands of NoCal wine (based mostly on who I liked dealing with and the snobs won't agree) - Robert Mondavi, BV, J Lohr, Chateau Julien, Plump Jack, Korbel Champagnes, Keenan, Stags Leap and on the high end Silver Oak and Joseph Phelps. I know I missed some.

I love J Lohr and Mondavi. There are some local oklahoma/arkansas types I usually get. Whenever we drive, or sometimes make the trip just for the wine, to Altus we stop by the post family winnery and usually get 100+ worth of wine there.

I haven't tried the Julien although I've heard good things about it. I'd like to try that as well as Stags.

What types of wine do you prefer?

Rascal · 02-16-2007, 12:31 PM

Muscadine is becoming more popular as well.

The white is fruity and sweet.

The red is medium sweet and full-bodied. Plus it has seven times as muct resveratorl (sp?) as other grapes.

Billy Clyde Puckett · 02-16-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rascal

What types of wine do you prefer?

I'm a lush so I'll drink anything.

I usually tend to drink what my wife likes at the moment. She is the type to find something she likes and stick to it rather than experiement. Right now her favorite is BV Coastal Merlot which is $7-8 here in Denver. I like to experiment so when I go to the liquor store, I tend to grab a couple of bottles of things I haven't had before. Had Oberon Merlot last night and it was very good. We drink mostly reds these days, but I will sneak a white in occasionally. Try some of the Australian and South American wines. They are great values right now.

The wineries are learning that Americans are not as interested in being "wine snobs" as much as they want good value. Some of the boxed wines are actually decent. I have had the Black Box and Killer Juice brands. For $17 you get as much wine as in four normal bottles and I think it equals most of the $7-9 bottles.

The J Lohr and Mondavi people were absolutely great to work with when I was in the business. Mondavi has changed hands so I suspect the atmosphere is different now. Overall, the people in California wine people, except the giants like Gallo, are great people. Mirrasou was the oldest family owned winery in California. The brothers and one cousin who ran it were as nice as anyone you would ever meet. The winery became surrounded by San Jose sub divisions and the next generation was not interested in continuing the family business, so they sold the name to Gallo a couple of years ago. That made me sad.

Rascal · 02-16-2007, 01:14 PM

Yeah I like Australian wines as well. When I was there several years ago I got to try a variety of wines/beers that they don't sell here.

Americans are known for their desire of cheap alcohol. We want to get hammered, and we don't want to pay a lot for it.

When I was in France it wasn't uncommon to see regular Frenchies buying 60 dollar bottles just for lunch!!!

02-02-2007, 05:47 PM	#1
Sassy Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2001 Location: ND Posts: 37,952 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	All About Wine! Share your knowledge of wines and what kind of wine you like best with what food!

02-02-2007, 06:30 PM	#2
Billy Clyde Puckett Billy=Semi Tough Big Guy Looking down on KC, SD and Oakland Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: between 5,000 and 10,000 feet elevation Posts: 12,665 Adopt-a-Bronco: John Elway	I spent about 5 years in the Wine and Liquor business early in my schizophrenic career ad still have several friends in the business. Everyone has their opinions, here are some of mine: 1. Nothern California Wines you pretty much get what you pay except for the very high priced issues. I know i am cheap, but to me there is very little difference between a $30 bottle and a $100 bottle except the snob appeal. 2. You don't need to spend much to have an enjoyable wine. BV, Mondavi, Berringer and others have their Coastal wines that sell for $7-8 in Denver that are very drinkable. There are plenty of smaller wineries that have good bottles of wine for less than $10. 3. It is harder to generalize about imported wines, especially from Europe. There are bargains from Australia and South America now because of large investments in the wineries. 4. Find what you like, but always try new things. Don't let peer pressure tell you what to drink. There are good wines from places you wouldn't think - North Carolina, Michigan, Colorado, etc. 5. Remember if it is heavily advertised, the cost of that advertising is built into the product so you may be getting less value than a comparable priced bottle with no advertising load. (This is even more true in the liquor world, but that is a topic for another day) Jump at a chance to visit Napa/Sonoma, try to avoid summer weekends. It's a zoo. Some of my favorite brands of NoCal wine (based mostly on who I liked dealing with and the snobs won't agree) - Robert Mondavi, BV, J Lohr, Chateau Julien, Plump Jack, Korbel Champagnes, Keenan, Stags Leap and on the high end Silver Oak and Joseph Phelps. I know I missed some. Last edited by Billy Clyde Puckett; 02-02-2007 at 06:32 PM..

02-03-2007, 06:14 PM	#8
Pezman Livin the dream Andy did you hear about this one? Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Smoggy SoCal Posts: 9,833 Adopt-a-Bronco: DJ Williams	Lets see, Mad Dog 20/20, Nighttrain, and Red Label King Soopers Generic Wine are all fantastic ways of getting you tore up supercheap. __________________ Sitting on a beach, earning 20%

02-04-2007, 05:35 PM	#11
Pezman Livin the dream Andy did you hear about this one? Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Smoggy SoCal Posts: 9,833 Adopt-a-Bronco: DJ Williams	Syrahs are becoming some of my favorites FWIW. __________________ Sitting on a beach, earning 20%

02-05-2007, 10:39 PM	#13
Pezman Livin the dream Andy did you hear about this one? Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Smoggy SoCal Posts: 9,833 Adopt-a-Bronco: DJ Williams	Yeah, Shiraz = Syrahs (depends on which winery you buy it from) I've also begun to dig more wines that have a hint of grapefruit. Mmmmm! Good stuff there. Also, I'm always looking for a good Cabernet to put down. Suggestions? __________________ Sitting on a beach, earning 20%

02-02-2007, 08:23 PM	#3
Sassy Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2001 Location: ND Posts: 37,952 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	A very inexpensive good merlot is "Little Boomey's"...it's the house wine at The Outback...I agree, not all cheap wines are bad.

02-02-2007, 08:29 PM	#4
Meck77 Ring of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 16,312	Yeah I seem to recall seeing sassy behind the bus once with a brown bag of Boons farm.

02-02-2007, 08:40 PM	#6
ak1971 uhhhh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 5,536	I have a great story about spraying Cristal over my thne future wife if that counts

02-03-2007, 08:06 PM	#9
Sassy Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2001 Location: ND Posts: 37,952 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	Hey Pez...thought you'd sneak in here...but surely, you have better advice than cheap wine!

02-04-2007, 01:18 PM	#10
TailgateNut Bleedin' orange! .......as much as tebonites Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mile High Posts: 20,018 Adopt-a-Bronco: Howard Griffith	The best wine is one which you've added a bit of butter to it, then heated it and then dragged some Alaskan King Crab through it!

02-04-2007, 05:46 PM	#12
Sassy Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2001 Location: ND Posts: 37,952 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	Syrahs? Shiraz

02-07-2007, 08:18 PM	#15
Master___Pain Ring of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Springs Posts: 4,605 Adopt-a-Bronco: Rock Hoover	I'm a relatively novice wine drinker but I love Zins (not white Zins you fools) Aside from Pinot Nior, it's the best wine for a variety of different foods, everything from fish to a big steak. I have also been trying various red blends, lots of good ones out there. I would say Pinot Noir and Cabernet are just behind Red Zin for me, but it all changes. A really good Spanish wine I had recently is Marquesa (or Casa De Marquesa, can't remember right now) Moderately price and fairly full bodied. I'm a huge fan of Oregon, specifically Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir.

02-11-2007, 12:22 AM	#16
cbs1177 Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,209	We recently had a wine tasting at our club and Lolonis Fume Blanc was a great tasting white wine. (not really a white wine lover). And the price was great also not expensive at all. http://www.wine.com/wineshop/product...EPCLOLFBC_2004 it is a Californian wine and they use Lady bugs to help with pest control on vineyards. Had a really nice crisp taste and was pleasing to sip even to those like me that careless for whites.

02-11-2007, 01:07 PM	#17
Sassy Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2001 Location: ND Posts: 37,952 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	How dry is it?

02-11-2007, 11:39 PM	#19
Bronco Billy Ring of Famer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,322	If I drink wine, it's usually a merlot. Not a big fan of "fruity" wines. A Forbes article rated Yellow Tail for having the best inexpensive merlot. It is actually pretty decent and only $6 a bottle. It's got a peppery taste.

02-12-2007, 05:16 PM	#20
cbs1177 Ring of Famer Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,209	Yeah usually I stick to reds most of the time and really only venture out at the wine tasting at the club when a new distrubator brings new products.

02-16-2007, 12:31 PM	#23
Rascal RIP Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 16,581 Adopt-a-Bronco: Turf	Muscadine is becoming more popular as well. The white is fruity and sweet. The red is medium sweet and full-bodied. Plus it has seven times as muct resveratorl (sp?) as other grapes.

02-16-2007, 01:14 PM	#25
Rascal RIP Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 16,581 Adopt-a-Bronco: Turf	Yeah I like Australian wines as well. When I was there several years ago I got to try a variety of wines/beers that they don't sell here. Americans are known for their desire of cheap alcohol. We want to get hammered, and we don't want to pay a lot for it. When I was in France it wasn't uncommon to see regular Frenchies buying 60 dollar bottles just for lunch!!!

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