I have a large unit from Avanti that I found on Craigslist and bought for about $600. It has been very reliable and would recommend the brand. I would avoid Vinotemp.
Thanks for the fantastic post, it's really helpful. I love the Walter Clore and just bought an imperial format H3 red blend and Cab for $50 each at Costco. Haven't tried grammercy or spring valley yet so will need to find those to try out. Had an 2009 Betz red blend recently and loved it . I'll keep my eye out for Walla Walla producers.
There are about 5 right off 26 near the 217 interchange. If you are trying to score some quality Oregon Pinot see Steve at the Bales Thriftway, it's a grocery store, on Cornell and Saltzman. The wine guy there has an in with just about every Oregon and Washington producer, great selection of local wines at wine club level prices. It's where I buy all my wine from if I'm not at the wineries. About 5 minutes off 26. PM me if you need more details.
BTW the 2012 Colene Clemens Margo pinot just made the wine spectator 100, #63 I believe. That was the one when it first released that i tasted and made me sign up for their wine club. $35 retail, $31.50 at bales, and an exceptional value. MODEVIL if you go to bales they are one of a small numbet of places with Shea produced wine at $42 a bottle. Buy at least one and try it, fantastic bottle.
I absolutely love Gramercy Cellars. I have more of that and Rotie Cellars than anything else from WA. I also have a lot of Rasa which makes fuller bodied, super supple textured wines. The cabs are $60+ but some (Rhone varietals) are in that range.
Really solid Spanish red blend called Locations for under $20 bucks. Created by Dave Phinney at Orin Swift (the same guy that created the Prisoner before he sold it for a whole bunch of money). Robert Parker gave it 93 points, not bad at all for the price point.
I just picked up a bottle of L'ecole 2012 cab that was on sale at the warehouse wine store by me for $26. I think it was usually $35. Another one from Washington I used to drink a lot is at a lower price point is Chateau Smith. Nothing special but a decent value and widely available.
I opened a 2011 Oregon Pinot (DePonte Cellars Dundee Hills) for the first time in more than a year. It was fantastic. The sharp, biting acidity has rounded out nicely. I'm convinced 2011 is the new 2007.
I haven't turned around on the 10s myself but the 11s are great and can usually be found for below retail price. One of the worst kept secrets in the industry right now. Id wait on any 13s but 12s are good to go and 14 will be like an 09/12 combo with how hot for how long it was.
For my purposes, Cellartracker is king. One nice thing with Vivino though is that if you use the CT app, it is integrated with Vivino to take pictures and find the wine.
might be going to napa valley end of February since wifes sister flaked on us likely staying outside St Helena in some small town that has a neat Airbnb, tiny town has like 7 wineries
Hey lets talk, I'm literally planning a trip for me and the wife for the exact same time (end of february) and was looking at some cottages on Airbnb. Trying to decide between Napa, Calistoga and Sonoma. I have stayed in St. Helena before so trying to look at other places. Any recommendations? The only time I went was for a wedding and I was 25 and dumb about wine.
The Dundee Hills are one of my favorite places on earth (and DePonte is among about 10 wineries in my favorite spots among those hills, haven't been their yet : ( will go now) Gorgeous views of the Cascades, the rolling openness of the hills with the wineries mixed in, and the little small farming communities that remind me of Nebraska while clearly being in Oregon. Sitting on the decks of some of the wineries in those locations sipping a pinot is one of the most relaxing experiences of my 30 years. Doesn't hurt that you could throw a dead cat and hit 10 wineries in Dundee as well. Places I've been that I would recommend in the area (been to several others but these stick out immediately). - Sokol Blosser (great wines and gorgeous tasting room) - White Rose (probably the best wine I've had in Oregon from bottle-to-bottle). A bit pricey, but amazing. Also best tasting room (it literally reminds me of a lord of the rings hobbit dwelling, no windows with huge slanted roofs) I've been to and the best views of the cascades in Oregon (for wine drinkers).
I yell at you guys about this every year. My favorite weekend - first two weekends of March. https://www.wineroad.com/events/barrel-tasting/#about
Hard to make an argument for you going all the way to Sonoma unless you're here more than a weekend then. At that point it's really about how much you want to explore and what you're willing to pay.
If I want to make sure I give Sonoma a fair shake, what wines should I be buying? I feel like when I buy Cab, I mostly buy Napa, when I buy Pinot, I mostly buy Oregon, and most the rest I buy is international.
I did my honeymoon there last year and we're poor so didn't go too crazy on wine side, v sattui, 20 barrels. Food wise I write a huge post about but likely lost in the crash. We stayed at an awesome air bnb on main but it's booked up for months.
I liked the vibe at Sokol Blosser but I felt like they let the wines get a little too ripe (hot 2009 vintage so it may have been an outlier) for my liking when we visited. We visited White Rose too. It was very masculine (big body and tannic) expression of Oregon Pinot. The winemaker was there when we visited so we had him sign the bottle we purchased but we haven't opened it yet (it is set aside to open soon). If you like those, check out Domaine Drouhin Oregon (DDO). I think it is the best wine on the hill. Domaine Serene is a beautiful scene in the fall with red leaves along the driveway as you approach the winery too. The wines are good but you definitely pay a premium for it and the tasting room feels a little snooty to me. Archery Summit falls in to that camp of good wines but huge premium too. I don't begrudge them for doing it but I tend to buy others where I feel like the quality is comparable and the price is far less.
I like hearing all these. Girlfriend and I are planning a trip up to Portland for Memorial Day and looking at doing a day tour in the Willamette Valley
I would highly recommend the dundee hills, only about a 45 minute drive from where you will be and the views will be amazing when you go (likely a clear day at that time of year). I can even recommend a good place to eat in Dundee. Hell, while your at it, I would keep following the road and hit the coast and work your way back around.
I think we're both pretty interesting in doing a tour with one of these companies http://willamettewines.com/plan-your-visit/touring-companies/ we're only planning on renting a car for the one day we decide to go out east to the gorge and see stuff further that way, and it'd just be really convenient having someone drive us all over. I think they typically do a lot of the planning but base it off personal preferences and what not, so I think if I mentioned some ideas they could make it work to hit up vineyards in that area
Zins, Sauv Blancs, Carneros and Sonoma Coast Pinots. Higher end stuff in the Alexander valley - Cabs and Pinots specifically. There's lots of good value in the Russian River Valley and Dry Creek valley with a full range from Bordeaux varietals to blanc and Chardonnays. I always recommend starting there and branching out once you find out what you like.
Pride Mountain in Napa was one of the best wine tours I've ever been on. Ended up splitting a 27 bottle a year allocation with friends. For context, Parker just gave their 2012 Reserve Cab 100 points.
They did not - they don't make much so it's not available for tasting. I did get 3 bottles in the allocation, so I'll let you know. I've heard others rave about it.
I've found some of their 2007 online for around $70/bottle, and I've been damn tempted to pick some up.
Do it. 2007 was a great vintage. I opened a 2007 Pride Cab last year and it was delicious. fwiw-My co-worker has been on their list for years. He has been sharing his allocation with me since the 2009 vintage so I pick up a few bottles here and there to round out his shipments.
Bruh, 2007 is bae. Anything that says 2007 and "Cabernet" on it I have no problem gambling on from CA. But now my wine fridge is full and I've gotta be more picky #1stworld
Look at the brightside, 2007 is drinking well now. You don't need the wine fridge for it because you don't need to continue storing it.
I'm drinking 2010 Ridge Lytton Springs tonight. Delicious. Note to self, I should be buying more Ridge.
We drank a 2008 Caymus Special Select last night. Caymus can sometimes come off as too ripe or sweet to me but that bottle was damn good.
I like the countertop & backsplash combo (sorry, in remodel mode...it is all I notice). I'm drinking this tonight: It was from the first vacation my wife and I took together, two months after we met.
Where in France? Rioja is all that I know in Spain. I really like La Rioja Alta. I have no idea about touring.