Favorite Wine Thread

It looks like there have been a few threads asking for wine recommendations and other threads discussing wine but no definitive wine thread in the DRINK, smoke, and fine dining, section. How can that be??

Yes there can be huge differences between vintages, wineries, regions, terroir......and so on. But I'm sure most if not all of you have at least a few favorite wines, or producers. Whatever it is, share it here. I love trying different things and will keep an eye here to find new things to try.

So I'll start by offering a few of what are probably some of my favorite if perhaps pedestrian offerings compared to some of you.

I'll start with what may be one of, if not my all time, favorite wines....Tedeschi Amarone. As per my admonition above I won't recommend a certain vintage, I'll just say that no matter the vintage I've never been disappointed by this wine. On the more sweet and subtle side but maybe that's what I prefer. If you've never heard of Amarone wine, look it up and see why it's a bit sweeter but so much more a subtle wine. https://www.jjbuckley.com/wine/2009-Corvina-Veronese-Tedeschi-Amarone-della-Valpolicella-Classico-Superior/2009-183005-750?utm_source=wine-searcher&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ws-sponsor No affiliation with the seller, it's just a good price as I post it. About $45 including shipping.

Up next is, and some will moan when they read this, is pretty much anything from a pretty small Washington state winery called Dunham Cellars. Although the originator and founder Eric Dunham is tragically gone from this earth, they are still producing what I think are some pretty amazing wines. Their three-legged red (the name of which is pretty epically named for their, yep you guessed it three legged dog) is an amazingly good simple yet complex table red wine at a reasonable price. Dunham Cellars Three Legged Red 2013

 

To get possibly slightly more esoteric one of my favorite French producers that I was turned on to by a friend is Camille Giroud. Not really spendy at around $25 a bottle but pretty tasty I think. Price History: Camille Giroud Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Burgundy, France

That is unless you are talking about Gan Cru wines which are a bit more pricey but still very tasty....http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/camille+giroud+chambertin+grand+cru+le+gevrey+cote+de+nuit+burgundy+france

 

CIX - Aubert Wines
My wife made a Chicken Pesto Pasta (she's Italian) this past weekend. We paired with this wine and it was to die for.

 

Only wine I like is Barley Wine i.e. BEER!!!!
Sorry John 😁

 

Caymus Zinfandel , Zenatto Amarone or Zenatto Ripasso... Those are some of faves...

 

Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is ambrosia!

 

I like your taste. I almost posted Zenatto too. If I have a choice between Zenatto or Tedeschi Amarone I'll take the Tedeschi but it's really close.

 

I'm not a big fan of wine. But do enjoy a bottle once in awhile. The best deal around is Costco's Kirkland Signature wines. Last thanksgiving I was invited to the sort of girlfriends godmothers house for dinner. I brought a bottle. Its my go to for casual get together, BBQ's, etc. I also drink it myself. Best $20 wine hands down.

 

I like my beer too. I drink more beer than anything else on average. Wine I tend to go in spurts. I have a small cooler that can fit about 60 bottles I think but I never have that many on hand.

 

I've only tried a couple of the Kirkland wines but haven't found one I'm too impressed by.

 

I like them. It was actually a wine guy who recommended them too me.

 

Awesome cab for beer, or even kool aid money?

Check out a McManis. Yeah - if you're paying $10 or more for the bottle, you're paying too much. Not because it isn't good, but it is available in most decent sized markets for $7 to $8.

https://www.marketviewliquor.com/product/mcmanis-cabernet-sauvignon-750-ml.html?vfsku=16272&vfsku=16272&gpla=pla&gclid=CPrAyOCq0M0CFYwkgQodtzAGKQ

No, it isn't EVERYTHING that some of the heavy hitters have, but it DOES do a lot for your palate that most cabs under $30 or $40 don't even try to accomplish.

 

Our local supermarket has just started selling Ravenswood Zin, both the standard old vine and Sonoma old vine. We are only 6500 miles away so good to see something interesting which I just have to try as I have had a few Ridge Estate Zin's that were Amaze-balls

 

My all-time favourite is the 2011 Paolo Leo Salice Salentino Riserva. I had a bottle in 2013, never been able to find it since.

So I've had to settle. My recent hit is the Concha Y Toro Winemaker's Lot 148 Carmenere. Punches way above its price tag.

 

I love wine... but hard to say my all time favorite...

1. Krug Clos de Mesnil Champagne... could drink it by gallons if I could afford to
2. Chambertin clos de Bez - Morey et fils ditto above
3. Sauterns - Y'quem is awesome, but also Lafaurie Peyraguey
4. Ferrari Carano Cabernet... really like 2004
5. Corton Charlemagne - Louis Jadot...
6. Quinto do Noval porto
7. Pio Cesare Barolo

I like all sorts of wine... from the cheapest to the most expensive ... its not the price but the style that guides my choices. I just like what I like.

 

Had to come back here and admit I found one that's pretty tasty. I grabbed a few bottles on my last trip including a nice Dunham Cab that I'm sure will be epically good. But I also grabbed a bottle of Kirkland Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and it was good. I don't have a ton of Pinot experience but this one was good. Not a real big wine like a Cab, but good flavor with maybe a little spice hint?

Don't remember how much it was but if it was less than $25 I'll probably buy more to have on hand.

 

Glad this thread picked up a bit. I thought it was going to die a quick death. I really like trying different wines. And like a few have mentioned I know price doesn't equal quality. I'm looking forward to coming back here and trying some of the wines posted.

 

Shafer Hillside Select and Shafer 1.5 are superb Napa "big" Cabs. Fruit forward, velvet on the tongue, tannins give nice long finish.

 

These are a must if you can find them...
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Well, wrong year but here ya go...Paolo Leo Salice Salentino Riserva 2010 - Stirling Fine Wines

 

So I posted here and I think elsewhere about having good luck with JJBuckley. Have to let you know my opinion has changed drastically. I orderd 4 bottles from them. Get an email really quickly that a shipment is on the way. I didn't pay attention to it but when it arrived there were only two bottles. I went back online and sure enough now it says the other two are pending arrival. They charged me the full amount and said nothing at checkout about them being on backorder.

I waited a couple weeks and emailed them. Two days later I get an email that says they are both due to arrive in another week or so. I decided to just wait. Well it's been nearly a week since they were supposed to arrive and no shipping details yet. Then I went back and read their reply and noticed one of them showed an estimated arrival date of 7-2017.

Still no shipping info so I just told them to cancel the last two bottles and refund my money. Sad that they would think this was a good way to do business but I guess it happens. I would think after the first email someone would have wanted to keep track of it and make sure the wines arrived and were shipped out quickly. Waiting more than a month after charging me for it just doesn't cut it for me.

 

Incredibly I got a reply from them today and they said, no the one really was not due to arrive until JULY 2017!!!! So you charged me for a product that's not going to arrive for over a YEAR?? Needless to say I guess I'm more than likely done doing business with these folks. Incredible.

 

I recently bought two cases of this Chateau Gazin and I think its one of the finest wines out there. Its already an 11 year old wine and people are telling me that it hasn't reached it's best drinking age yet. It's an amazing Pomerol and I highly recommend it. The vineyard is situated adjacent to Petrus which should give some indication on the type of fruit they use to make their wines.

With the Chateau Gazin you get a wine that can rival any of the best of Bordeaux but at a lower price level since there is no official classification of Pomerol wine.

This vintage got a score of 96+ by Robert Parker in Wine Advocate (219).

 

Wine appreciation is individualistic in nature. What someone else likes you may not and so on. Myself, I like rich, velvety, almost chocolatey wines. A good reasonably priced recommendation is the Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Pinot Noir. Alban Vineyards makes a wonderful Syrah. Obviously the world is filled with tremendous Cabs, but they're often overpriced so it's worth finding your own go to.

By in large however my tastes are geared more towards American or Australian wines. French wines can be too sharp for my taste without proper age.

 

Spain:
Bodegas Mas Alta - Artigas 2013 - $25
Bodegas El Nido - Clio 2013, $50
Bodegas Alto Moncayo, Alto Moncayo 2011 - $50
Hacienda Monasterio Crianza 2012 - $40
Pintia 2010 - $45

Italy:
Caparzo - Brunello di Montalcino La Casa DOCG 2010, $50
Petra, Quercegobbe 2012 - $40

Austria:
Leo Hillinger, Hill 1 - $40

I took a guess what the prices might be in the US. In Switzerland they are all a bit more expensive.

What we like to do is start the evening with a light red and depending on the food served, go heavier as the evening progresses. That's pretty cool if your guests are also wine lovers. That way you can enjoy different bottles together and talk about them. Also some wines like for example the clio you really do not want to drink much more then 2 or 3 glasses beacause it is so heavy.