Wine - Discussion, Travel & More

On another topic. Has anyone else had Eisele Vineyard's ‘Altagracia’ Sauvignon Blanc?

We are usually not white wine drinkers (other than German Spatlese and above), but this blew us out of the water--5.0 on our Vivino rating for the 2020 earlier this summer.

Helped by the fact that we got it for less than $45 from our "guy" at JJ Buckley, but this is a really nice white. Just bought a case of the 2022, after bemoaning the fact that we had purchased only 6 of the 2020.
 
COcheesehead said:
If you like Zins, seek Bedrock out of Sonoma for a more savory style. Turley from Paso for a bigger, riper, style. We like them both for different reasons.
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My fav Zin is from The Prisoner Wine Company (Yes, that is actually the name). The Red Blend is mostly Zin. So, is another of their blends called Saldo.
 
When it comes to Zins, I like Robert Biale and Turley, I belong to their wine clubs. I have enjoyed Rombauer, but they have been bought out recently. Don't know if there will be any changes. I, also, belong to Scott Harvey's club, where I can get my hands on a Zin named 1869. It's Zin is from a vineyard that was created by a U.S. Grant land grant in 1869, and supposedly planted with Zin then. These are on the upper end of my price range.

A very inexpensive, but tasty Zin is a brand called Twisted. Sometimes it's on sale for $5/bottle,usually runs about $10. Far from plonk!
 
LateToFIRE said:
My fav Zin is from The Prisoner Wine Company (Yes, that is actually the name). The Red Blend is mostly Zin. So, is another of their blends called Saldo.
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Prisoner has sort of a cult following. I used to like and buy it occasionally when it was owned by Davis Phinney and then he sold it to Quintessa and they changed up the blend a bit.
There are some really good, more pure Zin wines at about half the price.
 
Out-to-Lunch said:
Too bad! I was just there last week... :facepalm:
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There’s a funky wine shop on 89th and North in Wauwatosa called Ray’s. Tiny place, but last time I was in there they carried allocated, hard to get wines at interesting prices. Fun, very Milwaukee ish place to browse.
 
COcheesehead said:
There’s a funky wine shop on 89th and North in Wauwatosa called Ray’s. Tiny place, but last time I was in there they carried allocated, hard to get wines at interesting prices. Fun, very Milwaukee ish place to browse.
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Funnily enough, I was driving today, and I saw someone with a Ray's bumper sticker. I think it said "I Love Ray's Liquors." First one of those I recall seeing.

Thanks for the suggestion. I go by there often enough, but I generally just shop in my local Otto's. I'll stop in next time I go by.
 
COcheesehead said:
Prisoner has sort of a cult following. I used to like and buy it occasionally when it was owned by Davis Phinney and then he sold it to Quintessa and they changed up the blend a bit.
There are some really good, more pure Zin wines at about half the price.
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I think you mean Dave Phinney. He sold both of his brands in 2016. I've enjoyed the bottles but I agree they are much better values, and many great blends to discover. I remember when Rombauer was really sought after as well, I hadn't followed the changes with both in the last 7 years.

I also believe there are some good value Zins like Scott Harvey from Amador and Lodi (and Sonoma as well).
 
COcheesehead said:
Prisoner has sort of a cult following. I used to like and buy it occasionally when it was owned by Davis Phinney and then he sold it to Quintessa and they changed up the blend a bit.
There are some really good, more pure Zin wines at about half the price.
Click to expand...

oiseux said:
I think you mean Dave Phinney. He sold both of his brands in 2016. I've enjoyed the bottles but I agree they are much better values, and many great blends to discover. I remember when Rombauer was really sought after as well, I hadn't followed the changes with both in the last 7 years.

I also believe there are some good value Zins like Scott Harvey from Amador and Lodi (and Sonoma as well).
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I'm sure you're both correct about there being better values out there. I never even knew I liked Zen until I tried Prisoner about a year ago, so now starting to learn my way around. What I do know is that I like just about everything Phinney has ever created (currently owned or not). Brilliant stuff.
 
Well this doesn’t have anything to do with travel but this is the only current wine thread. :)

There was a big change at the local Costco over the summer. They cut section with the wines displayed in the wooden boxes/bins in half. They increased the amount of wines stacked in huge pallets, but these are generally cheaper wines even though some are highly rated.

The selection we’ve been spoiled with appears to have been reduced quite a bit. If they carry plenty of Kirkland labels I’ll probably be fine. I won’t have a good feel for that until later this year when a lot of new vintages come out.

I don’t know if this is some fallout of Costco losing their brilliant wine buyer a couple of years ago. There was a wine buying team working with her for a long time so I hoped the tradition would continue. Or it could be a local/regional decision.

Anyway, we’ve finally been working our way through our overflowing wine cabinet at home so I have bought little wine this year. So hopefully we’ll still find good stuff going forward. We did have a Total Wine open and ironically it’s not far from Costco.
 
I tend to buy reds from Chile, Argentina, Portugal, etc. Most rated in the low 90's.

Our local wine store brings them in by the container. Especially when the exchange rates are favorable, as they have been for the last little while with Argentina. I think this is why some of the Kirkland branded products are such a good buy at the moment. Especially their Malbec.
 
Wine - Discussion, Travel & More

Palmtree said:
We just bought a case of J Dusti Pinot Grigio on the advice of a friend who is a wine distributor. It was for a house party. Our go-to wines are Zins or Cabs from Paso Robles. We've been to Napa but not Paso yet!
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Fan of the Paso Robles Zins too. Very picturesque area too.

I like NY Fingerlakes for visiting as it’s only an hour or so away. Some very good Riesling’s and Gwertz.
 
I used to believe that Costco had the best selection of daily drinkers (under $15-$20) for the best price because of their wine selection crew and volume. There is a Total Wine and a Costco about 5 minutes apart in the area we shop. In the past few years I noticed only a few cents difference in price between the two.
 
audreyh1 said:
Well this doesn’t have anything to do with travel but this is the only current wine thread. :)

There was a big change at the local Costco over the summer. They cut section with the wines displayed in the wooden boxes/bins in half. They increased the amount of wines stacked in huge pallets, but these are generally cheaper wines even though some are highly rated.

The selection we’ve been spoiled with appears to have been reduced quite a bit. If they carry plenty of Kirkland labels I’ll probably be fine. I won’t have a good feel for that until later this year when a lot of new vintages come out.

snip.
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I hope not. I haven't noticed any big changes, though I do notice the prices have crept up despite the great exchange rates (though I assume much of the harvest is prebought). I go to a Costco that is also about 5 minutes or less from a Total Wine. I still find the Total Wine more expensive, but that is probably due to their use of coupons (which I think are not legal in some states). I also have some other more independent shops for choices that are less common or secured by certain distributors.

I was just thinking about wine in South America today --- anyone been to Mendoza?
 
We are working our way through a case of Merlot and a case of Cab. from the Mendoza region. Both happen to be UKO estate products.

We buy most of our reds from Chile or Argentina. Have done for years. Great value, great wines.

The odd part. I have found that they are considerably less expensive to buy where we live in Canada than they were in their respective countries of origin. Especially the Chilean product. Not certain why this is.
 
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oiseux said:
I hope not. I haven't noticed any big changes, though I do notice the prices have crept up despite the great exchange rates (though I assume much of the harvest is prebought). I go to a Costco that is also about 5 minutes or less from a Total Wine. I still find the Total Wine more expensive, but that is probably due to their use of coupons (which I think are not legal in some states). I also have some other more independent shops for choices that are less common or secured by certain distributors.

I was just thinking about wine in South America today --- anyone been to Mendoza?
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I’m just not used to Total Wine yet. I find their selection overwhelming. However Costco curated their wines we usually found wines we really enjoyed and the narrower selection but constant updating of it was easier to deal with. We didn’t have to spend much time looking when we were ready to pick up a few bottles. I generally already know a given region and style that we prefer. Given that, if Costco carries it in their wooden boxes display, we knew it was rare that we wouldn’t like something.
 
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Folks who like Malbecs - have you tried any from the original French region? I’ve really enjoyed several after visiting there.
 
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All these wines from different wine regions remind me of Mondovino, a documentary about the industry.

A French consultant makes a ton of money going from winery to winery, essentially selling the same formula. So his advice is usually brief, micro-oxygenate more:

A charismatic, opinionated, and self-satisfied figure, Rolland is an in-demand wine consultant for many wineries, particularly in Bordeaux and the expensive and lucrative Pomerol appellation. As seen in the film, his role is to talk on his mobile in the back of his chauffeur-driven car, run into a winery and tell the perplexed owner to micro-oxygenate the wine, and run back to the car and repeat the advice in several other Bordeaux wineries. A friend of Robert Parker's, their tastes coincide and lead to accusations of collusion: wineries that Parker gives high scores to have had Rolland as consultant.
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Matthew's World of Wine & Drink: Mondovino: The Phantoms of Progress


But in fact, Rolland's formula isn't limited to Bordeaux. He has clients all over the world, including Argentina.
 
audreyh1 said:
I’m just not used to Total Wine yet. I find their selection overwhelming. However Costco curated their wines we usually found wines we really enjoyed and the narrower selection but constant updating of it was easier to deal with. We didn’t have to spend much time looking when we were ready to pick up a few bottles. I generally already know a given region and style that we prefer. Given that, if Costco carries it in their wooden boxes display, we knew it was rare that we wouldn’t like something.
Click to expand...


The selection there can be overwhelming. It is actually helpful to shop online and filter on the exact region or winery you are seeking, read reviews, etc. When I do go there I have something specific in mind.

Did you go to Cahors? I've not been, it looks beautiful.
 
explanade said:
All these wines from different wine regions remind me of Mondovino, a documentary about the industry.

A French consultant makes a ton of money going from winery to winery, essentially selling the same formula. So his advice is usually brief, micro-oxygenate more:

...

But in fact, Rolland's formula isn't limited to Bordeaux. He has clients all over the world, including Argentina.
Click to expand...

We've treated his involvement as a plus factor for many years when looking for new wines--especially at less expensive price points. Perhaps our favorite has been clos de los siete, his Mendoza project. Sub-$20 wines, primarily malbec, that are good right off the bat, but benefit (in our personal opinion) from up to a decade of cellar time.
 
Out-to-Lunch said:
Hmmm, it's $14.97 at TW in my part of WI... :confused:
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Total Wine always seems to have the best prices in any area, but I have also seen variation between different stores.
I also like that you can usually do some tasting.
 
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