Which Wine to whine about . . .

qwerty

New member
Hey roundshort, is this actualy you?
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Magda

New member
But the liquour can be pretty damn fattening.

And? It's not like I'm a hardcore alcoholic like some other Poles who lurk on street corners and drink bottle after bottle of liquor. LOL
 

qwerty

New member
Magda said:
While in Budapest this past week, I had the chance to taste eight different Hungarian wines in a Budafok winery. Most of the wines were delicious, with the exception of a couple.

Yeah, once you get to eight bottle they kinda loose their flavour.:D
 

Magda

New member
Some of them tasted the same. I suppose I am not experienced enough with wine to be able to make subtle distinctions in taste.
 

roundshort

Active member
Hungry us trying hard to find a niche, I have to give it to them some credit, esp. the Szamorodni (szaraz especially) is finding so play on wine lists. The Eger region is also improving. I am most interested in what Lake Balaton will produce.

With the arrival of democraqcy, we are seeing soem better Aszu wines with the offical co-op no longer the only game in town. It will take years to see what is really being made.

The sad truth (with most countries) the wines cost too much for the quaitly level they deliver. The French, German, Spanish and Itay wines are so much better for the money. Hungry, Romania, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovenia, etc . . . all have a long way to travel, but Somms will always want different things on thier lists.
 

roundshort

Active member
I have, to be honest it did not leave a lasting impression, It was from Zupa or Oplenac. I think it was a cabernet sauvignon with a local grape, and I know I have this wrong, Prokupac or something. Does any of this make sense or are my notes totally wrong? which they usually are
 

qwerty

New member
You got it all right. The problem with wines in Serbia is that they are not respected enough. They are made without much care and attention for details so they tend to be basicly flavourless.
They still hit the spot though.
 

roundshort

Active member
Well, don't worry. With America quickly becoming the worlds largest wine consuming country (yes it will happen with in 5 years) and China growing TOO quickly there will not be enough quailty wine. Qwerty you should be come the first quaitly wine maker in Serbia! put your counry on the great wine regions map fo the world!
 

roundshort

Active member
Cab sauv. blends (a blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, P. Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot) Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.
 

vaxer

Moderator Emeritus
qwerty said:
What should I do?
What is the secret behind good wine?

I'd say the secret behind good wines is a vine that has been naturally stressed (nothing chemical) in order to gain lots of depth and "minerality", these also last the longest as they are naturally strong. Many see "brut" wines to be the best because they are not hidden by ajustments and every flavor that comes out reflects directly the quality of the ground. Americans love semi-dry wines, that's what they buy from us the most.

The best I've ever tasted was a Deutz Champagne from 1983, it was very special and completly different from the "usual" Moet & Chandon. There were fewer bubbles but it was like an explosion of flavors in your mouth, it was made the old way.

Other then that, I remember tasting a very good white Bordeaux that was very suprising (don't remember the name though). I often go to wine tastings, it's amazing what they can make you feel by comparing different wines. Because what is really important is not what the experts say or even the price tag, it's what a wine makes you feel. Once, one of my father's important clients ordered a very expensive wine (300$), it turned out mediocre...
 

roundshort

Active member
Really good points! One of the reasons why the US is so strong in the international wine scene is we have stopped all adjustmetns and what not to wine in the last 10 or so years. Europe is now haivng to keep up with us. When I worked in Burgundy, I was surprised to see how much "Winemaking" was done compared tot he natural methods we use in Napa.

price usually does not equall quailty, but once people find a wine is good, rest assured theprice goes up!
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Roundshort, I am up for a tasting assignment to improve my palate, and I am sure there are others.

Are you game? I realize palate is in the mouth of the beholder, so recommendations are going to be subjective to some extent or another. That said, how would one determine the difference in a particular varietal, over the selection of say, 6 different or 12 different bottles?

What approach would an aspiring adventurer take?

I don't want to be the Cab or Pinot Gis copycat, so lets say I wanted to expand my palate to a Zinfandel, or Viognier? How can I mature as a wine drinker in one of these fine selections? You can choose if you'd like.

I trust I am not the only one here that would love to participate. It could be a virtual tasting room. I say the only limit is to keep the bottles in the 15-25 us dollar range.
 

roundshort

Active member
hhhmmm lets see. Zin is a good place to begin to see differences in wine. Most people make zin in about the same way. Viognier is made in many different ways, so you actually taste different wine making styles, like new oak vs old oak or no oak (stainless steel).

So, lets take California's grape, Zinfandel. Zinfandel has no roots to any french grapes, therefore flew under the radar for a long time. There was a myth that it was brought over from Hungry by Agoston Haraszthy, but that was bunk, as he arrived in 1849, and the zin grape was well know in california long before that. It is now believed that it was imported from the Austrian Nursey and DNA testing has finally concluded that is the one and same grape as Italy's Primitivo.

Zin took hold from the California gold-rushers, who had turned to argiculture and that was the homemade wine of choice during the "great experiment" Prohibition.

Zin is relativly easy grow, does well in intense heat and he vines live a long time and have a large yield. THis is a good place to start as the wines are not as expensive as Cabernet.

There are many different styles.

I would recommend:
Rombauer, it used to be named El Dorado, but I don't think it is called that any more, they only make one zin so . .

Ravenswood Vinters Blend
. This is the base for inexpensive zin.

Highland "Black Sears Vineyard" from Howell Mt. Might be a bit more than 25, but important to see a high quailty zin.

If you can find it, Turley's California "Old Vines" should be about 25 or 30 bones, but it does get marked up sometimes.

Ridge is well know for zinfandel

EdgeHill makes a classic "claret" style zin from a vineyard in St. Helena called Butala, can be found in souther california,

I don't kow if you want me to tell you about these wines, or you want to taste them and tell me.

Zin will run the range of very full bodied juicy jammey wines, to lighter wines with some acid.

I personally look for flavors of very ripe strawberries and blueberry, sometimes a blueberry pie alamode. Nice spice can also be found like black pepper, or sandlewood.

My favortie, it is expensive, but not outragouse is OutPost from Howell Mt. in Napa. A killer bottle of wine!
 

roundshort

Active member
here a a few more zins, I thought about it, but I may have listed some that are hard to find.
Joel Gott is great, and classic,
St. Francis is a nice price point
Cline can be interesting.
 
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