Your wine preferences & any changes over time?

[shootingstar]

Even though I can't drink much wine for special occasions, I still enjoy it when given..only half a glass or even less.

But am finding that these last few years, my body cannot seem to tolerate sweet white wines --Rieslings, Gwerztainneminar (I should check spelling) which have my preferred types. Have you dropped wine or changed in preferences?

[marni]

like you my preferences have changed from the sweeter white wine to drier ones like pinot grigio. I have also begun to really appreciate a nice full bodied red, especially those with hints of cherries or spices such as Apothic Dark. Ditto my preference for beer has become darker and heavier. My Sag guys theory is that as we get older our taste buds become less able to taste and seek out the darker and tarter and more flavorful, savory tastes.

[OakLeaf]

That's funny ... as I learn more about wine, I'm getting over my prejudices against the sweet whites. No teenage soda pop, but with some foods, particularly spicy dishes, a wine goes better if it's not bone dry.

I think the cheap sweet whites tend to have a lot of propylene glycol and other additives, and maybe that's what you're having trouble with when you say "your body." They always taste really chemically to me, and many give me an instant headache. I do find I have to spend more for a drinkable sweet wine, where you can often get away with a dry red for $10 or less.

[Crankin]

I never drank anything but white until about 10 years ago. It took me awhile, but I developed a nice taste for different reds. Now my favorite wine is a good Malbec. The only reds I don't like are ones that have too much "spicy" in them. It is very rare for me to drink a white now; there is a vineyard in RI, that we go by on one of our rides, that makes a nice white with a hint of grapefruit. I do drink that in the summer.

[TrekDianna]

I am partial to Oregon Pinot Noir and Merlots. I am surrounded by vineyards and wineries. There are two within 2 miles of my house.

[shootingstar]

I am partial to Oregon Pinot Noir and Merlots. I am surrounded by vineyards and wineries. There are two within 2 miles of my house.

Unless one had an allergy or other reasons, it would be hard to completely ignore local stuff in one's own neighbourhood. :) Like marni, I am tending to prefer drier white wines : I used to find them more "boring".

No I haven't made much attempt to look for wines labelled "organic" --if that's supposed to be complete assurance of no additives/chemicals.

I believe Canadian wines in general, aren't always cheaper than foreign wines...and I'm speaking as a Canadian customer who buys in the home province of where the wine was produced where it would be cheapest, before it is shipped with possible (not always) additional consumer cost/price, and sold in a retail liquor outlet in another Canadian province.

I confess that I do tend buy primarily Canadian wines: I do believe in supporting our local economy, especially when wineries do take a big risk every year with Mother Nature. No honest, I'm not often a buyer of foreign wines. Maybe I'm an unsophisticated oeniphile (I really need a dictionary.)

I like smooth red wines with very little tannins. Any time I see descriptions of "smokey", tobaccoey, etc., makes me want to run for hills.

I love some of our ice wines --the ones that we can afford. Canada's climate provides the conditions for some good ones.

Wine descriptions are often a treat to read.

[roo4]

Red for me. Shiraz, Merlot, blends. Cabs are usually too pricey for me.

In the summer a sweet chilled white is nice too.

[OakLeaf]

Well if it were sulfites you were sensitive to, then I would suggest organic, but if that were it, then all non-organic wine (and sulfured dried fruit) would set you off. I'm just saying my experience is that I have to spend a little more to get a drinkable sweet wine, than a dry one.

[Crankin]

I also love cabs and pinot noir. Blends from Italy and Spain, too. Montepulciano is one of my favorites. Lately, I've actually ordered Chianti at Italian places. We belong to a wine club and get a lot of wine through it. I do read the descriptions, and while I am no expert, I like reading them.
Oak, when I was having a lot of asthma issues, I had problems with wine/sulfites. For about 10 years, I didn't have wine. Finally, in 1997 or 8, I decided to test it out at Passover, drinking little sips of a decent Passover wine (not Maneschevitz). I didn't go into anaphylactic shock, so I resumed the wine drinking. I do remember, in the late 80s, finding an organic wine that I drank at a very nice organic place near ASU. But, it was so uncommon back then.
I'm starting to get a little more experimental with beer, too, but I really do not like dark beers.

[OakLeaf]

I've really become a fan of Albariños. (Ooooh, I learned a new trick on the iPad keyboard!) But most of the time I gravitate toward reds for the simple reason that they're served a few degrees warmer. I'm usually too cold to want to drink anything chilled!

[smilingcat]

Do like Alsace dry Riesling. It's good that most don't know that really good Riesling is dry. It really goes well with good bratwurst and cabbage.

I'm not a wine snot!!

[Skippyak]

I find it very hard to get out of the Australian aisle for reds and sticky wines, I don't mind NZ Pinot Noir and US pinot grigio. But if it is red in my house, it will be Aussie. Shiraz, cab, merlot etc, I used to love sparkling shiraz, chilled on a hot night, but I overdid it.

[shootingstar]

I'm not a wine snot!!

I can only drink 1/2 glass of wine before I start to get light-headed/flushed --so if I really don't like a wine after 1-2 sips, then it's not for me. Every sip counts for me because of my bodily reaction.
I don't drink beer and because of my lower bodily tolerance to alcoholic drinks, I don't want to try different beers.

I used to be embarrassed, even somewhat annoyed by my problem. But at this stage, it's probably a saving grace to me, health-wise. Seems like hereditary trait too since most of my family can't tolerate much alcohol either like me.

[Crankin]

It would be very hard for me not to be able to drink wine. I rarely have more than one glass, and it's become somewhat of a hobby for DH and I (reading about and learning about new wines). I like beer, but I am not so thrilled by mixed drinks. Most of them taste like medicine to me! I will have a good Mojito in the summer, but that's about it.

[shootingstar]

I'm such a baby about mixed drinks. I haven't evolved beyond a brown cow --milk/cream mixed with Kahlula(?).

I just content myself when my partner does some neat stuff --ie. beating in a touch of sweet white wine into whipping crème. It makes an elegant topping for a special dessert! Or creatively pouring in a jot of red wine in his homemade cooked fruit compote of rhubarb, raspberry, blackberry/blueberry that has been cooked with ginger root, honey, etc. His mother (from Germany's wine growing region) knew how to creatively use wine for baking and cooking at times.

[Norse]

Do like Alsace dry Riesling. It's good that most don't know that really good Riesling is dry. It really goes well with good bratwurst and cabbage.

I'm not a wine snot!!

I love a good, crisp, dry Alsacian Riesling with spicy or German foods - can't stand the sweet whites, but I thought they were just fine when I was much younger. For me, it's all about what food am I having with it, and what is the season? Summer, more dry crisp whites and roses; winter, mostly reds - I especially like the French Rhone-style wines and French, Washington and Oregon burgandies/pinots. Not much of a fan of California reds as they tend to be too heavy in the alcohol department and not as food friendly.

As they say at my local wine shop (grocery stores cannot sell alcohol here): A day without wine? Why bother?

[Crankin]

I love, love, love dry rose wine. I drink it in the summer, but also with some types of Italian food all year round. Good rose is so different from the sweeter stuff and most of all, from that horrible White Zinfendal. I also love rose sparkling wine.

[Norse]

White Zin is not rose. :) My very recent ex brought a bottle of white zin over on our second date. That should have been clue. ;)

[Aromig]

I am partial to Oregon Pinot Noir and Merlots. I am surrounded by vineyards and wineries. There are two within 2 miles of my house.

I too am partial to Oregon Pinot Noirs. After a trip last year to Sonoma, I've found that I love Russian River Pinot Noirs too. Add in malbecs, and some tempernillos (always taste a bit harsher, but I do like them) you've hit my go to wines.

In the summer I love proseccos and other sparkling whites (but they can't be too sweet -- moscotos are just too much for me).

This is all recent -- before that I didn't like wine as much.

[Crankin]

Oh yes, I know White Zin, is not rose. But many people put them in the same category.
Aromig, you named all of my favorites. I also love Prosecco and love the northern Italian custom of a glass of it before the meal.

[Koronin]

I only drink wine on rare occassions, however when I do drink them they are typically the more fruity flavored white wines. My favorite is one from Childress Vinyards (but I don't remember the name of it.) I like the Muskadine ones quite well also. Once the local vineyards also makes a muskadine cider that wonderful.

[Bike Writer]

That's funny ... as I learn more about wine, I'm getting over my prejudices against the sweet whites. No teenage soda pop, but with some foods, particularly spicy dishes, a wine goes better if it's not bone dry.

I think the cheap sweet whites tend to have a lot of propylene glycol and other additives, and maybe that's what you're having trouble with when you say "your body." They always taste really chemically to me, and many give me an instant headache. I do find I have to spend more for a drinkable sweet wine, where you can often get away with a dry red for $10 or less.


I love, love, love dry rose wine. I drink it in the summer, but also with some types of Italian food all year round. Good rose is so different from the sweeter stuff and most of all, from that horrible White Zinfendal. I also love rose sparkling wine.

These two. We've hit a subject that is near and dear to my heart and that's a discussion on wines! Rather than go into a big spiel on this subject, because if you let me loose I'd write volumes, let's just say that my wine experience has been an evolution. Started with dry and semi dry whites, moved to all the reds and, yes I love nearly all reds, and have come full circle to enjoying dessert wines including sweet whites. Like the dry whites too, particularly the Chardonnays from France without so much oak like American whites. Ahhh and a good rose is a treat for the senses and can be oh so delicate. Yes, the real rose, not that apparition called "white zinfandel." Overall, I like too many to mention because they all have a time and place and a certain food to go with.

Yeah, I can be a wine snob, but not about price - I've had expensive swill and it's still swill.

Ok, I changed my mind and I'll go with one all time favorite, Champagne because of it's versatility, you can serve it with an appetizer, dinner or apres dinner.

[OakLeaf]

Anyone seen the documentary "Somm?" It's about five (?) people studying for their Master Sommelier certification. It's very engaging, and while anyone with an interest in wine will enjoy the technical aspects of their study, it's really a story about their personal journeys.

[Owlie]

I've actually had an example of the dreaded white zinfandel that I actually liked. I can't remember what it was, though.

I can't really drink any more than a glass and a half of wine at a time. I don't really care for it (I'm a beer person, and I'm still cautiously dipping my toes in the mixed drink area), and I come across random wines I like, and I never remember what they are. I prefer whites to reds, though. I don't like Malbecs. That's about it. It depends on the individual wine, and what I'm eating it with.

[roo4]

Oregon Pinot Noir has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread. Can anyone give me a specific name that they recommend? I'd like to try a bottle or two. My price point is usually $10, but I'm willing to go up to $24 for the sake of trying something new. It's okay to tell me that I have to expand my price range, I just don't want to pay twenty bucks if it isn't any good.

[TrekDianna]

Oregon Pinot Noir has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread. Can anyone give me a specific name that they recommend? I'd like to try a bottle or two. My price point is usually $10, but I'm willing to go up to $24 for the sake of trying something new. It's okay to tell me that I have to expand my price range, I just don't want to pay twenty bucks if it isn't any good.

Hey roo4, where are you located? (you can PM me if you want to not advertise that. I'm just asking because I know some good local ones that don't distribute all that far so need to know if I can recommend them or not)

[roo4]

Sadly for the purposes of alcohol purchasing, I am in Pennsylvania.

[emily_in_nc]

I used to order Chardonnay quite a lot, mainly because that was all I knew of white wines, other than Rieslings, which are too sweet for me (except for dry Rieslings). Then I tried Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc and liked all better than Chard. Just don't care for the oak. I love dry rose as well. I don't like reds quite as well but occasionally will find one I like. Don't laugh, but I love the Bota Box "Redvolution", a boxed wine we buy at Costco. It's a blend of about five different red grapes and is slightly sweeter than most reds (for exampler, Merlot).

[OakLeaf]

Chards are generally too sweet for me, and to my taste not very food friendly, but I did have an exquisite Robert Sinskey chardonnay a couple of years back. I want to say it was an '06 or maybe even earlier, so they'd likely be past their drink-by date by now, and I have no idea about their more recent vintages. It does seem that they've upped their overall production quite a bit recently, which is probably not a good thing.

[smilingcat]

Are Chards still made with the "hint of grapefruit, citrusy fruit bouquet.. and aged in French Oak barrel..." blach! If I want the real stuff, I'll spend the money for real white Burgundy. The problem with Burgundy is that majority of the vineyards are rather small such that most labels do not produce in sufficiently large quantity. Just about every label is a rarity. Another varietal ruined alongside good zinfandel by the perceived market desire.

And I never could understand the hype about Beaujolais nouveau. Wait at the airport for the delivery from France, then have a wild party to swig that stuff down.

I'll stick to Voignier, Riesling, semillon, muscat, and few others for whites. No I'm not a wine snot. If two buck chuck is better than a Grand Cru or even a First Growth then I'll drink two buck chuck. Or something even from Gallo. Actually, Gallo being so big and with such financial clout, they can and do produce some really good wine.

The other day, I did pop a cork on a red Beaudeaux 1988. Cork was in excellent condition, wine had not oxidized, good clarity, good nose... Everyone liked it. Still have two maybe three bottles left. It actually outlasted oh never mind.

[OakLeaf]

There are plenty of unoaked chards. Oak isn't what I don't like about them.

Two buck Chuck ... to me tastes like a wine costing double. :p I'm no snob either, I enjoy plenty of cheap wines, but that stuff to me is just nasty.

We used to drink a fair amount of Gallo Paisano, but they must have changed the blend or something, it's not as good as it used to be.

[TrekDianna]

Sadly for the purposes of alcohol purchasing, I am in Pennsylvania.

Sadly? Is that one of the states that can't have wine shipped?

[Bike Writer]

Are Chards still made with the "hint of grapefruit, citrusy fruit bouquet.. and aged in French Oak barrel..." blach! If I want the real stuff, I'll spend the money for real white Burgundy. The problem with Burgundy is that majority of the vineyards are rather small such that most labels do not produce in sufficiently large quantity. Just about every label is a rarity. Another varietal ruined alongside good zinfandel by the perceived market desire.

And I never could understand the hype about Beaujolais nouveau. Wait at the airport for the delivery from France, then have a wild party to swig that stuff down.

I'll stick to Voignier, Riesling, semillon, muscat, and few others for whites. No I'm not a wine snot. If two buck chuck is better than a Grand Cru or even a First Growth then I'll drink two buck chuck. Or something even from Gallo. Actually, Gallo being so big and with such financial clout, they can and do produce some really good wine.

The other day, I did pop a cork on a red Beaudeaux 1988. Cork was in excellent condition, wine had not oxidized, good clarity, good nose... Everyone liked it. Still have two maybe three bottles left. It actually outlasted oh never mind.

Oh yeah, white Burgundy, that's the real deal!

[Bike Writer]

Oregon Pinot Noir has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread. Can anyone give me a specific name that they recommend? I'd like to try a bottle or two. My price point is usually $10, but I'm willing to go up to $24 for the sake of trying something new. It's okay to tell me that I have to expand my price range, I just don't want to pay twenty bucks if it isn't any good.

roo4, if you're looking for a great deal on Pinots, try Castle Rock, it's not from Oregon, it's from California but it's a steal of a deal around $10-14 range. Best tasting low cost Pinot that is true to the grape in taste. You say you're willing to go up to $20, try Montinore Estate from the Williamette Valley in Oregon, can be found from $15-20. Here is my tasting note from December 2003 "elegant pinot, bright red color, good fruit on the nose, soft and silky, will buy again." Back in the day it was about $12 bottle, but the prices I quoted are current in various locations throughout the US.

I see quite a few folks like white wine and have ventured from Chardonnay. If you haven't tried this, you're in for a treat. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Marlborough District. It has a unique taste, gooseberries. It's dry but fruity. It's a crowd pleaser and makes a great poached dover sole if you splash some in the marinade and use that marinade to poach it in the oven. It gives a very unique taste to most any delicate fish without overpowering it. It can usually be had at Costco for a good price, usually in the $10-14 range depending on where you live.

[Owlie]

Sadly? Is that one of the states that can't have wine shipped?

Pennsylvania has some weird alcohol control laws. A former roommate had her mind boggled when she went a grocery store in Cleveland for the first time and discovered that you could buy beer! and wine! in the grocery store.

[OakLeaf]

You're from Ohio and you're calling other states' alcohol regulation "weird?" :p

[Crankin]

We also have weird alcohol laws. So, we joined a wine club that has an "agent" here. That's how they are allowed to ship here. Also, if we find a wine we like, and want to order it, we just go to our local liquor store and they order it for us. You can look into that. Of course, we don't have those state stores here, just regular liquor stores. Grocery stores don't sell liquor, either, except some do. I can't figure out how they do this, maybe it's grandfathered? Anyway, my grocery store does sell liquor and they do tastings every month, on Fridays, with cheese and crackers.

[roo4]

PA alcohol laws are strange. We have our own Wikipedia page attempting to describe them! As I understand it, wine can only be purchased from a state store. Mostly these are closed on Sunday's, but there are a handful throughout the commonwealth that have Sunday hours. We cannot have wine shipped to a private address. We can make arrangements with a licensed wine shipper to mail the wine to a state store, as long as that wine is not normally available in PA stores, and I think there is a limit of 9 liters per month. All the usually state taxes are levied.

There are a few grocery stores that sell beer (maybe wine, but the one in my town is beer only). These stores have separate dining areas, exits, and checkouts that are distinct from the rest of the store.

[smilingcat]

Of all the different states I've visited, Utah takes the case for having the strangest liquor law on the books. Not only is it strange, they keep changing it to confuse you even more... Pa not too horrible nor is Mass. Both at least do not keep changing it every year. Or Ks. another horrible laws.

oh back to the original question. Yes my taste in wine has changed. Cheaper!! but still good wine. mostly from California.

[zoom-zoom]

In my 20s my wines of choice were sweet…muscato, sweet rieslings, etc. Now I can't stomach anything that is not DRY. Even medium-dry is too sweet. Just the thought of muscato makes me queasy. I also am a big fan of IPAs -- the hoppier, the better. Used to like wheat beers, but I find most of them to be too bland, nowadays.

[shootingstar]

I am not sure about the rest of the Northwest Pacific areas, but British Columbia does produce 4-5 different blackberry wines. Even the Germans (direct from Germany, not immigrants) I met, found it unusual and good.

It tastes like a light port (not that I drink other ports).

[Owlie]

You're from Ohio and you're calling other states' alcohol regulation "weird?" :p

Ohio's never struck me as odd. Granted, if we wanted to go to Whole Foods or Bigg's that were in Warren Co. to pick up beer on a Sunday, we had to wait until noon, but Hamilton had no such restriction. I have no idea about buying higher-proof liquor or anything, because I've never done it. (Cuyahoga's regulations were pretty odd, though. The Giant Eagle with the liquor agency in it was strange.)

But at least we can buy beer at the grocery store!

Trying to buy beer here with an out-of-state driver's license is fun.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm from North Carolina, where wine and beer can be purchased in all grocery stores (but not before noon on Sundays -- blue law still on the books) EXCEPT in dry counties. There are still a few of them left, but not around any of the major cities or anywhere I've ever lived. For liquor you have to go to state-controlled ABC stores, which are closed on Sundays. This is what I'm used to so I'm always surprised when we're traveling in states that sell liquor in grocery stores. Just looks odd to me, though it's fine w/me.

Have lived in Kansas since this summer, which is even stranger -- beer only available in grocery stores (no wine), and only 3.2% beer at that. All the same brands you're used to, including ales, have a 3.2% version for Kansas (and maybe some other states?) I had NO idea. For liquor, beer, and wine, you can go to commercial liquor stores. Not sure if that's still 3.2 beer or the regular stuff as I haven't bought any there. Since we're in KC, we just hop over the border to Missouri, and beer/wine/liquor is all available at Costco, where we're members, and not in the reduced alcohol level. Needless to say, we buy our supplies there!

[OakLeaf]

Retail liquor was privatized in Ohio 15 or 20 years ago, but all the wholesale buying is done by the State, and the private liquor agents must sell at the price the State sets. Many liquors aren't available in Ohio. Sometimes a distributor will petition for them to sell a new liquor and the Bureau of Liquor Control may decide against it if they don't think it adds anything to the range of beverages already available here, or they don't think it would sell well enough to justify the quantity they'd have to buy. I'm not sure how the laws about the space work, honestly - standalone liquor stores sell beer, wine, snack foods, etc., without any type of partition, but grocery stores that have State liquor agencies have a partitioned-off space. (Maybe you have to be 21 to even go in the store?? I know you have to be 21 to go into the grocery store partitions.) Socialized drinking, is what it is, but privatized retail.

Retailers can buy beer and wine direct from the distributors, but they can't sell it for less than a 20% markup. (Tobacco prices are regulated the same way).

The cut-off for liquor is 20% alcohol, so many fortified wines can only be sold in liquor stores. On the other hand, there are plenty of diluted hard liquors on sale where beer and wine are sold. I can't imagine how hard up one would have to be to drink that stuff! Pre-packaged mixed drinks can be sold at places with low licenses, too. I don't *think* we have 3.2% beer any more, though I'm really not sure about that.

Everything is local option, so if someone wants a new liquor license, or wants to transfer a license they own to a new location, the precinct gets to vote on it. There are Sunday licenses for both bars and package sales, but it's a separate license, so not every retailer makes the investment, and not every Sunday license application is approved by the local voters.

Maybe they should've kept Prohibition and done it all under the table. It was so much simpler then ...

[roo4]

Bike Writer, thanks for the recommendations! I'll look for them next time I'm in the wine/spirits store. :)

[Skippyak]

Of all the different states I've visited, Utah takes the case for having the strangest liquor law on the books. Not only is it strange, they keep changing it to confuse you even more... Pa not too horrible nor is Mass. Both at least do not keep changing it every year. Or Ks. another horrible laws.

oh back to the original question. Yes my taste in wine has changed. Cheaper!! but still good wine. mostly from California.

I live in Utah and I am never sure what makes it a big deal? I live down the road from a big liquor store, I know not to buy beer at the grocery, and I am way too old to be part of any bar scene. It is sad not to be able to buy wine from Costco, but I think within 5 yrs the state will step out of the liquor game and privatise it. I don't know how the laws affect normal people? Tourists might be pissed at grocery store beer strength but there are plenty of liquor stores in SLC and the burbs. I see plenty of people with kids in the liquor stores (I won't take mine in) and the liquor store near me is really busy considering I live in a @98% TBM area. I have never been asked for ID LOL.

[smilingcat]

I live in Utah and I am never sure what makes it a big deal? I live down the road from a big liquor store, I know not to buy beer at the grocery, and I am way too old to be part of any bar scene. It is sad not to be able to buy wine from Costco, but I think within 5 yrs the state will step out of the liquor game and privatise it. I don't know how the laws affect normal people? Tourists might be pissed at grocery store beer strength but there are plenty of liquor stores in SLC and the burbs. I see plenty of people with kids in the liquor stores (I won't take mine in) and the liquor store near me is really busy considering I live in a @98% TBM area. I have never been asked for ID LOL.

Maybe things have gotten better. I just have memories of being really confused by ever changing law. For a while I visited the state every year or so and each time the "game" was different. Want a liquor served in restaurant and you had to go to a separate room and have it in a mini-bottle. Can't remember if the waitress could get the drink or you had to get the drink... Then it was you needed to be in a private dinner club where you can buy a one day membership so that you can be served liquor at your table... then another time I had brought with me a very nice wine and was told to put it away by sommelier because it lacked the state liquor sticker or something to that effect but they could get me some other wine selected by the state liquor board.
Sommelier looked very disappointed that I was bummed. I think it was just Las Cases or maybe Pichon Lalande that I brought... I always loved going to La Caille in Salt Lake City. Very very nice tony restaurant. Good as French Laundry in Napa Valley, The Sardine Factory in Monterrey...

Maybe things have gotten better in Utah. Did not mean to offend. Just an outsider looking in.

[emily_in_nc]

We were surprised on our travels in New Mexico this summer that we got carded almost everywhere (restaurants, grocery stores, etc.) -- in our 50s! Some places had signs up saying "we card everyone". I guess it's easier than them trying to guess if people are over 21, but sheesh...at some point wrinkles and gray hair make it really obvious we're not in our teens anymore! Don't I wish... :rolleyes:

[Skippyak]

Maybe things have gotten better. I just have memories of being really confused by ever changing law. For a while I visited the state every year or so and each time the "game" was different. Want a liquor served in restaurant and you had to go to a separate room and have it in a mini-bottle. Can't remember if the waitress could get the drink or you had to get the drink... Then it was you needed to be in a private dinner club where you can buy a one day membership so that you can be served liquor at your table... then another time I had brought with me a very nice wine and was told to put it away by sommelier because it lacked the state liquor sticker or something to that effect but they could get me some other wine selected by the state liquor board.
Sommelier looked very disappointed that I was bummed. I think it was just Las Cases or maybe Pichon Lalande that I brought... I always loved going to La Caille in Salt Lake City. Very very nice tony restaurant. Good as French Laundry in Napa Valley, The Sardine Factory in Monterrey...



Maybe things have gotten better in Utah. Did not mean to offend. Just an outsider looking in.

I do think stuff is way different now, they do have zion curtain stuff but not to notice in a real restaurant any more with wine etc. La Caille has such a horrible reputation that I would never take my money there LOL. I do ride past it all the time in summer. I think they have new owners but I have yet to hear any recommendations. It must have been a long time ago that it had any reputation? I am not a Utah native but even in the 7 yrs I have lived in the burbs, there is big change afoot in the demography.

[Norse]

It seems that every year the MN legislature talks about changing our Puritanical liquor laws, and every year, the talks go nowhere. No off-sale alchohol can be sold on Sundays anywhere in the state. You can, however, go to a restaurant and order all the booze you want. Grocery stores cannot sell any alchohol, so some have gotten around that by adding a wine shop, right next door, you don't even have to go outside to get to it from the grocery store. :rolleyes: Seems like an exercise in silliness. The biggest opponents of changing the grocery store sale laws are the stand-alone beer and wine shops, no surprise. The biggest opponents of allowing Sunday sales are small grocery outlets that are closed on Sundays and believe they would need to stay open that day to sell alchohol in order to compete. That one is a bit of a stretch.

[Crankin]

We opened up liquor stores on Sundays about 20 years ago. Still can't buy it or order in a restaurant before noon on Sunday. I never realized so many other states had blue laws.
My grocery store (one of the few that sells liquor) also cards everyone. Even me.

[OakLeaf]

No off-site alchohol can be sold on Sundays anywhere in the state. You can, however, go to a restaurant and order all the booze you want.

I have never understood that (and MN isn't the only place that does that). I've only encountered it as a tourist, which makes it especially awful. Drink all you like on Sunday as long as you drive (or typically with us, ride your motorcycle) away afterward. No taking a six back to your hotel and staying off the roads.