Here is an interesting article about an Argentine vineyard, how the different types of soils produce different types of Malbec and how they are combined to bring complexity to the finished product. http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/food/True Grape Argentina diversity offers multiple ways grow/8085823/story.html I got some bottles of this particular wine they are discussing - the 2010 Finca Decero Malbec Remolinos. It's available under 20 bucks on-line, I think I paid 17.99, and it's a very smooth wine, easy to drink but with deep enough flavors to match beef, very good for a barbecue.
Regarding favorite type of wine... I generally like some Chianti, since I'm usually eating with my wine. For whites, I really like Riesling (as does everyone else here apparently). I'm a wine noob, I'll admit. I found out Texas does wine (and pretty well, at least better than 5 years ago, according to my parents who still live in Dallas). So I've recently been introduced to the varieties you don't really hear about unless you're paying attention: Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Viognier... I've had McPherson's Sangiovese, and I was impressed, as well as Texas Hills Vineyards Toro de Tejas Tempranillo. I also tried Llano Estacado's port (and it's good, for a port, I'm not much of a fan). Anyway, go Texas http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=1488
When Texas first started making wines, the chardonnays got attention. But Spanish/Italian red grapes would seem to make more sense given Texas's weather.
and that's why there's a sort of movement toward tempranillo as a "national grape of texas," as it's doing pretty well. for whites, viognier and rousanne might be ok, but like you said, it's probably going to end up more of a "red state" (see what i did?), so roses might be an option. also blanc du bois, which i understand grows pretty much anywhere, but has only been around for a few decades.
The Hill Country has several nice wineries, in fact the wife and I were married at one (Flat Creek). The Texas wine industry has really blown up over the last ten years and even the burbs north of Dallas are starting to see some upstart wineries. If you ever plan on heading this way (Austin) definitely check out Flat Creek in Marble Falls, such a beautiful place and the wine and food are fantastic. http://www.flatcreekestate.com/ https://www.google.com/search?q=fla...GIAg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=671#imgrc=_
nice! flat creek sounds familiar, and i've only been into texas wine for maybe a month now confused. i've read the hill country is pretty good. my parents did a few texas wine tasting, but it was after the 2010 harvests which apparently were awful. as of now, i'm planning on driving home at the end of april, but i'll be going 10, 20, 30, so unfortunately i don't think i'll make it down there this trip. i'm going to try and hit up mcpherson and llano estacado though. also, in dallas, inwood estates is supposed to be really good. and FWIW, i've spent some time at these sites: http://www.winecurmudgeon.com/ http://txwinelover.com/ http://vintagetexas.com/blog/
lol pretty good read. actually last night my parents had me try a pinot from sonoma that i smelled and it reminded me of this cherry almond incense i used to burn. they're the 'experts' in my family, yet they stuck with the cherry almond flavors that i couldn't taste, i could only smell.
Interesting read. I don't taste wine with the same vigor that I do scotch or rum for that matter. I don't read a lot of wine tasting books either but one commonality amongst the many fine whisky books out there is that they are pretty clear that most people will taste the same malt differently from one another. Sure you'll have some commonalities in the initial flavor profiles but after that you'll find varied "flavors" across the board. I believe that is was Jim Murray that said the same exact expression could taste night and day to him in no more than a one month period. Most whisky publications and blogs encourage you to read several reviews prior to purchasing and corking a bottle and then seeing how your pallet compares it to what you have read. You usually find the reality to be somewhere in between.
I think the issue here is that, with new vintages every year, this is a veritable perpetual motion bullshit machine. That, and these 'professional' ratings are used to price and sell (at least some) wine. On that theme, I prefer beer over wine, and I cannot stand the useless beer geekery one sees on sites like ratebeer.com. Why should I give a flying ******** what some idiot with an Internet connection thinks about Saison Dupont or the latest Founders release? There are, of course, discernible flavor and aroma characteristics in beverages. Appearance can, and should, be commented upon. I think it's the over-pretentiousness of wine reviewers that's really being skewered here (not that it'll do any good, mind you). Same with someone who takes his own expertise too seriously reviewing beer, Scotch, etc. Learn what various styles of beer, certain varietals or blends or wine should taste like; get to know a good wine or beer vendor; taste, and find what you like. Learn to pair your favorites with food. Then invite friends over and enjoy life, which, by the way, isn't a pissing designed contest to see who can build the most impressive life's list of highly rated wines or beers.
My all-time favorite...my stash of which has been all drunk up, sadly (though it'd probably be past its prime by now if it was still around). Also a big fan of good German whites. Sweet wine can be just as good as dry, and it's rarely as overpriced.
Yup. It's out of fashion. I received an email from a wine store trying to get me to buy a case of its new Aussie shiraz. "It tastes like pie!" Yes it probably does. Shudder. Surely Australia must make good wines, sometimes, somewhere. It never sends those wines to us though. Horrid stuff those Shirazes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=aAZfeZgD44U Monty Python's skit on Ausie table wines. Yes it's an old one but it still works with the latest posts.
Was at a French-style creperie last month, the red-wine special was a Syrah from a French country region. The two elderly ladies sitting next to me looked aghast when the waiter said Syrah. I talked them into ordering a bottle, I said you'd be amazed how this grape can taste when Australians aren't making the wine. Sure enough, they were very happy with the bottle.
I love some Grenache. I got a pretty good one from Tasting Room on my first shipment. Has anyone else done TastingRoom? I joined and it's alright, probably better for beginners though. They send you tasters (they're not great), you fill out online how you liked them and then they create a "wine profile" for you. Then they send you shipments 3 times a year of 6 or 12 bottles based on your profile. I got my first shipment a while back, next one should be coming up in June.
My go-to wines, to have around the house: Panarroz jumilla: It started out dirt cheap and is still reasonable. It's never not been a good buy. Steelhead is a good example of the kind of pinot noir I'll grab at the grocery store. I usually have at least one pinot on hand, because of its flexibility. I like dry and semi dry rieslings. NbNW (from the Columbia Valley) is an example of a good dry one. Unfortunately, it's too expensive for me to drink a lot but I'll pick it up on occasion.
Heading out to Lake County CA over Fathers' Day weekend. We're going to Fetzer in Hopland to take advantage of their amazing wine sale. My wife's sister is in the business (she sells her grapes to Fetzer) so we can buy deeply discounted wine through her. Planning to bring four cases back home on the plane. The wines we're buying are less than half the price of retail.
I'm becoming a big fan of Zinfandel with a ripe berry, jammy hint. As a matter of fact, I liked this one particular variety they served at the pre-wedding reception I went to, I had a very nice hangover on the day of the wedding.