Any wine lovers / collectors??? (1 Viewer)

[Aggie05]

One of my other "hobbies" is wine, if you want to call it a hobby. I started drinking it regularly in college and along with my parents have expanded my knowledge and taste in the past 5 years. I have been fortunate enough to meet a friend with a very large personal collection and taste some exquisite and sometimes famous wines (like the one that he drinks at the end of sideways in the fast food place) I recently decided to try collecting, but given my budget I chose to focus on one grape. So I chose German Riesling because you can drink it young, or age it for 25 years and it is still reasonably priced when it comes to the high end bottles. Oh, and it tastes delicious. Basically, all this rambling comes down to wondering if anyone else here enjoys a nice bottle from time to time? And if so, what is your favorite?

 

[pernelf]

Wine, did someone say wine????

 

[Aggie05]

I might have to bring you a little something if we see each other in April.

 

[pernelf]

I'm still trying to find other good Rieslings. I like the more sweet ones that aren't dry at all. I hate buying a bottle of wine to open it up and it's dry, ugg.

 

[Aggie05]

I can help you out there.

 

[dvs]

CSJ Riesling is pretty good, but I prefer a cab myself. I am by far no expert, just a bartender. My favorite cab is a Chilean called Ezyaguirre. It is inexpensive like a lot of other Chilean wines but it is really good. In my opinion Chile has some really good wines that are pretty much "a steal".

 

[decimal]

la crema chardonnay. sterling sauvingnon blanc, blackstone reserve merlot, frei brothers reserve, stags leap cab, sterling cab are some that i drink. and sometimes to change things up i will drink a nice chianti. los vascos cab is my favorite chilean.

still want to try a bottle of 82 Château Margaux though

 

[Guest]

I wish I could tell the Reisling I always get but I can't remember.

Speaking of wine... So Mark and I were over at a family member's home having some deep/personal discussions and we ran out of beer and bottled wine. For some reason she had some Almeda boxed wine and being the winos we are at times, we just couldn't say no. All I can say is that stuff is potent and gives you a horrible hang over. That is my public service announcement for today.

 

[Aggie05]

Others I like:

Kim Crawford - sauvingon blanc (malborough new zealand) reasonably priced ~$15 and made the WS top 100 list last year.

Becker Vineyards - claret and cab (texas wine)

Segura Vidas - cava (spain)

And pretty much any sparkling wine made by Schramsberg in California.

just a few off the top of my head

 

[dvs]

I wish I could tell the Reisling I always get but I can't remember.

Speaking of wine... So Mark and I were over at a family member's home having some deep/personal discussions and we ran out of beer and bottled wine. For some reason she had some Almeda boxed wine and being the winos we are at times, we just couldn't say no. All I can say is that stuff is potent and gives you a horrible hang over. That is my public service announcement for today.

Thanks for the warning. Although, I had never planned on venturing into boxed wine.

 

[goby1kanobi]

Good Subject!
My husband and I have been involved in several wine clubs and have enjoyed the random tasting.
The best fun was hijacking our couple-2 friends telling them we were doing a intervention to help save their marriage. It was their Bday.
(Actually they went ahead and divorced 3 years later) 8O
But, we got 2 vans (girls in one and guys in another) naturally our trusty coolers.
We did not tell them where we were going and drove to CS to the Messina Hof lodge and had the tour of the winery and a wonderful late afternoon lunch for 14 = 7 couples.
It was incredible.
We bought several cases of their "Port" which is award winning.
Best fun- Wine tasting Party
Everyone bring 2 wines- wrapped in foil to make them anonymous-everyone gets to taste and make notes.
Snacks for everyone-Vote on the end of the night for the favorite wine.
Everyone bring copies of info of the wine you brought so people can have for reference.
Please contact me if anyone is interested in something like this.

 

[Aggie05]

that sounds like fun, I got involved in a wine tasting group for a little while with my parents but it got real old real fast when the people got to stuffy for my tastes. I much prefer to enjoy a bottle with a friend than to sit and match wits with someone whoe thinks they are an "expert".

 

[The Reef Whisperer]

I have never been a wine person myself but every once in a while I will grab a bottle of white zinfandel chardonnay. I like a glass to help me relax before going to sleep. It helps me relax.

I do have a queston... once you open the bottle, if you recork it, is it still good. I have notice that it looses the bubbly taste if left opened.

 

[goby1kanobi]

Aggie05, I am with you. I do not like matching wits with almost anything. I enjoy the company and it is really fun to get to try a bunch of wines side by side.
My pet peeve is making something stuffy out a real simple and beautiful thing like classical music, wine and reefing. IMO
I worked for a genetics company and we had more PHD's per square inch than we had genes, the sparrings were called "brain offs"

 

[Chewy]

Wow wine and fish lovers. I thought I was the only one. Well instead of boring everyone with whats left in my collection - I just auctioned off a bunch - I will share where to buy online.

The ebay of wine.
www.winecomune.com

Price/Score info as well as directory of where to buy outright.
www.winezap.com

As for me I am into BIG California "Cult" Cabs. Buccella is the one I am enjoying now.

FYI
Spec's off of Smith has wine tasting every month on the 1st Tuesday starts at 6:00 I think. If anyone goes let me know and I will walk over and meet you. After who knows maybe we can continue tasting at my place and feed the fish. 8) Cost of tasting is $10 and you get a nice wine glass.

 

[goby1kanobi]

Chewy that sounds like fun. May have to try sometime. Unfortunately, I cannot just "walk over" it saves on the designated driver bit too.

 

[Aggie05]

FYI
Spec's off of Smith has wine tasting every month on the 1st Tuesday starts at 6:00 I think. If anyone goes let me know and I will walk over and meet you. After who knows maybe we can continue tasting at my place and feed the fish. 8) Cost of tasting is $10 and you get a nice wine glass.

I can't make too many trips to specs downtown. I tend to get in trouble when I go there. I may go in to buy a bottle of rum and walk out with a bottle of rum and 4 bottles of wine. Every trip I make there costs me at least 100 bucks. Although I have always wanted to attend the tastings there. Its tough when you live in seabrook though.

 

[Aggie05]

I have never been a wine person myself but every once in a while I will grab a bottle of white zinfandel chardonnay. I like a glass to help me relax before going to sleep. It helps me relax.

I do have a queston... once you open the bottle, if you recork it, is it still good. I have notice that it looses the bubbly taste if left opened.

once you open a bottle it begins to oxidize which causes the flavor to change over time. At some point, usually a day or two at most for your average wine, it will change so much it will become undrinkable. there are several products for saving wine such as vacuum pumps that pull air out of the bottle once you cork it (my personal choice), or nitrogen displacement systems that put nitrogen in the bottle to protect the wine from oxidation (they are pricey). On a side note, certain wines will last longer than others once they are opened. For instance most red wines will only last a day or two, but certain whites such as riesling can last a little longer because of their high sugar content. Then there is wine like madeira that is basically completely oxidizied anyways and will last forever. My friend has a couple of madeiras that are over 100 years old, the oldest being from 1845. 8O

Usually though, what I do is finish any bottle that gets opened. Then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[layla819]

I am pretty much a liker of Fat Bas-tard and Diablo

 

[FishGameRock]

I'm a big fan of the gallon o sangria.