EastWest Gal
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Why not go to a few wine tastings and find the one you like? Twice as much fun.
To All You Winos
- Thread starter Vincenzo Corleone
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+2. I'd hit the Costco wine selections & pick a higher rated one. Also, probably can't go too far wrong with their Kirkland Bru.
COcheesehead
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If you really want to dive in deep, go to cellartracker.com. It has crowd sourced reviews on thousands of wines with tasting notes from average joes to experts. It also then shows you where you can buy the wine. Because if you can't buy it, what's the use, right?
walkinwood
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Congratulations!
Splurge on a Silver Oak - you've had it, you liked it. Wines, like so many things, are very subjective.
Or, go to a good wine store and speak to the staff. Tell them what you liked and your budget and they'll help you. I've found some great wines that way.
Splurge on a Silver Oak - you've had it, you liked it. Wines, like so many things, are very subjective.
Or, go to a good wine store and speak to the staff. Tell them what you liked and your budget and they'll help you. I've found some great wines that way.
OP
OP
Vincenzo Corleone
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Why not go to a few wine tastings and find the one you like? Twice as much fun.
+1
Sojourner
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+1
IMHO, Seghesio is one of the very best red wine values you can find at many wine shops. Absolutely top notch, full bodied Zinfandel for around $22 or $23.
OP
OP
Vincenzo Corleone
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Thanks. I'll definitely check it out.
I lost my fear for high priced Cabs years ago and have ponied up more than I care to admit, including phenomenal Cabs from To-Kalon sourced vineyards (look it up-crazy money) and I can see why they charge so much. These days I’m trying to keep a lid on it but being sentimental for anniversaries, etc. I still go a little crazy at times.
However I’m now FIRED so my splurges on Cabs are in the $40-$50 range. I like Caymus and silver oak but feel you can get similar quality for $50 vs $100 they charge so when I splurge I go with Groth Cab or Chappellet Napa Cab or something similar. Both are around $50 and both are elegant, well made Cabs.
However I’m now FIRED so my splurges on Cabs are in the $40-$50 range. I like Caymus and silver oak but feel you can get similar quality for $50 vs $100 they charge so when I splurge I go with Groth Cab or Chappellet Napa Cab or something similar. Both are around $50 and both are elegant, well made Cabs.
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Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
Congratulations !
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Vincenzo Corleone
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Hey, thanks! I appreciate it.
audreyh1
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https://costcowineblog.com you might find some well rated cabs there.
ERD50
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+1
IMHO, Seghesio is one of the very best red wine values you can find at many wine shops. Absolutely top notch, full bodied Zinfandel for around $22 or $23.
I saw this Seghesio Zin pop up, so I checked and our local Binny's has it in stock ~ $19 (with my Binny's card). I like Zins, I'll pick it up when I am out today.
They also have the Seghesio Zinfandel Old Vine 2014 for $27.99,
and Seghesio Zinfandel Home Ranch 2013 $49.99 - I think I'll see what my palette thinks of the 2016. I'm not sure I'm discerning enough to appreciate the higher priced, but maybe for some special occasion.
-ERD50
Winemaker
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I think the 2013 vintage is one of the best for California Reds, hence the higher price. Their OVZ is pretty special, because the vines are very old and are head pruned, meaning the vines are like trees. The yield is smaller than younger vines, and have a different distinct flavor than other zins. As with most great reds, you may only tell the difference if you have another bottle of like kind to compare. Don't forget to serve at right temperature and aerate, aerate, and aerate. Did I mention you should aerate?
COcheesehead
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If you are at all into Zins, you need to check out Bedrock and Carlisle. They both make some fantastic single vineyard and blended Zins.
ERD50
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Adding those to the list.
I just got the 2016 Seghesio Zin at Binny's, funny thing is, they also had it at Trader Joes at ~ the same price.
I do aerate my reds, but just a single pass through one of those venturi things, and maybe into a decanter to sit for a while. That probably does not meet the standard of "aerate, aerate, and aerate". I've even heard of putting it in a blender, which seems like a terrible thing to do, but some swear by it (maybe only to drive away off flavors from cheaper wines?).
So what is your "aerate, aerate, and aerate" process? By proper temp - I assume cellar of ~ 55F~60F?
I'll compare this to my homemade from Chilean Zin juice. I'm no connoisseur, but my homemade stood up well to some of my typical $8~$10 Zins, and maybe about equal to some others. I just ordered 6 gallons of Chillean Petite Syrah juice, due on April 20.
-ERD50
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To me, "aerate" means open the bottle and pour two glasses about 20-25 minutes before dinner. It allows the wine to develop and the tannins to soften a little before drinking. I'm sure there are more complicated things we could be doing, but we don't.
COcheesehead
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There’s a slow ox aeration, which means opening a bottle, recorking and chilling at cellar temp for up to 24 hours before consuming. Works with young wines. There is a double decant which is opening a bottle, pouring into a decanter, than back into the bottle and eventually into a decanter for serving. Works best with tannic young wines wanting to be drunk near term.
Almost any wine benefits from air. How much is dependent on your experience with the wine or how young it is.
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Vincenzo Corleone
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Wow - learning a lot more than I anticipated with this thread!
Winemaker
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I serve my dry reds at 60-65 degrees; they are cellared at 55-60 degrees. But that is my personal preference, YMMV. But a cold dry red to me makes it seem more acidic. Usually the advice I give people who just have a wine rack in dining room, is to chill whites and take them out 30 minutes before consumption, and for dry reds, chill 15-30 before consumption. But do what you like to based on your own trial and errors.
As for aeration. wine is a great natural chemical soup filled with phenols, polyphenols, acids, aromatics, tannins and others. They've been cooped up in a bottle since bottling when they had a cork shoved up their.... Whenever the cork is removed, the wine chemicals above, all react with the oxygen, some more some less. Especially noteworthy on the second day, if you don't finish the bottle after opening. (Not a problem at this household.) We always have a experiment at our Wine Club for newbies. We take 2 bottles of red wine (1 inexpensive, 1 expensive), open, and pour a glass of each. We take 2 empty glasses, and pour the wines back and forth between the two glasses about 3 times. With the left over glasses, repour another serving in each glass. Then take a serving of wine and place in blender or cocktail shaker, and let 'er rip for about 30 seconds, then do it for the 2nd wine. Now you will have 6 glasses of wine, 3 cheap ones that have been blendered, mixed, and recently poured, and 3 expensive ones that have been blendered, mixed, and recently poured. Most people are amazed at the difference between the 6, and of course, there are some that say, bleh, too. Fun thing to do with a another couple or friends one evening.
I find older, finer wines become spectacular with aeration. Most wine are made to be drunk within days of you bringing them home. Only winos like me are going to have a 7 year old bottle of homemade Chilean Malbec laying around, and then I can lament how I should have laid more down, or should have drunk it 2 years ago.
I am also waiting for my Chilean and South African Sauvignon Blanc juice, arriving in April. I made a delicious rose' last year from Chilean Syrah, and put the skins in my Chilean Merlot for some backbone. It is waiting for a barrel to become available.
As for aeration. wine is a great natural chemical soup filled with phenols, polyphenols, acids, aromatics, tannins and others. They've been cooped up in a bottle since bottling when they had a cork shoved up their.... Whenever the cork is removed, the wine chemicals above, all react with the oxygen, some more some less. Especially noteworthy on the second day, if you don't finish the bottle after opening. (Not a problem at this household.) We always have a experiment at our Wine Club for newbies. We take 2 bottles of red wine (1 inexpensive, 1 expensive), open, and pour a glass of each. We take 2 empty glasses, and pour the wines back and forth between the two glasses about 3 times. With the left over glasses, repour another serving in each glass. Then take a serving of wine and place in blender or cocktail shaker, and let 'er rip for about 30 seconds, then do it for the 2nd wine. Now you will have 6 glasses of wine, 3 cheap ones that have been blendered, mixed, and recently poured, and 3 expensive ones that have been blendered, mixed, and recently poured. Most people are amazed at the difference between the 6, and of course, there are some that say, bleh, too. Fun thing to do with a another couple or friends one evening.
I find older, finer wines become spectacular with aeration. Most wine are made to be drunk within days of you bringing them home. Only winos like me are going to have a 7 year old bottle of homemade Chilean Malbec laying around, and then I can lament how I should have laid more down, or should have drunk it 2 years ago.
I am also waiting for my Chilean and South African Sauvignon Blanc juice, arriving in April. I made a delicious rose' last year from Chilean Syrah, and put the skins in my Chilean Merlot for some backbone. It is waiting for a barrel to become available.
Chuckanut
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COcheesehead
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Nice choice. 2016 is "the" vintage for anything from Southern Rhone.
If you can find the Kirkland '16 Gigondas at $14.99, you'll love that one too.
flintnational
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^^It's $30 a bottle but the 2016 Famille Perrin CDP also at Costco is VG.
Winemaker
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Some premier wineries in Napa, Sonoma, and I'm going to assume elsewhere, reject 10% of their own wine come bottling time. That 10% is sold to other wineries for a pittance, provided they never disclose the true origin of the wine. So sometimes you never really are drinking plonk, unless you really bought plonk.
Kirkland does have some exceptional wines.
Kirkland does have some exceptional wines.
COcheesehead
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Just had that last Friday. Delicious bottle of wine.
