Wine and Rum....

A "must have" is whatever you like... my "must haves" could be very different from yours.

Having said that let us know what your budget and what preferences you might have and maybe we can point a few bottles out.

My favorites?

Reds:
Under $25 ---> Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2001
$25-$50 -----> Joseph Phelps Cabernet 2004
$50-$75 -----> Chateau Lynch Bages 2001
$75-$100 ---> Chateau Cheval Blanc "LE PETIT CHEVAL" 2003
$100 and up... Not enough bottles under my belt to make a proper decision, but if you have cash to burn try Cheval Blanc and any of the first growth Bordeaux from Pauillac (because I'm partial to Pauillac ), then report back with your opinion.

Whites:
Don't know enough to make an informed decision...

Sauternes:
Since this is not something I would drink every day, I can splurge and give just one favorite where price is no object:
Chateau d'Yquem...2003 is the only d'Yquem I've had, but as good as that was, I'd imagine an '88, '89 or '90 would be enough to blow anyone's mind.
The other Sauternes I've tried just don't compare.

Rum:
For mixing: Mount Gay
For sipping: Bacardi Añejo Reserve (Comes in a rectangular bottle with a black label and a black velvet bag. Not to be confused with the other Bacardis)

 

Don't forget your white zinfandel. It's hot.

 

gosling's black seal rum. very good for mixing or sipping on the rocks.

 

Actually, its the blond coeds that drink it that are usually hot!

 

I know very little when it comes to wine

But I do have some rum suggestions
I usually do Pussers or Pyrat with club soda

Flor De Cana Centuraio 21yr aged rum for sipping...amazing stuff

 

Bam,

You should try and find wine shops in your area that do tastings. Regular tasting of different wines will be your best way to determine your own preferences and experience the differences. If you can get a chance to do tastings of older vintages that is a big help in understanding how wines evolve over time.

Also look to Mortons and Flemmings steakhouses as they both have extensive wine selections with decent by-the-glass choices.

You should also try to become friends with a wine shop or a favorite restaurant so you can get in ont he trade only tastings that the wine distributors hold. Again, you are trying to get a broad exposure especially to the higher end wines.

Do not be surprised if your tastes evolve over time as your experiences grow.

Some specific recommendations, but they may not be readily available:

Zinfandel - Ridge (great producer with lots of different vineyard designates and blends), Turley (if you can get one do it just for the experience of having the most extracted over the top style)

Chardonnay - Peter Michael (good luck finding this), Koonsgard, St. Supery (you should be able to actually find this). Take note that there is a huge range of chard styles from oaky/honey to lean/austere.

Pinot Noir - Another varietal with a huge variation in style. Santa Barbara will have a lot of light fruit, there are some strong pinots from the Sonoma Coast (Flowers, Adrian Fog) and the Santa Lucia Highlands (anything from Garys' vineyard or Rosellas vineyard), the Oregon style is generally somewhere in between.

Cabernet/Cabernet blends - Generally Napa is the place that does it best with the exception of Peter Michael. The Peter Michael is Les Pavot, Nickel & Nickel (part of the Far Niente family that was Gil Nickel a long time Ferrari guy), Clark Claudon, Rudd, Viader. If you want to chase the Napa trophy reds: Harlan, Screaming Eagle, Dalle Valle (Maya), Bryant, Colgin.

Sauvignon Blanc & blends - Clark Claudon, St. Supery (Virtu), Araujo (good look ever seeing this)

Gruet in New Mexico makes a sparkling (champagne) that you will win bets on that it is from France.

Washington State is doing some wonderful reds.

Italy - Gaja, Ornellia, Sassaccia. All reds but Gaja has an amazing chard called Rosso Bassj.

Champagne - La Grand Dame, Cristal

Argentina - They are most noted for Malbec which is a big strong red. One of the best is Cheval Andes, partnership with Cheval Blanc of Bordeaux.

Sweet wine - The best of the best for sauterne is Chateau d'Yquem. For a 1/10 the cost a very, very close taste profile is Noble One by De Bertoli in Austrailia.

Bordeaux - all the usual suspects but this vintage will cost car payment amounts for the top growths.

Jeff

 

Yes!
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Bam,

Unless MN is unique on this expect that all liquor distributors handle beer, wine and spirits. In the business connections are going to net you some good opportunities to attend the invite only big trade tastings that each distributor holds. Also check out wine dinners in the area. Are you in Minneapolis area? I would expect that there will be some pretty good wine dinners organized by the upscale restaurants. This will expose you to not only the wines but how they pair with goods. Look for times when you particularly like a wine but it really didn't work with the food or at the other end a wine you are not excited about on its own but it does wonderful with a certasin food. I'll give an example: Kenwood does a zinfandel that is not anything to be excited about but we ended up drinking it one night with nachos and it was an absolutely perfect complement. Still doesn't mean we have any intention of buying Kenwood zin for the cellar though.

Here is another item to recognize in the wine trade. On the hard/harder to get wines there is a hierarchy on how the wines are distributed throug the markets. For the domestic wines the number one choice for the wineries are their own mailing lists. Ready made loyal customers, many with credit cards on file, that are paying retail or a slight discount from retail. Even with discount it it still more net to the winery than the wholesale distributor pays.

Restaurants are considered the next most important. Basically it is a bit of bragging rights and "exposure" to what is considered the potentially influential buyers. In certain cases a winery will specifically direct a distributor to get their wines released to named restaurants. Other times the distributor has to get permission from the winery that the particular restaurant is worthy.

Basically last in the sequence it the retail store. There are ways that some store have more influence with the wineries and do all their games to nurture the relationships but none-the-less they still are generally last in the sequence.

This then gets further mutated by the hierarchy of the various markets across the US. The West Coast is a special situation because of proximity to the vineyards, a lot of person relationships and relatively lenient liquor distribution laws. You can get access to wines in California, Oregon and Washington at wine shops that are mostly mythical in other parts of the country.

After the uniqueness of the west coast market then New York is #1. #1.5 would be Chicago, Miami with Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas. These are all the big important major markets that everyone want to have a presence in. I'm in the St. Louis area we are down the pecking order. Since we actually live on the Illinois side of St. Louis that means we fall under the Illinois distribution system when Chicago get everything and some stuff gets to trickle down state to us.

I don't know where Minnesota falls in the hierarchy and if Minneapolis is considered a high enough tier location to get the low production cult, near-cult and want-to-be cult items.

Every once in while you will find something that is impossible to find in someplace you didn't expect it. Bryant Family cab is available in some resturants in St. Louis because the owner, Don Bryant, lives in St. Louis. Pillar Rock is in certain places around Chicago area because that is where the owner lives. Same thing applies to where owners might like to vacation. I'm not aware of any Minnesota connections for wineries but there could be.

Jeff

 

I was working in Antigua,and was introduced to English Harbour Rum 15 year old.

Very nice, neat.

I brought a couple of bottles (18.00ea), can find it anywhere, in the US or Canada

 

Go to Surdyk's.

While the MN wine scene is growing, the wines mentioned by others far surpasses any you will find in MN, by far......by far. The future may be brighter with new cold hearty grapes available recently, but they are still a somewhat unknown quantity as the wine made from them have yet to be released

 

Chateau d'Yquem 2001. I just bought a case for investment, cost me £4000 a month ago and is now worth £4713. Could be worth up to £20-£30k in 10 years.

Went into my wine cellar on Sunday night to get a bottle and what did i find......


Cellar totally flooded, up to my waiste
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Oh no...

 

360stimo,

Sincere condolences. Have you been able to determine which bottles are destroyed? We have insurance on our cellar but in the US "surface water" is not covered.

Jeff

 

I am so very sorry. This makes me very sad.

In addition to the main sump pump, I also run a battery back-up, just to keep this from happening here.


Back when Oakland, California had its Fire Storm, I heard a story about someone that tossed their collection into the swimming pool to save it from burning. Supposedly saved the wine, but soaked all the labels off.

 

If flooding occured because the sump pump failed that is covered (we too have the battery back-up and now there is some water flow back-up system that we thought about changing to). If water from the ground found a way through a window, hydrostatic pressure under the foundation or a crack in the foundation then that is surface water and not covered. We are currently replacing a downstairs bedroom carpet and pad plus having a window well reworked because of "surface water" damage.

You are right maybe his wines are still OK but someone needs to check the corks or if part of the problem had to do with anything getting too hot.

Jeff

 

No yet, as im down in London. There could be no damage to the wine at all, totally depends. The most likely scenario is that all the lables have come off and that the cork has been soaked - and then dried, it could simply disintegrate when you try to open it. We shall see.

The flood is th cause of my neighbours havin building work done and changing the path of a spring - which is quite annoying, this should be covered under insurance.

Already had pipes dug in taking water out before at great cost, look like i now have to repeat the process

 

Wow! Sorry to see that flooding. I don't know about over there, but here in the US if that happened because of your neighbor's work being done, they would be liable for the damages. Not the best way to establish a neighborly relationship, but you'd think if they are decent people they'd own up to their responsibility...

 

Look at this (Peters Rum Page) Rum Collectors website
http://www.rum.cz/galery/cam/cu/bacardi/

 

Bacardi is not rum - HATE the stuff

 

I HATE the most French rum from Guadeloupe - thats NOT rum, it taste like petroleum.

 

Here is my wine reccomendation.
I'm a big French enthusiast... particularly Burgandy... burgonne valley..

if you want to spark a conversation with real wine guys - wine oos... talk about chambertin, Clos estournel, Richebourg, Vougeout- those are the real stars in France... Bordeaux makes some good wines, but for the money, Burgandy is where the action is. The Bordeaux area is broken into Paulliac, St. Jullien, Margaux and several others that make famous wine, but not always worth the money... in burgandy, you dont have to buy all the huge names, but still have great wine. my favorite is Givery Chambertin... a realativey cheap wine, but has great taste, and very complex. burgandys can also out last most Bordeaux by decades... most bordeaux is made to drink young... because of us Americans....

Chateau D'Yquem is something you need to experience... there is really nothing like it, hard to describe, but its the Ferrari of white wines.

My Favorite white is Corton Charlemagne - white burgandy - Lousi Jadot 1990, or 1992 if you can find it... 1985 is spectacular as well. 1978 is the big year in burgandy, and 1982 for bordeaux.

I would also direct you to barolo in italy, and port in portugal... quinto do noval is my favorite.