Which Wine to whine about . . .

vaxer

Moderator Emeritus
I never said Napa was generic A.V.A, I said that "Champagne" in the United States is a semi-generic appelation, and that qualtily American wines suffered from it. US wine growing areas like Napa see this semi-generic labelling as harmful.
 
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roundshort

Active member
vaxer said:
I never said Napa was generic A.V.A, I said that "Champagne" in the United States is a semi-generic appelation, and that qualtily American wines suffered from it. US wine growing areas like Napa see this semi-generic labelling as harmful.

OH, ok, But not really champagne when referred to as US wines has nothing to do with location, but wiht style. Like in Champagne, it is more about blending and keeping a "house" style. While we are seeing more single vineyards wines, or single town wines I should say, like Bouzy etc. it is about the blend.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
roundshort said:
Who do you need to buy for and what is yoru relationship, maybe I can give you some better guidelines.

Life long friend, (though I can't say why, he and his wife only drink fetzer gurwitz), Novice drinker, pagan at heart, has a stomach condition that gives continual heartburn to those around him.

There is a Chirstmas dinner with homemade tomato soup, and cheese bread. I was thinking a nice Sonoma sauvignon blanc would be best.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
roundshort said:
top Bordeaux house having to hire Americans
I was rather surprised to find a cute Aussie working a Lodi tasting room. It was the first one I'd seen in these parts outside of the Rotary exchange. Do some viticulturalists/ enologists work seasonally, hopping the equator twice a year, like the Aussie & Kiwi snow bunnies who run the Tahoe ski resorts?
 

qwerty

New member
Roundshort, what do you think about this wine:

Beringer
Vineyards
1998
Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon​

My father opened it yesterday and we tried it. It feels good but I have no idea in what class is this wine. Can you teach me a little bit about it. I could use it as a starting point in discovering world of wines.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
From what I remember of the Beringer cab's Qwerty, you were drinking a pretty good bottle of wine. You didn't enjoy it with the Fish and Bacon did you? :)

Until RS responds, I bet he would say..."what did you think about it?" You said it "feels" good, but from what I have learned, does that mean it was balanced in the mouth, and on the tongue? Was the smell matched to the taste? Did it linger after you swallowed it? You and I are in the same boat, to some extent, so well see what RS comes up with.
 

roundshort

Active member
Pale Horse said:
Life long friend, (though I can't say why, he and his wife only drink fetzer gurwitz), Novice drinker, pagan at heart, has a stomach condition that gives continual heartburn to those around him.

There is a Chirstmas dinner with homemade tomato soup, and cheese bread. I was thinking a nice Sonoma sauvignon blanc would be best.


hhmmmm if he likes fetzer gewurtizminer (sp) and tomatoe soup has so much great acidity, think about a German Riesling, like any 2004 Spatlese from Pflaz or the Mosel. A bit of sweetness will work wiht the soup and their palate!
 

roundshort

Active member
qwerty said:
Roundshort, what do you think about this wine:

Beringer
Vineyards
1998
Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon​

My father opened it yesterday and we tried it. It feels good but I have no idea in what class is this wine. Can you teach me a little bit about it. I could use it as a starting point in discovering world of wines.


A famouns producer in Napa,and a big reason why napa is what Napa is. Beringer produces some excellent California Cab. Check the label to see if had a sub-AVA, like Knights Valley (which is in sonoma, or reserve)
1998 is a very interesting year a lot of critics did not like it early, and said drink these wines early, as all the fruit will fall out and you will be left with only tannin (which means, the good blue and black fruit flavors will be gone leaving only mouth drying tartness). What happened has been different. The 1998's should be dead by know, if you listen to the critics, but in reality, they are aging faster than the 1999 or 2002's will, but they have held together excellent, at least inthe 1998s I have tasted inthe last 2 years. I personally think now is the time to drink and enjoy them.

qwerty, the only question that matters is did you like it, did your family like it?

I could see how a person new to wine might think it a bit dry or aged, but I think it sounds like a pretty good bottle! Where did your family find a bottle of Napa cab?
 

qwerty

New member
roundshort said:
Where did your family find a bottle of Napa cab?
My father got it as a present from a guy from American ambacy in Belgrade.

roundshort said:
qwerty, the only question that matters is did you like it, did your family like it?
I liked it. But I have to confess that right before that wine I tried some home made, waterdown, flavourless wine. And basicly a lot of wines would taste great after that one.
What can I learn about wines from my experience with that one. I know what it tastes like. But only as an amateur. Can you bring me up the speed.
 

roundshort

Active member
qwerty said:
My father got it as a present from a guy from American ambacy in Belgrade.


I liked it. But I have to confess that right before that wine I tried some home made, waterdown, flavourless wine. And basicly a lot of wines would taste great after that one.
What can I learn about wines from my experience with that one. I know what it tastes like. But only as an amateur. Can you bring me up the speed.

Nope, the best thing you can do is try to lock that into your tasting memory banks, and use that as a point of comparison. That is what an somewhat aged Napa Cab. tastes like from a vintage that is aging in bottle quickly. Now you have to expand on your tastings and use it as a benchmark. it is all about your enjoyment. To really understand wine you have to taste, a lot, both good and bad. Wait until you find a bottle that is the BEST you have ever had, use that as your benchmark, until you find one better. It really is great homework!
 

qwerty

New member
You probably heard this many times before but you are gonna hear it once again. Shorty, you have the best job in the world. You do what you like, and live of it. I hope you know how lucky you are.
 

roundshort

Active member
qwerty said:
You probably heard this many times before but you are gonna hear it once again. Shorty, you have the best job in the world. You do what you like, and live of it. I hope you know how lucky you are.

The longer I do it the more I really know that i am doing the right thing. But, hey it is not perfect, all jobs have ups and downs. I am lucky that I landed a great winery, with a great owner and boss. Who knows, he could sell it to some schmuck tomorrow and i would have to start all over! The beat part is traveliing and meeting and making friends all over, because, who doen't like to drink!


Cheers qwerty, let me know when you head to Cali.!
 
mead

Hey roundshort you ever have mead? Its honey wine and its damn good, its hard to find in the states though. i once was back packing through scotland and stopped at a dark ravenesque pub and asked the young barmaid if she had any mead. She looked around as if she was new to the place and after scoping said she did not think so, at that moment my spidey sense went off and I spied an old dusty bottle wrapped with a sailers rope and titled Mead in celtic scroll across the top. I salivated and she proceeded to get a rolling latter out and fetch the bottle, she then grabbed two glasses for my girlfriend and I and starts to pour the dark thick honey wine , I nod to her and cheers my girlfriend as I sip the sweet dank brew, just then an old fellow comes out of the kitchen and walks past, and suddenly stops,looks back at the bottle and drops his jaw. In a scotish brogue he asks where did that come from and then looks at the empty spot on the shelf,the barmaid looks terrified,he then asks how it tastes and I answer "the best mead Ive ever had" and then he proceeds to tell me that it should be because that bottle came with the pub when he bought it 27 years ago! The previous owner had had it for who knows how long. He grabbed the bottle and headed off to finish it off in the back. We finished our glasses and paid only 5 pounds with the ok from the owner and stumbled off into the night. That night we passed out in a farmers field only to awake to the sound of a huge bull stomping its hooves and snorting outside our tent, which was pitched in the bulls domain. How we got out of that one? well thats another story!cheers(y)
 

roundshort

Active member
ninepinejones said:
Hey roundshort you ever have mead? Its honey wine and its damn good, its hard to find in the states though. i once was back packing through scotland and stopped at a dark ravenesque pub and asked the young barmaid if she had any mead. She looked around as if she was new to the place and after scoping said she did not think so, at that moment my spidey sense went off and I spied an old dusty bottle wrapped with a sailers rope and titled Mead in celtic scroll across the top. I salivated and she proceeded to get a rolling latter out and fetch the bottle, she then grabbed two glasses for my girlfriend and I and starts to pour the dark thick honey wine , I nod to her and cheers my girlfriend as I sip the sweet dank brew, just then an old fellow comes out of the kitchen and walks past, and suddenly stops,looks back at the bottle and drops his jaw. In a scotish brogue he asks where did that come from and then looks at the empty spot on the shelf,the barmaid looks terrified,he then asks how it tastes and I answer "the best mead Ive ever had" and then he proceeds to tell me that it should be because that bottle came with the pub when he bought it 27 years ago! The previous owner had had it for who knows how long. He grabbed the bottle and headed off to finish it off in the back. We finished our glasses and paid only 5 pounds with the ok from the owner and stumbled off into the night. That night we passed out in a farmers field only to awake to the sound of a huge bull stomping its hooves and snorting outside our tent, which was pitched in the bulls domain. How we got out of that one? well thats another story!cheers(y)


Ah yes, Mead. I have a good friend who, and yes I am not lying, has a masters in fermention science, he is a brewmaster (he did all the Anderson Valley beer res.) and a winemaker. He is gettign married this summer and has spent a ton of time making a great mead, as it is a traditional wedding berverage. There is a lot of mead inthe states, but the packaging usually looks better than the beverage inthe bottle!

Great Story! I am glad you escaped the bull and lived to write about it! And let that be a lesson, if you don't mind your good bottles, someone else will drink 'em!

Thans NPJones!
 
Yes thats correct, Mead is a traditional wedding drink in the Celtic culture. When two would marry they would drink honey wine as an aphrodisiac, usually scheduled on a full moon, this was tradition in celtic marriages,thus came about the term honeymoon.:)
 

roundshort

Active member
ninepinejones said:
Yes thats correct, Mead is a traditional wedding drink in the Celtic culture. When two would marry they would drink honey wine as an aphrodisiac, usually scheduled on a full moon, this was tradition in celtic marriages,thus came about the term honeymoon.:)


I'll tell you ninepines, you are a hell of an addition here! It all makes sense as my firends both pratice biodynamic agriculure in thier vineyards, and that (in a really brief nutshell) is about farming following hte phases and influences of the moon.
 

vaxer

Moderator Emeritus
Well, since this is about whining about wines; yesterday I had a Chateau Haut-l'Evêque (Graves, Bordeaux) from 2004. It really had a wonderful flavor, everything was just so balanced, a true delight. :D
 

Gustav

New member
I don't like most wine and I know next to nothing about it. Of the wine I have had I definitely like the white more than the red. The last wine I tasted was plum wine which I rather enjoyed.
 
Plum wine is delicious, I have usually seen it presented as an after dinner wine, its very sweet from what I remember. The asian wines tend to be made from plum,rice,herbs etc... Plum Sake wine is great you can get it at Japanese markets or Chinese stores. When I was in Europe a few weeks ago I remember the wine was full of flavor and did not contain sulfites which most wine in the states do. If you like Plum Wine you should definetly try plum sake. made in china* I once was buying rounds of sake for some Tai Chi party we were having, the bartender held up the bottle of sake and at the bottom was curled a dead snake! The bartender said in Japan the buyer always has the last shot from the end of the bottle, so I did but the eye of the snake just happened to be shaken loose and rolled into my glass,floating to the top, the bartender said if I drink it the round would be on him, to say the least the eye added a hint of olive.(y)
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
roundshort said:
think about a German Riesling ...a bit of sweetness will work with the soup and their palate!


So true, so true. From what he said anyway (i'm still practicing my will). We went with a 2004 Muller Catoir Riesling Gimmelginger, and it was a hit.

Thank you my friend
 
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