Any Wine Snobs Here?

[dan_smee]

Looking for some wine snobs to teach me some things about American wine. We don't see much American wine in Australia, and my wife and I will be visiting soon.

Any recommendations? Happy to reciprocate.

Any Aussie wine nuts can check out my blog too:

The Wine Bl0g.

I know that's kind of advertising, but I don't make any money off it!

 

[Axver]

I'll just get cosy in this thread.

Though being in Australia as well, I can't offer many thoughts on American wine either. Hell, the awesome wine shop down the road from me seems to stock wine from pretty much every part of the planet except North America.

 

[Pearl]

Can this be a blog about wine in general? Not just American?

BTW, Yellow Tail wine is awesome!

 

[cobl04]

You should have named the blog allthewine.blogspot.com.

 

[Reggo]

Being an American, I can say with total confidence that the best wine is Australian. Koonunga Hill shiraz

 

[Danny Boy]

One of my favorites...

Cakebread Cellars

 

[Danny Boy]

And as a U2 fan you have to try:

The Cab is actually really good.

 

[dan_smee]

Can this be a blog about wine in general? Not just American?

BTW, Yellow Tail wine is awesome!

Being an American, I can say with total confidence that the best wine is Australian. Koonunga Hill shiraz

Oh my sweet Jesus! You guys are in for a world of joys.

I don't even know what Australian wines are available in the US! wine.com sells Brokenwood Semillon and Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon, which would be a great place to start for looking at some quintessentially Australian styles or Australian interpretations of styles.

My blog is about Australian wine, and mostly wine from the Hunter Valley and Canberra District. I will add wines from other areas as I explore them, but wanted to know more about American wine in general.

 

[BVS]

Any recommendations?

What are you looking for? Reds, whites, sparkling?

Affordable or no price limit?

Dan, are you trying to go to any wineries while you're here?

Of course Napa and Sonoma in California are probably the most known and best bets, but Oregan has been producing some great wines and getting all kinds of accolades lately.

 

[dan_smee]

oops, double post

 

[dan_smee]

What are you looking for? Reds, whites, sparkling?

Affordable or no price limit?

Dan, are you trying to go to any wineries while you're here?

Of course Napa and Sonoma in California are probably the most known and best bets, but Oregan has been producing some great wines and getting all kinds of accolades lately.

I have no limits on my interests, price or variety. Reds, whites, sparkling - I am actually particularly interested in Ice Wine (although this is mostly Canadian, yes?)- dessert wines get a bad rap, and botrytis styles can have that unpleasant chemically taste if not balanced well

We will be visiting wineries, but I have no idea where to start. We are more likely to get more time in Oregon than California.

 

[BVS]

We will be visiting wineries, but I have no idea where to start. We are more likely to get more time in Oregon than California.

If you do make it to Oregon try A to Z they make a very affordable line of wine, a really good Pinot Noir. They also put out a seasonal blend that is very good.

 

[dan_smee]

Just checked out their website. They look pretty quirky (not a bad thing!).

Will definitely be checking them out, cheers!

 

[BVS]

Just checked out their website. They look pretty quirky (not a bad thing!).

They are, probably one of the reasons I like them so much.

And I'm sure if you follow NBA basketball, but if you do Greg Popovich the coach for the San Antonio Spurs is part owner.

 

[mama cass]

i can only tell you about French wine... the French are pretty snooty about their wine and it's not easy to find non-French wine here in the supermarkets actually, just like many types of international foods, which is incredibly annoying, although i do live in the arse end of nowhere so i guess it's to be expected really...

all i know, when i'm in the supermarket, is i should only buy bottles that say they've been bottled at the chateau and not transported somewhere else and not blended by a cooperative - that's about it lol!!

luckily there's a really really good independent wine seller here who always recommends really nice stuff, for a reasonable price - you just tell her what you're making for dinner and she will find you the perfect bottle of wine...

we're really lucky in that we've got some lovely fairly local wines here too!

plus, the labelling here is still very much "region" based and not "grape" based - i have my preferred regions, but would be completely clueless as to what type of grape is involved lol!! i tend to like Bordeaux wines best i think, have never gone wrong with a nice St Emilion, and a good Chinon is nice too... and we drink Vouvray and Saumur sparkling wines by the GALLON LOL!!!

for sweet dessert wines, my all time fave is the honey coloured Muscat de Beaumes de Venise - little sips of heaven when served chilled on a hot summer's night

 

[Axver]

My blog is about Australian wine, and mostly wine from the Hunter Valley and Canberra District. I will add wines from other areas as I explore them, but wanted to know more about American wine in general.

Have you made much of a foray across the Tasman yet? I presume you are familiar with Central Otago pinot noir (which is divine) and Marlborough sauvignon blanc (which, despite its quality, is so ubiquitous that I'm often sick of it). But the Martinborough region seems poorly known/stocked here, yet practically anything from there is quality - it's hard to go wrong with anything from Ata Rangi, for instance. Though that'll generally cost you. Palliser Estate makes some very good cheaper stuff.

And if you've only tried gewurztraminer from Australia, you're in for a treat with the Kiwi stuff.

 

[dan_smee]

Have you made much of a foray across the Tasman yet? I presume you are familiar with Central Otago pinot noir (which is divine) and Marlborough sauvignon blanc (which, despite its quality, is so ubiquitous that I'm often sick of it). But the Martinborough region seems poorly known/stocked here, yet practically anything from there is quality - it's hard to go wrong with anything from Ata Rangi, for instance. Though that'll generally cost you. Palliser Estate makes some very good cheaper stuff.

And if you've only tried gewurztraminer from Australia, you're in for a treat with the Kiwi stuff.

Not a huge Gewurtz fan. This comes from an experience almost completely in bastardised Autralian Gewurtz. Have had the Stonecroft Hawkes Bay 2008 gewurtz, and was really impressed. This was at a degustation at the Press Club in melbourne, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was matched with.

I'm not a Savvy fan at all. Either way too fruity, and lacking in any real complexity, or it is so dry and 'green' that it masks the fruit.

In terms of whites, being a Hunter boy, it is hard for me to go past straight varietal (unoaked!) Semillon. The aged complexity that you get with lovedale and Vat 1 is unparralelled. Young Sem is also wonderful, so acidic, intensely lemon flavoured, and in good examples, has a wonderful minerality on the back palate. Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon is a real treat.

I am also loving the Canberra Region for Riesling though. If you can get your hands on Nick O'Leary's 2011 Riesling, or the Brindabella Hills 2011 (both around 20 bucks) you are in for a real treat. The intensity of fruit is fantastic, proper green apple tang, ad a nice long dry finish.

Ata Rangi make a demon of a Pinot. There is a Dan Murphy's about 5 minutes walk from my house that has a fair selection of Martinborough wines though.

 

[Reggo]

Oooh. I like lemony things. Can you recommend a good Semillon?

 

[dan_smee]

Anything by Tyrrell's, Brokenwood, Thomas Wines, Audrey Wilkinson, Mount Pleasant, Meerea Park. Just about anything that says Hunter Valley will be good.

If you want Lemony, make sure it is 2010 or 2011.

When they get to 5 to 25 years old they start to develop the aged characteristics of honey and buttered toast.

If you want to try these out, then look for years 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006 as the best vintages still drinkable.

 

[bono_212]

Just popping in to say that every time I see a new post in this thread, I keep reading the title as "Amy Winehouse Snobs Here"

 

[Rachel D.]

I don't know why I'm in this thread; possibly because I'm both fascinated and baffled by the whole wine culture thing. I've had it twice and both times it tasted like a mixture of yeast and Listerine. But whatever floats your boat.

 

[dan_smee]

I don't know why I'm in this thread; possibly because I'm both fascinated and baffled by the whole wine culture thing. I've had it twice and both times it tasted like a mixture of yeast and Listerine. But whatever floats your boat.

Saying 'I've had wine twice and it was shit' is like saying, I ate meat once and I didn't like it. Was it pork, beef, chicken, fish, venison, kangaroo, camel, yadda yadda. How was it cooked?

It really depends on what you were drinking, what variety, what quality. There are literally 100's of variables.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Nice blog, Dan. I see you like tempranillo, have you had one from Samuels Gorge in McLaren Vale? They make quite a nice one. I try to go down there a few times every year.

 

[dan_smee]

Cheers! I haven't, but I will check it out. My favourite is one you can only get mail order, or in boutique shops in King Valley - Piano Piano. The guy who makes it is the head winemaker at Rutherglen Estates, but it is his own label. Well worth it if you can get your hands on it.

Also, if you ever see it the Mount Majura Tempranillo Shiraz Graciano is pretty awesome.

 

[purpleoscar]

I've never had a bad Malbec.

I loved these as well:

Ripe dark fruits on the nose with vanilla oak and a tad of sweet basil. Intensely flavoured with lots of blue berries and some leather, turning into vanilla filled oak finish. This medium-full bodied red was very velvet and ripe.

Cherry goodness pinot noir.

Delicious floral/fruity white wine from Canada. Underrated for such a cheap price.

If you're not on there yet I would check out:

http://www.cellartracker.com/intro.asp
Thousands of tasting notes. After you buy some wine it's a good way to check out what people thought of the wine before you open it or research before entering a store.

Wine Library TV: Gary Vaynerchuk's daily wine video blog
dailygrape.com
This guy is also has hundreds of reviews.

 

[Reggo]

I've heard conflicting things, has anyone ever tried Two-Buck Chuck?

 

[Danny Boy]

I have. It's decent.

Big second on the La Crema Pinot. Delicious.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

my wife and I will be visiting soon.

where all are you guys going?

oh my god i can't believe i just posted in a wine thread

 

[mama cass]

I've never had a bad Malbec.

I loved these as well:

Ripe dark fruits on the nose with vanilla oak and a tad of sweet basil. Intensely flavoured with lots of blue berries and some leather, turning into vanilla filled oak finish. This medium-full bodied red was very velvet and ripe.

the Douro, oh i really want to go there, hopefully sometime soon!

 

[BVS]

Third on the La Crema, actually everything I've had from that winery was good.