nm

[bosco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy C-T, There are no cheap wines in Calgary. Got to be selective up here.

drive to BC and you will see that, by comparison, they are cheap in Calgary.

Fortunately, since I am a homebrewer, I plan to start making wine soon. It's much easier than making beer, and some of the homemade wine I've had is pretty darn good. Probably a matter of practice, like most things. I picked up 2 or 3 kits at the IGA. Don't know how it will turn out. I haven't used kits in years for beer (I am pretty much an all-grain brewer) but you gotta crawl before you walk....

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOG51 Of the cheap ones mentioned, what will give me the quickest buzz?

Everclear into an IV bag.

[SolidA]

Fun website, Setab! (Not as fun as THIS board, of course!). I feel like such a neophyte - hadn't even HEARD of half the stuff they are talking about - and I thought I was semi-well versed. Sigh. But oh, what fun to learn!! (A bottle of this, 'n a bottle of that...) Thanks!

[IBWino]

Beside Trader Joe's, another good place for wine bargains is Cost Plus World Market. *They have a good selection and domestic and international wines with weekly specials that usually include at least a couple of great values.

[brewer12345]

Anyone tried the "Three Thieves" wines, sold in a 1 liter glass jug or a tetrapak? Any good?

[Maximillion]

C-T , there are some very good German Reislings, and to drink a Shiraz with Lamb or Salmon is sacriledge.(answer, Pinot Noir).

[setab]

Sure, I can. *However, first a word about both French and Italian wines. *They are different from each other and both different from California and Aussie wines, at least when they are young. *Without turning this into a wine forum (see the cite I provided above, if you want that), California wine is much more fruit forward and heavier in oak. *French and Italian wines have more subdued fruit flavors which combine with a totality of factors which the French call terroir. *That term refers to the combined influences of the soil, surrounding vegetation, air, heat, etc. *California wine could have that too, but California prefers to concentrate on the fruit which becomes uniformly more ripe from year to year because of the fairly consistent climate there. *A big debate could follow about which style is better. *Suffice it to say that being somewhat of a sot, I like both styles depending upon the situation. *European wines, in general tend to be more food friendly, so if you want to match them with a meal, it is easier to use them. *California wines are more fun friendly...go figure! *Both styles have been coming closer together in recent years. *All that to say, don't give up on European wines. *They take getting used to, but it's worth it. *If you go to either www.winex.com or www.klwines.com you can search for wines from almost everywhere by almost every conceivable combination, including price. *A quick search shows the following examples at klwines: *03 Peyraud 9.99, 03 Sarget de Guraud Larose 16.99, 00 Greysac 16.99. *A similar search at winex shows the following *00 Les Fiefs de Lagrange 16.99, 02 Potensac 17.99. *I have had all of these and they are very good to excellent wines. *One more thing, you have to open these and preferably decant or let breath for a minimum of an hour. *They are all very young and will improve to varying degrees as they age. *The air helps that. *If you live near the Twin Cities, Haskell's and several other stores there should be able to help guide you also if you tell them no more than you told me. *Sorry to go on; you just hit one of my most passionate interests.

setab

[setab]

Max,

I also generally prefer Pinot Noir with salmon, although my wife prefers Chard on most occasions. However, I have had salmon in a zinfandel reduction sauce matched with a good zinfandel that has been wonderful also, so Shiraz might work with the right preparation. It's hard to beat the Pinot combination, though, in my opinion.

setab

[Momtwo]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I love a good wine!

I don't know how DH and I ever drank "Ripple" and "Thunderbird" in college! Must of been because we were broke. YUCK!

Momtwo

[kjpliny]

I've had literally hundreds of bottles of this:

http://www.lindemans.com/gifs/our_wi...f/bin40_04.pdf

Lindemans Bin 40 (and Bin 45) from South Australia...both Merlot and Carbernet taste good and are inexpensive.* This is our everyday come home and kick your shoes off wine.

[laurence]

Eh, I evidently break all the rules with wine and food myself. I enjoy Cab with Filet Mignon, but I've enjoyed a dry Pinot Nior with them, too.

I definitely agree setab's comment on California Chards, the Oakyness can be so strong for my taste to become undrinkable. :P

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Anyone tried the "Three Thieves" wines, sold in a 1 liter glass jug or a tetrapak? Any good?

They call it "Three Thieves" but they sell it in a tetrapack? Not even in a double three-pack?!?

Fire the marketing department!!

[Michael Moore]

Two Buck Chuck cabernet works for us in case lots for a standard red table wine. We didn't care for the merlot or other varieties from that vitner.

There's lots of more than adequate wines out there, and far too many wineries to keep straight.

I've had some expensive wines where I could tell enough to say "this is REALLY good" but generally once it gets past $20 or so a bottle (store retail, not restaurant retail) my taste buds can't distinguish the nuances well enough to justify spending the extra money, so we tend to buy $8-15 bottles of wine.

I've purchased $50-150 bottles of rum and brandy and it is the same thing - past a certain point diminishing returns make it not worth the extra expenditure.
]
$30-40 ports do seem to often be worthwhile though.

The South African stuff is often pretty nice. We had a SA vegetarian restaurant around the corner from us (run by an ex-pat SA and his two partners) and all their wines were from SA. Baobab, Paul Cluver, Faithful Hound, Nederburg, Weltwrede, Stellanbosch, and others were pretty nice. But a "corked" bottle wasn't uncommon, which they attributed to things being shipped to the States in holds that weren't temp controlled. They'd occasionally have to dump an entire case down the drain.

Amarula (elephant fruit) cream liquer is very nice, with strawberry overtones.

cheers,
Michael

[Maximillion]

A. Try decanting your wine first, allows Oxidation.

B. Do NOT serve Boxed Wine at the table with straws inserted.

[Maximillion]

sorry setab, missed your post on decanting, you are right.

[gwix98]

Don't forget the Marlborough (New Zealand)
Sauvignon Blancs, generally in the $8-$15 range,
so not cheap, but very very good...

[setab]

I second the New Zealand Sav Blancs. They are very good across the board. Also, try the Pinot Noirs because they are also very good. I prefer "inexpensive" to "cheap", but the point about diminishing returns is an excellent one. If you can't taste the difference, don't go there. I suggest, however, that you taste can be cultivated and educated to some degree, so don't rule out more expensive bottles out of hand. The first time I had Lafite Rothschild ($200), I said, "What's the big deal? However, for the next three weeks nothing tasted good to me, even my old favorites. It was then I realized I was in big trouble. And don't even think about great Burgundy....

setab

[boont]

How do you guys like the huge amount of sulfites dumped in these foreign wines?

They all give me an headache.

boont

[brewer12345]

Well, after seeing about 150 web ads for giordano wines, I finally went to their website and ordered one of their package deals. $100 plus shipping and sales tax ($120 all in) gets me a case of a dozen Italian wines, a half dozen pasta dishes, and a half dozen italian food products (extra virgin olive oil, pesto, sundried tomatoes, etc.). If the wine is decent, it will be a pretty good deal. When I poked around on line, I found that they are owners of vineyards throughout Italy (puglia, piedmont, sicily, etc.) and are one of the largest direct-to-consumer sellers of wine in Italy (appear to be active in the UK too).

[laurence]

Let us know how that works out Brewer! We looked at joining a wine club through a CA winery, but it was close to $100 a month and they only sent you 4 bottles of wine a month.