Interesting Wine Stuff

[Hornin Hong Kong]

I had a bottle of 1990 Chateau latour last night and sat next to a chinese guy that really knows wines.

I do not know wines. However he talked a lot about his passion and I got some interesting info.

He recommends getting a baseline wine (for him it was Mondavi cabernet - he lived in Vancouver when he started) and drink cheaper and more expensive wines to get a feel for what you like and why some wines are better than others. He's an expert now but he still occasionally drinks a cheap 25 dollar bottle of Mondavi.

He maintains if you only drink good wine you wont recognize that it's good.

Anyway - I didn't know there were 5 'first growth' french wines that are considered the best wineries.
The Link

I have had them all I realize now at one time or anoher but the one I like the best is Chateau Haut Brion (the White Bordeaux is rare - I read about it in a fiction book and had a bottle at an unforgettable meal in macau - amazing)
The Link


The French classification system was interesting for me.

Did you know California wines have crushed French wines in blind taste testing - sacre bleu!!!
The Link

My Chinese wine dude says if you are just starting out dont drink french - no value for money - he recommends south american.

Stag's leap has been one of my favorites for a long time - I did not know they were rated best in that paris wine tasting.

Cask 23 Stag's leap Cabernet is a must buy if you ever see it (hard to find)
The Link

 

[fratboy_legend]

good info- thanks.

I was in napa for the first time about 5 years ago and did the whole drive around and test the different wines thing. I settled on Stag's Leap as my favorite of all the ones i tried (from Mondavi on up to Opus) The winery is staffed with very knowledgeable people (they all are really) but the guys at Stag's Leap seemed the most passionate about their product and were really interested in educating you about their wines.

I have had the Cask 23 and SLV - Both are excellent. I saw their Artemis Cab on a wine list here in houston for the first time ever about 2 months ago.

 

[The Dog]

you think $25 wine is cheap?

 

[B]

"As her lips touched the glass, I knew that the three dollars I had spent on wine would not go to waste."

 

[Hornin Hong Kong]

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[stabone]

Most people don't have the slightest concept of how to judge wine. And they shouldn't, it should just be whatever you like and whatever you can afford.

 

[Nivek]

I like Dao wines (Portugal), and the expensive ones I bought were ~30 bucks, but usually I bought cheaper $12.

 

[Hornin Hong Kong]

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[Texas007]

Joseph Phelps Innisfree Cab is a nice $25-$19 cab that I drink as a daily drinker type wine. I would say I am a wine snob for certain, and have a decent collection. Not outstanding, but decent. It seems to me I totally agree with Chinese wine guy in that what I have seen coming from California the last 10 years crushes just about everything I have tried from both France and Italy. This was tough for me because I for the longest time was a France and Italy snob. Cask 23 is without question an incredible cab IMO.

 

[sawbonz]

Very interesting links.

I absolutely hate drinking wine at restaurants. Paying $60 for a $25 bottle of wine irks me to no end for some reason. I know the markup on beer/liquor is as much or maybe more, but the wine thing really gets to me.

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

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[MaduroUTMB]

Mouton-Rothschild kicks *** if you like Pauillac. They also make a cheap wine called Mouton Cadet that's not bad at all.

 

[ryskey]

I know slightly more about wine than a dung beetle, so to simplify everything I just grab some random Chilean ****. Never fails.

 

[Napoleon]

I tried a wine today at a wine store in Buenos Aires (Argentina). It is from the NORTON Bodega with is arguably the bigger producer of wines in Argentina. (I say this, because they have a HUGE presence in grocery stores and in wine stores... not from any true knowledge.)The wine is called QUORUM 1.

It was interesting because not only was it (1) a blend of three different grapes, but each grape was from a different vintage.

I had NEVER seen that before.

Malbec - 2002
?????- ~2004
Petit Verdot - 2005

The tannins didn't attack the sides of my tongue like a Cab's usually do, but rather mildly attacked the top of my tongue. Not bad, but they were there. And the slightest bit of tannins also attacked under my tongue. (I say "attacked", because I don't like this.)

But after reading about tannins on Wikipedia, wines with tannins are a great way of cutting through the fat of meat. So what may be a bit harsh at a tasting may be amazing with red meat.

Oh, and this wine was AR$70 (~US$22.25).

 

[Hornin Hong Kong]

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[HornInDub]

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