Seems like the perfect time to ask for winery recommendations around Santa Rosa, or anywhere in the wine country really. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I will help restore a least one like for your efforts.
Gf and I are going to be in San Francisco in June and want to do a wine tasting tour. Napa, Sonoma, or both?
What kind of wine do you like to drink? What kind of price point are you willing to pay for a bottle?
We're really not that picky, will drink pretty much anything but pinot noir is my favorite. Been looking at the day tours that go out from SF and include the tastings in the cost. Neither of us is a wine aficionado so I'm not looking to break the bank with this, just seems like it'd be something fun to do.
Napa is Cabernet-centric and higher priced and has phenomenal restaurants. Sonoma has much greater variety of wines. I've never really been to Sonoma but I've heard Healdsburg is a great place to visit and I'm sure others could help you there. If you're looking for Pinot, I'm an Oregon guy too but I do like some stuff I've had from Sonoma Coast. People will tell you Russian River Valley is where it is at but IMO it is way overrated and way overpriced. I've liked Cabs from Knights Valley too. It is sort of Napa-like at more reasonable prices.
Just did Santa Barbara county and los olivos. Awesome time. I've stepped my blend game up. I want to plug my friends wine here as well: https://www.lolawines.com
gotten to the point where wine is about all I want to drink there are times when a good beer really hits the spot, but if I have my druthers, it's vino been on a strong spanish kick because I feel like it's a good bang for your buck, which is pretty crucial since I'm haphazardly trying as much as I can and hate to blow my wad on even a $25 bottle that I don't care for or "just because"
Hi, I'm looking for the wine thread (old) can you point me in the right direction thanks in advance God bless.
I try not to openly insult the lower class wine drinker. Just inwardly sneer at their stupidity like the elite liberal that I am.
Yes, hello. I'm not a big wine fan but I can drink just about an entire bottle of this stuff in one sitting. Tremendous red dessert wine, not expensive at all: http://www.crossingvineyards.com/wines/originals/choco-port.jsp
really want to get more into wine but god damn walking into the wine section is more overwhelming than any beer section
That's why I am thankful my pops got into wine when I was in highschool. By the time I reached drinking age he made all the mistakes and passed those learnings onto me. I say this as I just finished off my first bottle of rose for the night and opened a 2009 Bergstrom Le Pre De Col to celebrate America.
Yeah, you're in Oregon now. Go hang out in Dundee, Dayton, etc. There are a lot of great Pinot producers there and the experience of going to the site, meeting winemakers, etc makes it all the more memorable.
Pops has been selling wine for 30 yrs so always an awesome resource when I have a question or need a recc
Anybody drinking anything worthwhile? My allergies have been acting up all summer so I feel like I get about 25% of what I think I should from a red. I've stuck to beer and rose's which have been damn good in the heat.
2014 penner ash Shea vineyard rose just got opened. Had a killer 2012 Beaux Freres, zena Crown vineyard that paired excellent with my Duck course at a boutique restaurant here in Portland as well. Waiting on my 11's still , and just haven't had as much time to taste around.
Bummed we lost the old thread :( Hello yes Jimmy the Saint I'm here to help even though Hackenberg sucks. What can I help with?
Been crushing Rose's this summer. Fucking lovely on an afternoon if I may smugly say so. Going to head up to Napa perhaps on Saturday, have to pick up some wine that Arkadin made me buy. If I buy, I buy.
About 6 weeks too late unfortunately. The tour we went on went to Nicholson Ranch, Madonna Estate, and Sutter Home. The first two were great; Sutter Home sucked. Although we obviously weren't surprised at the latter. Ate at Redd in Yountville and it was an enjoyable day. Next time we'll try to find something that focuses on smaller wineries.
I enjoyed Edgefield's wine flight - McMenamin's Brothers. Of 14 or so I tried, 8-9 were good. Good bodies and good flavors all around. They had a couple crazy ones on the menu like The Blend of The Little Red Shed - with five different wines mixed together or something along those lines. I tried to stick to the single varieties. I'd say the whites won it overall. Probably helped that the seasons are changing and it was 100 degrees out. The red standouts were the Primitivo and the Black Rabbit Red - their table wine. On the white side, their standouts were the Pinot Grisham and Noir Blanc, the Umbrella Jimmy Dry Rose (so good and delicious). I also liked their Chardonnay - not too heavy or weighed down on the buttery taste. Good service, good crowd and a lot to do. Prices weren't overboard either.
I've played fantasy football with Eric Keating that owns Keating Winery. He is perhaps the most hilarious person on the internets. He likes to throw in a top notch bottle of wine to whoever wins leagues he is in. He's cool as hell. Besides that...I just drink random cheap dry wines from Traders Joes.
I still don't understand wine really well (I know a lot of the basics but that is about it), but did take the gf for our 1 year anniversary to Walla Walla washington a few weeks ago. Brought home about $150 dollars worth the bottles, several from the Red Mountain AVA which is one of the best in the country (and became big after, I believe, Wine Enthusiast gave a bottle 100 out 100 mark). Drink wine 2-3 times a week now, also nice living 20 minutes away from several AVA's in Oregon. Hell I live within 30-40 minutes of like 250 wineries. Shit is good yo.
I had a pretty cool experience the other night with a close friend hosting a tasting at his house with a Napa winemaker. My buddy has been friends and has been visiting him for years. He was in town promiting his new vineyard, a fella named Andy Wilcox who is a former partner in Lambert Bridge has teamed up with Steve Reynolds to start their own winery in SE Napa called Italics. He'll also be helping make the 15 Appelations which is a Reynolds wine made from one ton of fruit from 15 different vineyards, made into wine individually, and then blended for the best representation of Napa. Needless to say, great wines and a significant departure from my pinots. I've been good about trying new cabs this year (and sav blanc with the heat) and the Italics and Reynolds cabs we tasted were fantastic. The property will be ready this fall and I'd be happy to make an introduction if anyone wanted to go. I'll likely be going next spring.
Live on the edge of Portland. Just down the way is the Willamette Valley and 6 different AVA's. It might not be 250 wineries, but its at least 150-200. The state has more than 400 wineries and an area to the Southwest of the city is one of the larger wine areas in the country. (famous for the Oregon Pinot's)
Understanding wine is more about tasting a lot of things than anything else. Just make mental notes what it was, where it came from, etc. Eventually you'll start to understand what to expect from grapes, regions, etc. There is just so much variety and each year is different that it takes time to build up a base of knowledge. Focusing on a particular region, like for you Willamette Valley would be easy because of proximity (assuming you like Pinot), helps make the world seem smaller. To my tastes (and DistantFactor) Willamette Valley makes the best Pinot in the US and it is far more affordable than many coming from CA. I love Walla Walla. It is such a cool little town. My wife and I visited in 2012 and I definitely want to go back. It was probably my favorite US wine region to visit. Red Mountain is very Cabernet-centric and for my tastes can be a little high in alcohol (Robert Parker who gave Quilceda Creek the 100s in like 3 out of 4 years loves these types of wines and QC is known for that style). There are some really good wines coming out of Red Mountain but I prefer it in the cooler years because it can be a too high octane in the warmer years. Personally, I prefer Walla Walla AVA. It tends to be a little cooler which helps the wines retain a little more acidity and nuance and they don't overpower your food. From Walla Walla you can get some good cabs (Gramercy Cellars, Spring Valley Vineyard, etc) but what I really love is the Syrah coming out of Walla Walla (Gramercy Cellars, Waters, Rotie Cellars) and especially its new sub-AVA Rocks of Milton-Freewater (Cayuse, Reynvaan, Proper, Delmas). The problem with the Rocks region is that it can be really hard to source because production is small. You can probably find Result of a Crush for $25-ish and Proper for $30-ish in your market though. Everything else from that region runs $50+. They are very unique wines that have barnyard funk to them and tend to be meaty (bacon) and can have almost a blood or iodine taste to them. I love them but they're not for everybody. They tend to change throughout the bottle so if you don't like what you're tasting give it 10 more minutes.
I think 2 of the 5 bottles I brought back were Syrah (I have to go home and recheck, can't even remember exactly which ones) and I do remember of the places we visited that the Syrah's were easily the best I have had in the PNW. Red Mountain is good but can be a bit expensive because of the 100s (or so the locals told me). My buddy went to fermentation science school at Oregon State (coincidentally we were friends and lived together in Omaha, both ended up in Oregon for a bit) and as a result he learned a lot about the science of wine because he thought about going into that area of fermentation science (and worked at a couple different wineries during school). He said, and I tend to agree after trying different ones from different regions) that the Pinot's from the Willamette Valley are the best in the USA and one of the best in the world. In fact, he said that the tasting rooms would have people visiting from Europe all the time that would travel to Oregon specifically to try the Pinot's. A person can seriously spend $10 for a bottle of Pinot out here and get a ton of bang for their buck. If you spend 20-30 bucks for a hot year (2012 for example, I imagine this year is going to be a bumper crop of great Pinot's...its been so fucking hot) and you are going to get a really damn good bottle of wine for a really reasonable price. -my two cents of wine knowledge lol
Will never judge anyone for drinking the Chuck. For $3 a bottle that is quality wine. Always keep a few bottles of CabSav around in case I need want to open a bottle and have ~2 glasses and not be mad that 2 days later I'm pouring out half a bottle gone bad. Wish Chuck would make a pinot noir though
Liking the Pinot love ITT. Have some really nice wine stores in my area that keep track of every bottle you buy and you can go on their website and rate them for future reference. Some of you Oregon guys give me your favorite Pinots from up there so I can see if they're available for me. TIA Have really gotten to like Malbecs from Argentina and some Red Blends Been doing Club W for a year now and love it. pay ~$13 a bottle for 3 bottles each month of random stuff I probably would have never picked off of a shelf. And they give you a taste test survey when you sign up so they're sending you stuff that is in line with your wine tastes, ie - out of 36 bottles I've only gotten ~2 whites which I'm not too big on. You can also manually change bottles in and out of your orders on the website. Some that I have enjoyed from that site: 2012&2013 pregame red blend 2013 One from the Quiver Malbec 2013 Marmont Pinot Noir 2013 La Bodega Cab Sav 2013 Pacificana Cab Sav 2012 #TBT Pinot Noir Also the 2014 Summer Water Rose is fucking excellent and I bought 9 bottles of it when they had it on special in June. Pretty much my go-to if I'm going to an outdoor concert/play/etc at the park this summer. They also send you a card with each bottle that has a history of the vineyard and what all goes into each bottle along with food pairings/occasions/flavor profiles
Also been on a pretty big sake kick for a few months now. Once I was introduced to "good sake" last summer and got away from that garbage hot sake bomb shit, I started looking for it at liquor stores. Selections aren't that great but have some really good Junmai Ginjos that I drink regularly when I want to change it up. And in my experiences if you pull out a nice bottle of sake whilst cooking dinner for a girl you get a reaction mixed with MomoKawa Pearl Junmai Ginjo is my go-to. Have found that I like the creamy Junmais a little more than the crisp clear ones #nohomo
Over fourth of July I contributed a bottle of Ken Wright from their Guadalupe vineyard that impressed the hell out of my inlaws. It's a similar price point to Belle Glos that the father in law buys a lot for special occasions, but I think he's just a sucker for the wax top. I had to share it with a lot of people so I only got ~1.5 glass. Funny part of all of that, my sister in law didn't realize that it was a pricey bottle and just dumped a massive pour for herself. I didn't say anything though because she was stuck inside all day with a sick kid so she deserved it.
Leftover recommendation from the old thread. There is a wine store close to me that has all of their vineyards. In the future should I try the others or stick to Guadalupe? I think you mentioned that and one of the others as being the best from KW.
Great news, the old thread is back! http://the-mainboard.com/index.php?threads/tmb-wine-thread.98548/page-10 I started this right away when TMB came back online but then over the next day or two they were able to recover some of the threads. Should we go back to posting in that and I can put a dead title on this one?
There is some great info in that old thread, so I would lean to go back there to keep as a reference. Can we get a thread merge?