Do you drink wine?

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Zen how ironic. I just found a health food store that carries my yogurt bugs so I can start making yogurt at home again. I'm so tired of spending money on yogurt when I can make it!

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I think we were separated at birth...
This is one of the many things we have in common!

Robyn

I agree! I even used to live in MA (but only until age 4). My dad got his masters at MIT when I was a little girl.

Emily

[Zen]

Sports Geezer once again references the NYT.

[malkin]

I'm much more of a hop-head myself.

But in the yogurt arena, my preference is for yogurt made from yogurt rather than made from the freeze dried critters. ALL of the yogurt at our local so-called-natural store has additives, but a year ago in Las Vegas I brought home a quart from Trader's and am still eating their descendents today.

[smilingcat]

biodynamic wine.... hmm heard that term somewhere.... BonnyDoonVinyard off icecream grade in Santa Cruz.

good stuff indeed. I have their wine snob membership. Get to taste lots of different varietal. They sent 2 bottles every 3 month?? off the beaten path varietal. If you are interested in lesser known varietal but something smashingly good, join their membership and you can read Randall Grahm, the owner, pinining about the virtue of wine.

Alas I have bit of an alergy. And no its not sulfite cause I can eat bacon with no problem and other sulfite filled garbage. Anyway, I do drink wine on occasion and take my chances with my alergic reaction to wine.

Love Shiraz from Australia (If I'm not mistaken its Petite Syrah), Syrah, Petite Syrah, Mervdre, Merlot, Cab., old growth gracefully aged Zin, Muscat, Viognier...

well just about all good wine. Roja from Spain, Good Tawny Port from Portugal,... Chillian wine... wine from Columbia River Valley of Washington, Russian River Valley of Ca, Sonoma, Napa, Central California like ABC (AuBonClimet) from Santa Barbra area...

But what I really love is a desert wine Sautern (sp) wine

What don't I like? well lets see a guy at my office claimed fame for knowing wine under $2.00 Boons Ripple, Thunderbird, Everclear, ??? All I can say to the stuff is blach... eekkk.

So the big question is what do you consider expensive or too expensive for a 750ml bottle of wine. (The regular size bottle of wine.)

smilingcat

[julesey]

"The Downtown Girl's Guide to Wine" by Megan Buckley and Sheree Bykofsky is a great read if you're interested in learning a little more about types of wine, food pairings, etc. It's so well written that I enjoyed reading it on the beach last summer!

[OakLeaf]

So the big question is what do you consider expensive or too expensive for a 750ml bottle of wine.

Depends on the occasion! We've found a pleasant cheap jug wine that's perfectly fine for an ordinary dinner at home. Depending on the occasion, the company, the wine, we can spend quite a bit, too. Price doesn't always correlate with quality, either, there's a lot of fashion involved. Not just pricing where the market will bear, which is always there, but different varietals come in and out of fashion, which affects the price by supply and demand.

Robert Sinskey is another California biodynamic producer. We visited their tasting room a couple of years ago and enjoyed everything we tasted. IIRC, Heller Estate is working on biodynamic certification as well, but I'm not sure about that, and they haven't got it yet in any case.


PS to alpinerabbit: I wouldn't be surprised if biodynamic wines are much more available in Switzerland than they are in the USA. The international organization (Demeter) is based in Brussels and well represents the major winemaking regions in Europe (apparently excepting France - not surprising). When we were in Austria a few years back, most restaurant menus offered several wines identified as biodynamic as well as a selection of organic wines.

(Also remember that "organic wine" in the USA includes the winemaking process, and is different from "wine from organically grown grapes.")

[Di bear]

Hi girls! Do you drink wine? If so, what kind (i.e. Merlot, Chardonnay)? How often? My mom is a doc and she gave me this article about drinking a glass (one only) of red wine a day would increase HDLs (the good cholesterol) and help keep disease at bay. So.....I really don't like alcohol. But, I would like to see how well this works. Do you drink with meals, or relaxing after dinner? Any advice on tasty wines would be much appreciated. Does alcohol affect performance? Thanks!

I keep a cellar, so I have wines of all kinds. I've found that any grape will most likely taste good when done in a style you appreciate, but mostly when it is drunk within the appropriate time frame.

MOST grocery stores, especially those like the ones in my small town, will carry wines that are past their prime. This means that the characteristic fruity flavor is diminishing and the wine really doesn't have the flavor that it once did. That missing flavor is what you are searching for.

Of the grocery store varieties, I prefer Beringers. While you can get a bottle of Beringers for probably around $6, it is still going to be of good quality. It is complexity of flavor and mouth feel that are most likely to vary between different price points. However, you don't need to pay $70 to get a great bottle of wine. There are MANY excellent wines that are available between the $20 and $40 range. One of my favorite wineries is Argyle, out of the Pacific Northwest. My favorite Pinot Noirs come from there. If you're looking for excellent juice, but lower prices (in the teens), check out Castle Rock. Castle Rock buys up the excess juice from larger, "more prestigious" wineries and bottles and ferments it for a more affordable price. I love Castle Rock. Your really can't go wrong there.

If you try one bottle you don't like, try a different vintage or a different grape. Wines will change from year to year because the grapes change due to varying differences from season to season. California and Australian wines tend to be bolder and, the new trend, stronger in alcohol content because the grapes are left on the vine longer and they get more sun. These grapes have a higher sugar content.

So, find out what wines are available to you, then get online and look for "drink by" years. There are plenty of web sites that offer tasting notes on different wines. This is where vintage is really important to not-so-serious wine drinkers - use it to get a good product. Buy the wines that are within the suggested "drink by" time frame and you will probably be a lot happier with your wine drinking.

***

Anyone who has studied chemistry knows that everything you learn is not true to a certain extent. Frustrating, I know. Wine is basically a pretty awesome chemistry experiment. Due to the nature of chemistry, these guidelines are basic and the theory of wine gets much more complex as you get into it more. These guidelines, however, will suffice for someone who is looking to simply enjoy a bottle of wine without getting into details.

BTW, studies have shown that white wines also offer the same great benefits as red.

[tulip]

Thanks, Di Bear. Great post. Once my house is renovated (by Christmas, for sure!) I'm going to set up a wine cellar in my basement. It'll be the right temp, and dark and out of the way. When I lived in France I had one, and I'd like to get back to it. I'm pretty good with varieties and such, but the chemistry is a mystery to me and I want to learn more about it.

[Di bear]

I strongly recommend picking up a book by Jancis Robinson. I have a wine course book and a tasting book by her. They're beautifully illustrated and well-written.

[OakLeaf]

We're just beginning learning from the wine aromas kit from Le Nez du Vin. Being able to isolate aromas is really worthwhile in terms of figuring out food pairings, plus it's fun!