Wine

[Chief Walking Stick]

Did u drink any wine in Vegas.

 

[Rush]

Did u drink any wine in Vegas.

We got 3 bottles at Tom Colicchio's in MGM

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

We got 3 bottles at Tom Colicchio's in MGM

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

MGM is one of my least favorite Vegas casinos along with Treasure Island.

 

[Hbkrusso]

Oddly enough -- also something I never knew before I lived there -- there are a **** ton of vineyards in the Buffalo region, most of which grow some version of a Lambrusco or Concord. Apparently that's where they grow all the Concords for Welches (protestant grape juice and jelly) and there is a "wine trail" up Rt. 5 that follows lake Erie. All the local vintners there were fucking terrible though; basically one note sweet horseshit (might as well be chugging Boone's Farm). Not that I'm a Lambrusco fan in general, but every one out there I tried was awful (just in case you ever decide to try some "upstate NY wine," stop and take stock of your life choices).

woah woah woah honky don't be hatin on the boons farm breh you obviously haven't tried my boon's moon recipe.

take yer flavor of boons farm I personally like me some strawberry hill drink it down 1 inch from the neck of the bottle and replace it with some good old WV moonshine slosh it around and enjoy. if ya wanna really take it up a notch drop a blue xanex in that ***** as well.

this gives it that extra ooomf and gets the party started right

 

[BearFanJohn]

Not a big wine drinker but going to San Francisco on business and going to do a Napa Wine Tour. Have no idea what to expect but thought I would share. For a novice wine drinker, what can I expect?

Any more info? Napa is a big place with a lot of options. The town of Napa, St. Helena, Rutherford, Calistoga.... If it is your basic winery tour, you'll get a "guide" who will tell you the winery's history. You will probably get a tour of the facility, presses, barrel room, fermentation tanks, etc.... They usually end with a tasting of several wines. If there is a vineyard (as apposed to just a tasting room) you might get to see the vineyard. Or, "tour" could mean that you are going to visit a number of tasting rooms along Highway 29 or the Silverado trail. If you are driving, they take DUI very, very seriously.

You'll have a good time.

 

[DC]

I was at Simi with the MRS. when she was just a misses doing a VIP tour through my restaurant a handful of years ago. Got the tour and on our way to lunch with our guide on site, my wife is singing "One Sweet World" by the DMB. A guy with long hair in a pony tail walking by us, stops, and says, "Are you singing what I think you're singing?" She says yes and he silently motions to our guide and we walk to the main building. About halfway through our first course, the long haired hippie and asks if he can join us for lunch. The rep or tour guide says "Absolutely!" He gives him his chair and leaves the room altogether. The guy we had just spent the last two hours with and first part of our appetizer with ups and vanishes. His name is Steve Reeder. Says Dave and him are great friends and starts telling us all sorts of smoking with Dave stories and about how they are currently working on a line of wines with the band. We talk music, politics, fishing and of course wine for nearly three hours.

Four bottles of wine later (including two from 1996) and six courses digested, he pulls out his pipe and asks us if we want to smoke some weed Dave helped him plant on site.

I can't tell the rest of this story but let's just say our trip was awesome.

 

[DC]

2012 Oakville Cab from Mondavi...got a case and plan on aging it. My first son was born in 2012 and I want to open these up for all the special occasions in his life so we can drink them together 15, 20, 30 years down the road. Damn that's good juice.

 

[RacerX]

2012 Oakville Cab from Mondavi...got a case and plan on aging it. My first son was born in 2012 and I want to open these up for all the special occasions in his life so we can drink them together 15, 20, 30 years down the road. Damn that's good juice.

For several years now, or more, Cali Cabs have not been formulated to last that long - most are more fruit-forward, less tannins, and will peak in less than 10 years. For longer term aging, gots to go French and/or Italian. Don't let your Mondavi sit more than a decade or it will flatten.

 

[DC]

Agree to disagree. That, imo, was the trend in the early 2000s and especially after "Sideways" came out. I believe the old standbys in Napa and Sonoma and trying to revert back to more structure /tannins nowadays. I could be wrong, but my Oakville has medium + intensity with deep tannins.

In regards to your thoughts about 10 years, you're probably right though. It wasn't a reserve oakville, just regular. In order to help me age ones better I'm currently in the market and trying to purchase a wine refrigeration unit single zone with humidity controls. If you have any thoughts on that or any recommendations please let me know they can be expensive and I don't want to break the bank. I'd rather save my money for delicious wine.

 

[DC]

Agree to disagree. That, imo, was the trend in the early 2000s and especially after "Sideways" came out. I believe the old standbys in Napa and Sonoma and trying to revert back to more structure /tannins nowadays. I could be wrong, but my Oakville has medium + intensity with deep tannins.

In regards to your thoughts about 10 years, you're probably right though. It wasn't a reserve oakville, just regular. In order to help me age ones better I'm currently in the market and trying to purchase a wine refrigeration unit single zone with humidity controls. If you have any thoughts on that or any recommendations please let me know they can be expensive and I don't want to break the bank. I'd rather save my money for delicious wine.

 

[RacerX]

Agree to disagree. That, imo, was the trend in the early 2000s and especially after "Sideways" came out. I believe the old standbys in Napa and Sonoma and trying to revert back to more structure /tannins nowadays. I could be wrong, but my Oakville has medium + intensity with deep tannins.

In regards to your thoughts about 10 years, you're probably right though. It wasn't a reserve oakville, just regular. In order to help me age ones better I'm currently in the market and trying to purchase a wine refrigeration unit single zone with humidity controls. If you have any thoughts on that or any recommidations please let me know they can be expensive and I don't want to break the bank. I'd rather save my money for delicious wine.

As for the 10-year mark, i have learned and re-learned that lesson twice through first-hand experience with CA reds - hurt me to consign many precious cases to auction because they had not aged as i had hoped.

I've tried out several types of storage devices over the years, all of them can do the trick of operated correctly. Choosing a unit is a matter of how much room you have, how many bottles you want to store, how much you care to spend. One piece of advice - if you have room for it, and the $$$, for any walk-in locker make sure you purchase a Breezaire brand cooling unit - great reliability and value.

 

[DC]

I'm thinking nfinity. Something around 160/200 bottles storing capacity, free standing.

 

[RacerX]

I'm thinking nfinity. Something around 160/200 bottles storing capacity, free standing.

My further advice - from personal mistakes - when you are ramping up your collection, don't go too deep into one type or varietal of wine. Your tastes will evolve over the years, most wine fans (myself included) start out with the affordable Cali wines, then migrate to the "name" wineries in Napa/Sonoma. I dicked around there for a decade, then went heavy into Euro and Aussie wines, still prefer the old-world styles but am now increasingly acquiring the new-cult releases in Oregon (Pinot) and WA-state (Syrah, Bordeaux blends). And sipping a shit-lot of crisp, dry Sancerre during summer.

 

[DC]

We should start a CCS wine club.

 

[RacerX]

Heat wave in the Bay Area currently, but perfect grilling weather last night.

Grilled up a few ribeye steaks and washed it down with a '97 Barolo Ornato by Pia Cesare. A perfect steak with a kick-ass wine, life is good.

 

[DC]

Nice. Doing hamburgers homemade fries and sweet corn in the backyard tonight. Gonna open my 2001 late harvest sauv blanc botrytis.

 

[Decatur Staley]

Didn't really appreciate it until I moved to Australia... Lots of wineries near where I live and I've had the opportunity to visit most of them. I imagine that it's not as pretentious as it is in the US, which I really appreciate. Although, I never really went to Wineries in the US, so maybe I'm way off.

A lot of the wineries over here are family owned.. I've been to several where you go to a cellar door and have to call someone over because they are busy with the actual wine making process. Cap grapes grow great over here and sauvignon blanc does well too.

I think you guys are not showing whites the respect they deserve. Right now I prefer whites over red. I've had Rieslings in Germany that are so dry it makes your lips pucker. Here in Australia they make a great Verdello wine that I love... Rich and buttery.

I tend to really enjoy dry or rich whites in the summer and savory or spicy reds in the winter... If you appreciate wine, don't dismiss whites. They aren't all sweet.

 

[Decatur Staley]

Heat wave in the Bay Area currently, but perfect grilling weather last night.

Grilled up a few ribeye steaks and washed it down with a '97 Barolo Ornato by Pia Cesare. A perfect steak with a kick-ass wine, life is good.

No offense to RacerX, but this is exactly what I'm talking about as far as pretentiousness... A '96 such and such, blah blah. I think people try to make wine fancier than what it actually is... Fermented grape juice.

Again, not meaning to disrespect the post... I'm sure that is a great wine and you are only mentioning it here for others to possibly check out.

IDK, maybe I'm just being an asshole.

 

[DC]

Nothing wrong with talking about your favorites and showing some love to special vintages.

In regards to your thoughts about whites...drink whatever you want, just drink it!

 

[BearFanJohn]

Wherever you store your wine at home, get some sort of alarm system on the unit/cellar/machine. There are apps i believe. I have had wine units before and if they go out they can start producing warm area. I would advise against Whisperkool brand; I had two units blow out in my old wine cellar. So, essentially, I had two units so that when one would go out I could just slide the other in while I got the other repaired.

If you are going to keep wine for more than a couple of years you have to have a cooling unit or build a cellar. And building a cellar is an entirely different endeavor!