Wine Thread

[ricanbandit]

My go to wine, daily dinner is Menage a Trois Red. For the money, its pretty amazing

http://www.menageatroiswines.com/

[franklin067]

my favourite wine is red marato

[JimmyD]

Can never go wrong with a bottle of Caymus, $60. and the Caymus Special Selection is around $100.
If you are looking for cheaper the Robert Mondavi Oakville is awesome, around $35.00 if you can find it, usually sold out.

[Jefferey]

Plumpjack Cab love it.

[manutdas11]

Napa Valley Monticello Brothers Rolando Rosso.

[amanda hor$t]

$10 bottles: ecco domani and beaujolais villages.

though the real favorite is rothschild lafite which i stock but never open

[bkbeagle]

Originally Posted by Dave2

I am always looking to try something new. Which wines are your favorites?

I am fond of the wines from Courtney Benham, both the Courtney Benham label and the Martin Ray label, and the Seghesio wines.

Concha Y Toro Merlot from Chile

[SAINT VAN ROCK]

Mad Dog 20/20

[boymonkey]

I like a good Pinot Noir. This one is my favorite: http://quailsgate.com/wines/sfr-pinot-noir/
For whites I like viognier and chardonnay. This is another fave: http://www.lafrenzwinery.com/wines/viognier

[claykin]

Originally Posted by Epic404

Barefoot reds. $6 at the Walmart and they even have a cork.

That means wine is worth $3, because cork cost $3.

Almost like Trader Joe's 2 buck chuck.

[pmmjarrett]

Originally Posted by SAINT VAN ROCK

Mad Dog 20/20

Boone's Farm Apple

[Aidenn]

Cavit all time favorite.

[surlynkid]

Harlan
Colgin
Araujo
Blankiet
Bond
Shafer Hillside Select
All first growths except Mouton-Rothschild
Cheval Blanc
Ausone
Wish I could try Petrus, Le Pin and Screaming Eagle. On Screaming Eagle waiting list.

Just had a 1995 Chateau Lafite Rothschild and 2003 Harlan Estate for Christmas dinner.

[ussoldierforhire]

Originally Posted by SAINT VAN ROCK

Mad Dog 20/20

BAM!!!!

[lastMleft]

Wild Irish Rose

[Brodiendd]

Well my favorite wine is Italian red wine that has been, in which the yeast have completely fermented the raspberry sugar to ethanol. Next the wine is aged to the point, where anaerobic bacteria have completely converted the ethanol to caproate and butyrate causing the wine, to smell like strawberries.

[ashmostro]

We are vino heads and moved in 2012 from Norcal to........ VIRGINIA. Sadness.

We have a few memberships back home that we re-upped so we can continue to get decent wines. VA doesn't make any palatable reds really. Whites are ok...

HIGHLY recommended from Napa:

Chimney Rock- for silky, complex Cabernet- our hands down favorite but pricey
Ridge- for the best Zins you've had (and more, but Zin's the word)
Mumm- for affordable but very good bubbly
JCB (Healdsburg)- for a less known bubbly alternative but really good and inexpensive for what it is
UNTI - for italian varietals in the italian style
Talbott (Carmel Valley) for Chardonnay in the Bordeaux style, and very very good Pinots (but get the reserves on both accounts- the estates are just table wines)
Prophet - for a very different style of pinot that is very light in color but extremely floral and interesting- but don't drink it with food because it just won't be as impressive that way
Bell (Yountville) for pretty interesting Cabernet clones
Silverado for the weirdest but very tasty Sangiovese Rose (!) that is great for summer BBQs! And suuuper cheap.

And finally, for good cheap Cabernet, Educated Guess.

If any of you are out of towners heading to Napa, the best advice I can give you is stay away from rte 29 (better known as tourist alley) and instead travel one mile east to the silverado trail which runs parallel to 29. The road is far more beautiful, with less traffic, and the wine is actually good!

[strokeoluck]

Just had a few glasses of Sea Smoke Southing Pinot while in Phoenix for a golf trip. Holy cow...that is some SMOOTH, GOOD stuff. I usually drink cheap stuff and have a glass a night - rarely pay more than $10/bottle. I wouldn't buy this Sea Smoke for myself, I think it sells for >$65 or $70. But maybe I should treat myself now and then.

[jerseygirl]

Originally Posted by Dave2

I am always looking to try something new. Which wines are your favorites?

I am fond of the wines from Courtney Benham, both the Courtney Benham label and the Martin Ray label, and the Seghesio wines.

silver oak nappa valley

[Murse]

Originally Posted by ricanbandit

My go to wine, daily dinner is Menage a Trois Red. For the money, its pretty amazing

http://www.menageatroiswines.com/

A good, easy to go to, and very affordable, everyday wine.

[tony20009]

I think it's hard to pick one favorite wine. Overall, I prefer reds. Mostly because I find a nondescript red more enjoyable than a nondescript white. Indeed, I find nondescript whites quite unpleasant, whereas I can drink almost any red and be at least OK with it so long as it's not corked. I'd say at least 25-30% of the time, I will end up drinking a run of the mill wine simply because the folks I'm with aren't that into wine or don't have the budget for a wine having more character.

I eat out three or four times a week, have small dinner parties at least once a month and larger parties four or five times a year, so I get to drink a lot of wine. Below are the ones that came readily to mind when I saw your post.

California: I drink these far more than all the others combined. I always have a case of these on hand at home and at the beach house. I really like them and one has a fair chance of finding them in a restaurant, but I don't worry much about that because there are many good Cali wines. There are several others I like, even more than the ones below in some cases, but they are quite expensive and so hard to come by it's not worth mentioning them, and I don't buy them consistently.

• Vine Cliff Chardonnay - This is the white I set out when I'm hosting a party.
• Robert Mondavi Cabernet - This is the cab I set out when I'm hosting a party.
• Stag's Leap Fay Cabernet
• Rodney Strong Meritage
• Silver Oak Cabernet

Washington State: I like these too, but don't drink most of them often because I'm really quite content with the CA wines above. I just happened across them and I like them.

• J Bookwalter Meritage
• Northstar Merlot - A friend gave me a bottle of this as a gift and it's become the one Washington wine I have been keeping around for the past 4 or 5 years or so. It tastes nice, is a nice change up from the cabs I normally drink, and t's reasonably priced.

France: Like Cali, there's no shortage of awesome French wines and if you travel outside the US, it's well worth your while to have a few that you know and like besides the superstars because you'll more likely come across French wines than you will Cali wines. In France itself, however, I generally just order the vin du table and have always been satisfied and in more than a few instances, very pleasantly surprised.

• The Pope's wine (Chateauneuf du Pape) - This is one of my "go to" reds. It's fairly commonly found, reasonably priced.
• Pouilly Fuisse -- If I'm out with folks who insist on a white wine with dinner and they have nothing they specifically prefer or want, this is my "go to" white wine. Like the Pope's wine, fairly common on restaurant wine lists.

• Veuve Clicquot

  • La Grande Dame -- This stuff rocks, but it's not cheap. Definitely for very special occasions and with friends who appreciate it.
  • Ponsardin -- This is what I call my general purpose champagne. Always have a case on hand. It's what I serve at parties or when friends just want a glass of champagne.

• Vouvray - dry and semi-dry. The sweet ones are good but I don't really want them.

• Bordeaux

• Saint Emillon - this is my other "go-to" red. When I'm in Paris or London, this is what I drink most of the time.
• Chateau Mouton-Rothchild -- these are quite pricy, so I tend to just buy a few a year -- one to drink when I want it, one for a special occasion and one for the label art.
• Chateau Margaux - again quite pricey, so usually one bottle each of the two reds. The label art isn't all that special, so no point in a third.

• Cote de Beaune (Burgundies) -- These are the ones I've tried often enough that I know I liked them and can remember their names.

• Pommard
• Meursault
• Montrachet - both. These are bar none my favorite white wines, and quite possibly my favorite wines period, but they are not cheap. Even so, if given a choice between these and almost any of the other wines I've cited, I'd pick Montrachet.

Italy: sadlly, I haven't had much experience with them aside from having tired several barolo, all of which were very nice. I haven't the first ideal of what their names were.

[ashmostro]

Tony, good post. I'm in your neck of the woods (see my post on the previous page).

If you are interested in trying some good Italian reds, remember the three holiest of Italian oenophile words: Brunello di Montalcino! Most Brunelli are very good. Some are excellent. Others may be the best red you've had.

But they are not for the faint of heart (or wallet, in some cases) as they are very astringent and very very intense.

A baby Brunello for typically half the cost is called a Rosso di Montalcino. Aged two less years in the barrel so typically less dry and intense, and not as dark. Still a very nice dinner wine.