I'm not saying that I don't try other wines as well. If a friend recommends one I'll try it for sure but it's good to know that I can always rely on my Bordeaux.
Re: Your favorite Wine? Basic Red table wines are where I'm at right now; I seem to have OD'd on old vine Zins. Just had a bottle of this over the weekend: It's a nice little blend for about $8 a bottle, and it isn't overly sweet like most table reds.
I haven't seen it in the states, but this was the best sparkling wine I ever had: low quality image, but it's Cricova- it's from Moldova and is made using the traditional champagne method. In addition to be really good, it usually cost about 170 CzK in Brno. other than that, usually like Cote-du-Rhone reds, and I like the Czech and Austria whites which tend to be very dry and acidic tasting (not at all like German wines which are usually lower in alcohol and sweet).
Re: Your favorite Wine? You must have been one of those bra-burning gals Lately I keep returning to Bodega Norton Reserva 2006 Malbec. The wine buyers guide has continuously rated it at a 90 plus it's less than $20 a bottle. I also recently purchased a bottle of 2007 Kaiken Mendoza Malbec which also scored a 90. I looked at some other pubs and sites to see where it was ranked and found it received mixed reviews but none were bad. Interestingly this is a Chilean wine made in Mendoza of Argentine grapes. Definitely worth checking out.
I did a wine sample at a local wine shop(that is now going out of business), and sampled River Bluff Charbono, De Valier Pinot grigio, Viridian Oregonian Pinot Noir, and Malvasia Rose. Excellent line-up I must say.
Having a bad allergy day. Made chicken soup from scratch, with 17 cloves of garlic, and ..... Not to be taken with antihistamines.
very mediocre, but some of the nices labels in wine. Also the cellars, and apparantly the town of Cejkovice itself, were founded by the Templars which is kind of interesting. Still it would be nice to find a decent Vetlenske Zelene... not even sure what that vareital is called in English "green... " * according to Wikipedia you use the German name "Gruner Vetliner"
Sorry to go (a little bit) off topic but I didn't want to post a new thread. The thing is some relatives of mine are planning to go into the wine shop/wine bar business in the near future and I wanted to know whether any of the regular contributors to this thread had any experience on this that would like to share. I honestly don't know the slightest thing about the business apart from some practical knowledge on the differences between several grapes and limited wine tasting experience. When asked about what I thought about the idea, my first thought was to define whether it should be a wine bar, a wine shop or probably a bit of both. Obviously, it depends on what you expect your average customer to be like and that surely differs between places. In my neck of the woods, most people I know don't go to wine bars because of the wines but rather because they want to be seen socializing in those places. It's (was?) more of a passing fad than anything else. Do they really care about the wine? If you are aiming to the upper end of the market and you get these type of customers, then you are screwed. On the other hand, what if you decide to offer your customers something on the side to go along with the wine? I am not a big fan of the "cheese & wine" or "ham & wine" bars, simply because it may take the focus away from the wine which is the main business. But that may appeal more to middle-income families which may be keen on having a decent wine alongside a fine cheese board. In the end, I think it just comes down to personal taste and that's why it may be crucial to identify your potential customers. As I said earlier, I have no direct experience on the issue, just my experience as a customer so I may be way off the mark with my thoughts. I would appreciate if anyone has any thoughts to offer either from your experiences as a customer or from being in direct relation with the business.
not really; I think the Gerwurztraminer grape is red even though the wine isn't; Gewurztraminer is called "Cerveny Tramin" (Cerveny means "red" in Czech) or just "Tramin"in the Czech Republic and from what I recall it tasted a bit sweeter. The Veltlinske Zelene appears to only be grown in Austria and Moravia. If I had to compare it's taste to a more established grape, probably Savignon Blanc but with a slightly more acidic or citrus taste.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z6UyKzNrr8"]YouTube - The Best Cheap Wine: Beaujolais - CHOW.com[/ame]
There's a tremendous amount of good, cheap wine out there. A local, up-scale grocery near where I live has a nice wine selection, good, knowledgeable staff, and always has a decent selection of stuff well under $10. Is it all good? Of course not. But on occasion they'll have a $7 bottle of something (often from South America) that is absolutely delicious. Not spectacularly complex, hinting of old leather, hibiscus and wet stones. Just nice fruit, well balanced, a touch of tannins. Stock up, get a case discount, and enjoy.
I ordered this to go alongside a cheese & ham board: Good solid wine, if a little suave for my taste.
this is a very enjoyable, if simple, Zin and priced at $8/bottle. I liked that it is only 12.5% alcohol, so it is very drinkable.