Thread Drift

[Lise]

Yikes! Perfect post for a thread called "drift"!

[Nanci]

I love Shiraz/Sirah. I think that's my favorite red. BUT on my way to Chattanooga, I stopped in at Georgia Wineries for some fruit wine, and brought home six bottles, one of which is gone already, the blackberry/muscadine...Also bought: Raspberry/muscadine, muscadine, blueberry, sweet honey red muscadine, and one other I can't remember!

http://www.georgiawines.com/winelist.asp

I tasted a New Zealand Riesling last night and it was _too oakey!!!_ I don't think I've ever tasted oak in a Riesling! I was very disappointed...

[DirtDiva]

Oakey riesling? Weird. What one was it? (I'm curious to see if the US is like the UK and the only NZ wines you can readily get are owned by Montana...)

[Nanci]

Villa Maria, 2004.

Nose: Wine Enthusiast calls it "fern," but I couldn't really put a name on anything.

Tasting: yellow apple, piney, lime

Here's another NZ wine that I've been hoarding:

2002 PANSY ROSÉ
PRODUCTION NOTES
"Pansy" is a sculptured wine. Made from predominately Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes, a portion of juice was bled from the grapes one day after crushing. The wine was then handled like a white wine, cool fermented and sulphured once dry. Just prior to bottling a portion of late harvest Chardonnay was added to add complexity and a hint of sweetness to the wine.

ANALYSIS AT HARVEST
Average Brix: 22.0 Titratable Acidity: 7.0 g/l pH: 3.25 WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 13.0 %
Titratable acidity: 6 g/l
pH: 3.45
Residual sugar: 4.0 g/l

TASTING NOTES
Colour: Cherry in colour with mauve edges.

Aroma: Ripe Pacific Rose apple and sherbert aromas abound. Complexed with hints of bisto.

Palate: A fruity little number. The wine has great fruit intensity, with juicy fruit and watermelon characters. Full bodied the wine finishes well with a hint of tannin.

An ideal summer sipper and aperitif style wine.

[DrBee]

Shiraz...I have bad associations with Shiraz. Drank waaayyyyy too much of it at a Mardi Gras ball a few years back and can't even think about drinking it now.

Riesling I like, but cannot imagine it being oakey. That IS wierd.

[uk elephant]

I can't drink very much alcohol these days, but when I do have anything I save it for a nice glass of Argentine Malbec. Still very cheap, but I think it is also very tasty. And because it is Argentine, it of course goes very well with grilled meat (of any kind).

In the winter, I occasionally treat myself to a cup of hot port (simmer some orange slices and cloves in hot water and add the water and fruit to some port). For medicinal purposes of course. It is the best thing for warming up on damp chilly English winter evenings. But only late in the evening because it always puts me to sleep.

[Nanci]

I'm still getting to know Malbec, but my favorite so far is Bodega Norton.

I'm trying a bunch of more obscure reds, too, like Lemberger and Cab Franc and I guess I'd even include Petit Sirah in that bunch.