Question about Wine
 

I know a couple that absolutely loves wine. I was thinking about giving them a nice bottle or bottles of wine for Christmas but I just found out that one of them actually owns a vineyard. I am now a little scared to give a crappy bottle so I'd like to ask you knowledgeable wine afficionado's on GC, what is a good red wine?

Please don't let me screw this up! These two have been really good to me & Mike so I'd just like to let them know I appreciate everything they've done for us.

I'm willing to spend upwards of $100 on them so anything within that limit would be good.

How about a wine of the month club? My friend did that for her wine connoisseur boyfriend this year for Christmas.

One of my favorite bottles of wine isn't expensive at all, its a cabernet sauvignon called Kaiken. A little more expensive and also really good is the 2004 3 Rings Shiraz. I'm more of a white wine fan though, so my red wine tastes are limited.

White wine is good too actually. Perhaps I could give them a good bottle of each. One red & one white.

I just came from visiting Italy over thanksgiving and everyone really like a Barolo that was served (I don't like wine, so I am not an expert) but from everything that I've read about this particular Barolo it is very good: Costi Di Bussia, 2001, I just bought 2 bottles for my mom $52 each.

They might enjoy it.

To try to find it in your area or online you can try Wine Searcher, I bought the Barolo from: Terranova Fine Wines, they seem reasonable.

You also may want to contact some local wine shops and see if they can offer some recommendations.

I second this idea! Some local wineries that offer something unique could be the way to go! There is a local winery near my house that sells a nice dry apple-infused white wine, and its just a really unique flavor. Its worth a shot!


As for something you can pick up at the liquor store, I'm a HUGE fan of the Bonny Doon Reisling, and its not expensive at all. ;) My parents just brought me a wine I'm not familiar with, Travicello, we had a glass of it earlier & its also really good.

Sherry-Lehmann is considered to be the wine Mecca in the NYC area and beyond. You could call or email them for suggestions because they pretty much carry everything under the sun.

If you're worried about the actual wine, what about nice "accessories"? Like a vacuum sealer top to keep an opened bottle fresh, a nice set of glasses, etc. That way you're catering to their love of wine, without worrying about what they'll enjoy most.

Good wine does not have to be expensive or a big name of sorts.

There are many really great wines out there that are not gong to either break you or make an impression to some people.

A good wine is a good wine no matter what.:)

A bad wine that is dry is not sour. A wine that has gone bad is viniger.

I am sure this is of great help to the original poster!

Some red is a very broad guideline...I love red wine, but prefer to give non-bottle gifts...a nice pull, (I'm giving a few screwpull trilogy corkscrews this year), glasses, etc...However, I like trying different things, so whenever some body gives me bottles as a gift I always enjoy it. Of course you'd probably want to give something unique, but most any decent wine shop can help you pick out a bottle or two your friend likely hasn't tried yet.

Get them a bottle of Carmenere and if you want to know what is just so special about Carmenere, all is revealed here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen%C3%A8re

Ditto on the local wine. If you can find a good local vintner, it's good to support them.

Also, you might try going to a specialty wine shop instead of a run of the mill liquor store (or grocery store - I still can't get over the fact that you can buy booze in grocery stores in the States!). A specialty wine store will have knowledgeable staff on hand who can steer you in the right direction after asking you a few questions.

Yes it is actually!

People who conider themselves as wine snobs so to speak look for the big named high priced wines to show their friends.

In private tastings in Napa and Sanoma distric of Cal. the Charrdanay had such a difference in taste that it was mind numbing.

The wine business has changed so much in the last few years it is unconciviable for many people.

Hell, I had many first growth French Bourdeauxs in my collection, it was not funny.

But guess what, if you do not drink them then it is grape juice in the friggen bottle. Nice to look at and brag about unless you are a wine merchant.

So what do you know about wines?

I worked for a California Winery, owned a Liquor Store, ran a state part of a wholesaler, was with the Gallo Division of a wholesaler, and the Import Division of a Distillery, am a personel friend of a Kansas Vineyard owner who has won many awards from all over the world.

Wine prices are getting ridicioulous anymore.:(

Buy a decent wine that can be consumed soon and just enjoy it!

It might be helpful to explain this assertion.

Total bottles produced has vastly outstripped demand recently - in fact, many Australian vintners are literally sitting on millions of bottles. This has led to a drop in overall quality across the board (according to some), but has also allowed for many smaller, less expensive brands to 'catch up' in quality. Price and name recognition are not really important to most people with a refined palette - keep that in mind when shopping.

So yeah - bargains are available, but you'll really need to do the work. It's a tough racket to keep up on, as well.

This actually isn't true at all, and you know it - purchasing a bottle for cellar is perfectly acceptable, and some bottles/varietals won't reach peak for years.

However, the vast majority of bottles for sale (regardless of price) are meant to enjoy immediately - in fact, many will degenerate over time. Unless you know what you're doing, don't keep a bottle to 'age' . . . most simply won't.

Actually I think prices now are the lowest they've ever been, for the mid-range wines most people desire - see my first point above.

Dude, she asked "what is a good red wine?" Did you name a good red wine? Did you provide any information on how to find a good red wine? Did you discuss what makes a wine "good" in terms of quality? Did you mention resources for finding good wine?

No, you didn't. If you have an extensive knowledge of wine, why don't you post something specific enough to be helpful?

OOPs, My Bad.

Any Nappa or Sanoma Valley Reds are good.

Or actually try any Gallo red wine in the vintage division as cheaper than the Bouteque vineyards.

So, place your Favs if you have any knowledge.:)

Delightful - this should make her trip to view the approximately 1300000 wines from that region fruitful.

I assume you're referring to the Gallo labels that happen to not be named 'Gallo' so more specificity might be good here - Apanumu and Marcelina, for example (but probably not Indigo Hills). I'm sure all of these are far below the price range she's looking for.

If you're looking for a nice $100 bottle, you should check out your local vendors - they'll be able to hook you up, and availability is not consistent nationwide. There are dozens of great labels, and without knowing specific tastes, few can hook you up here.

Fat Bastard!

A white French Burgundy is the best white wine in the world (in my opinion).

A Montrachet is tops...then, a Batard-Montrachet, a Chassagne-Montrachet, or a Puligny-Montrachet.

They range in price from $50 -$300 in a good wine shop.

OMG, if he's seriously suggesting Gallo as in Ernest and Julio, I WILL DIE.

Earp, sometimes people want to drink wine that doesn't come in a box.

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As for real suggestions, there are a few Barolos that are amazing and many of the snottiest wine snobs I know drool over them. You can usually get them for an average of $80 a bottle. I bought a bottle for my grad advisor a year and a half ago.

I went on a wine tour of some vineyards in Long Island last month, and they had some great ice wines (one has a German name that I don't want to misspell). I don't think California makes many of the top top ice wines, since there are a couple that really suck. That's my suggestion for a good white.

Well there really is nothing classier than a big ol' jug of Carlo Rossi.

LMAO...I less than 3 you.

Amazing But the wine You mentioned is Itailan only.

Try a Bertolia If you can find it.

First off California cannot have Ice Viens as they do not have then as a Tempature for freezing. Ergo Ice Vein!:p

If you want to Mention E & J Vineyards then You know of not what you speak.

Maybe You are speaking af Franzi Brothers?

Yes, I drink wine out of a box becausae it is a lot cheeper, So know that is wrong?

Oh Lordy, there are just so many things wrong with you that I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Um Tom....

I am actually looking at 2 bottles of Barolo right now, yes they are only made in Italy, but the wine *is* imported to the US. If you read my first post, I actually stated that I was getting 2 bottles for my mother for her b-day & xmas gift.

Now I usually don't give you a hard time and I am not going to start now, but I just had to point out the minor era.

Like I said before, I am not a wine drinker at all, but I do listen to others who are and also I called my local wine shop and they recommended the place where I did buy the Barolo. I have tasted a Barolo as a sauce for my steak and yes, it was very nice.

Some boxed wines can be good from what I understand. It just depends on what you like and what type of mood you're in when you want to drink some wine.

There are these awesome pictures of me on facebook where I look completely shitfaced. I'm drinking boxed wine out of a plastic cup. Now that's class right there!
Boxed wine is great when you want to get drunk cheaply and quickly. So it works out well for Earp.

This Week's Sign of the Apocolypse.

I was on the T one night going to meet friends out on Boylston and there was a group of guys with a box of wine and plastic cups and they were just hanging out on the T drinking. I thought about going up to them to say hi and ask for a cup.

Barolo is not nearly as good as Bertoni if one can find it. It is a thinner tasing label as it is a big name in the USA so make bigger batches.

Those that turn their noses up about Gallo, well, dumb butts, they took the minor grapes and made them veritals and implemented them with the State of California to mean something instead of just a filler Grape.

The Thompson seedless that you buy at the market was used for that. According to Cal. State law, the main grape only had to be 51 % and the rest was filler=Thompson seedless. Gallo changed that.

The wines now may mention Chenin Blanc, Petit Sihrar and others that were bulk grapes only. Fillers as it were for Charadonnay, and Gammay Beaujolais.

God, I have been out of the wine biz to long.:(


Cooking with wine gives the taste and flavor but cooks off the alchohal.

Box wines, heck there is nothing wrong with that especially when on is used to drinking First Growths in the old days. (French) that is.

It is a heck of a lot cheaper.

Now here is a gentleman who knows his alcohol. But, I pose to you, how well you know your gin?

I decided to put together a quick recap of this entire thread - and these just about sum it up - I am completely LMAO now and may have to use one (or all!!) of these to add to my siggy.

And JamesBond007 - shaken of course NEVER stirred ;)

Just get them 10 boxes of Franzia...you say you want to spend upwards of 100 right?

Try going into a local wine store and ask for recommendations. If they're any good they won't just steer you to an expensive bottle, but a good one.

Worked for me last night and my price range was much lower.

Gin, is a grain that is a distilled spirit that is comes from a grain, usually wheat, but can be from any distilled food.

Once it is distilled to grain alchohol, it can have additives and in the case of gin, juniper berry + some other additives, for flavor.

If you are a Gin Nut, where did the shape of Seagrems bottle come from?;)

Why is the sign and label show the Beefeaters from England?

A family member wanted a bottle of the "madonna wine" for as a collectors item. They aren't going to open it but anyone know if it is any good?

What's the matter Tom? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?

Why?:rolleyes:

Wow you really know NOTHING about James Bond do you?

"Upwards of $100" has no limit. It means a hundred or more. So try this:

About ten years ago my brother gave a small dinner party for my mom's birthday. The wine was Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1942.

I won't say how much that bottle of wine cost, but I will say that the owner of the liquor store came to the house to open it, let it breathe, and serve it.

The wine tasted awful, but then again it was EXCELLENT!