Wine!

[Avatar]

Wine...it's amazing stuff. You never know what's gonna happen until you open the bottle.

Dunno if I've mentioned, but my late uncles place, (my temporary home right now) includes a once incredibly stocked wine cellar. Several years ago, while he was out of the country, something horrible happened to the refrigeration equipment, and nobody noticed until he was home. As a result, most of the wine turned, and 8 out of every 10 bottles get poured down the sink.

As you can imagine, it is much depleted now...but tonight, desperate for some decent red wine, I picked 3 bottles to test.

The first, a '93 merlot, went down the drain. The second was a '95 Nederburg Paarl Cabernet Sauvingnon. Once I peeled off the foil I despaired...the top of the cork was black and unpleasant looking. Certain that it would follow the first, I nonetheless pulled the cork.

The bouquet was not inspiring at first, but I poured a glass to check the colour...it looked good...I dared to sample it...

Damn...rich, smooth, velvety, fruity...one of the best wines it's been my pleasure to drink this year. The last glass of it is in front of me now as I digest my roast potatoes, butternut, gemsquash and rump steak, followed by dark cranberry chocolate.

Just goes to show...you never can tell...wonder if any of the remaining magnums are drinkable...

--A

[stonemaybe]

Dunno if I've mentioned, but my late uncles place, (my temporary home right now) includes a once incredibly stocked wine cellar. Several years ago, while he was out of the country, something horrible happened to the refrigeration equipment, and nobody noticed until he was home. As a result, most of the wine turned, and 8 out of every 10 bottles get poured down the sink.

Was he ever the same after?

[Avatar]

Ah, it didn't seem to bother him, but I swear I have deep emotional scars from having to pour 20-yr old bottles of wine down the drain. *sigh*

--A

[Wyldewode]

Heh. . . the oldest bottle on my wine rack is a 4 year old Chilean. I don't really buy wine for an investment. . . yet. Mostly I drink local wines. I can buy a bottle of good wine for the cost of a glass at a restaurant. Maybe when my income improves my wine horizons will broaden.

[Avatar]

Don't see the point of buying for investment. Buy it to drink it says I. The instant you pull that cork, the investment is gone anyway.

--A

[Wyldewode]

Well, I meant that buying wine so that it can age and improve while on my wine rack. I've had the chilean wine for over a year now. . . more because it's costlier than I'd drink on a regular night after work. I guess I'm looking for an ocassion to open it.

[Avatar]

Couple years are fine, (not that I bother, mostly because I don't buy enough to have it left over usually), but when you're heading into the decade's, it's often even money whether it's wine or vinegar anyway. Even with good care. Drink it while it's good.

--A

[Menolly]

Hyperception's step-father recommends Italian Barolo for both aging and drinking now. He also doesn't recommend longer than five years for aging, for the reasons Av states.

I have yet to ever try any. But, I look forward to the day I get to do so...

[stonemaybe]

We had fun last night playing a novice's wine tasting game. Here's how it goes. Three couples, each couple brings two bottles of wine, one costing under £5, one over £5. You taste the wine, and have to guess the following... Descriptive words that might be found on the label (one point for each), whether it was over or under £5 (5 points if correct), country of origin (5 if correct, 3 if your guess borders the right country, 1 if on right continent), area of country (5 if correct), type of grape (5 if correct), and vintage (5 if correct, 3 if you're one out, 1 point if you're 2 out).

All in all, a very fun game. Good company helped of course! Make sure you don't have o do anything the following day though!

[Vader]

Hyperception's step-father recommends Italian Barolo for both aging and drinking now. He also doesn't recommend longer than five years for aging, for the reasons Av states.

I have yet to ever try any. But, I look forward to the day I get to do so...

First of all Hyperception's step-father seems to have an exquisite taste. Second, considering the fact that a Barolo already has to age 2 years in a barrel and at least 1 year in the bottle before it can be sold, it's already more aged than most wines you can buy.

In former days, however, Barolo had a hell of lot more tannins and thus the wine had to age longer before it was drinkable.

I myself simply love Italian wines - especially from Tuscany like Brunello di Montalcino (equal to its Piemontese brother Barolo) or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

However, I recently discovered Southern Italy - strong rich wines, yet fruity and full of sun, nice acid balance, just the right amount of tannins and - best of all - still relatively cheap. Nero d'Avola (Sicily) and Salice Salentino (Puglia) are two wines to mention.

[Menolly]

Are all of these reds, Vader?

[Vader]

Are all of these reds, Vader?

Yes. If you want a great Italian white go for a Gavi di Gavi (like Barolo a wine from the Piemont region). There are also some decent Soave (be sure to get those labelled "Classico") but mainly Soave is an industry wine. Same with Pino Grigio (both mainly from the Veneto region).

You might also want to check the sparkling stuff like Prosecco ore Asti.

If it comes to whites I usually prefer German Rieslings (they stopped being sweet here years ago vastly improving th ewine image of my country) or French Sancerres (Loire valley) - good summer wines and perfect companion for anything fish or seadfood.

[Menolly]

*nodding*

Our favorite whites are German Rieslings as well.
I'll ask Hyperception for the vintner he prefers.
It's been years since we had one; I think his favorite vintage was one from the 1970s.

As far as the Italian reds, any particular recommendation for lamb? I'm thinking of fixing a crown roast of lamb for my birthday dinner in a few weeks...

The guys aren't as much fans of lamb as I am, but heck, it's going to be my birthday dinner.

[Vader]

I would say it depends on the seasoning, herbs, sidedishes and so on. However, one thing is clear: you are looking for a strong wine, full body with lots of tannins - the afrementioned Barolo would certianly be the perfect choice for lamb.

If you like it less strong (and a not quite as expensive) a good Chianti Classico Gallo Nero (maybe even as Riserva) would do as well - Or even a rich Nero d'Avola.

Barbaresco, Bardolino or Valpolicella would be okay as well, though actually not my "cup of tea".

As a rule of thumb I would try to find out where exactly the recipe comes from and then try a wine from that region.

[Menolly]

As a rule of thumb I would try to find out where exactly the recipe comes from and then try a wine from that region.

Thanks,Vader.
I pretty much season my crown roast on my own, using kosher sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and fresh rosemary. No real region to refer to for reference.

[Vader]

As a rule of thumb I would try to find out where exactly the recipe comes from and then try a wine from that region.

Thanks,Vader.
I pretty much season my crown roast on my own, using kosher sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and fresh rosemary. No real region to refer to for reference.

Barolo.

I could imagine a nice Saint Émillion Bordeaux or a good Côte d'Or Burgundry from France as well.

I am no expert in oversea wines, but a strong red Argentinian or Chilean red would work also is great for lamb.

Maybe Avatar can recommend a good South African "Burgundry" for lamb?

Choices, choices, choices - in the end it's up to personal taste anyway and today even in the wine world some experts promote some sort of "anything goes".

Another rule of thumb - always use the wine for cooking that you are going to drink with it (or vice versa never put wine into your food you wouldn't want to drink).

[Menolly]

Thank you so much!

[stonemaybe]

Vader wrote:

French Sancerres (Loire valley)

I'm with you on that one!

[Avatar]

Are all of these reds, Vader?

The first duty of a wine is to be red.

A full-bodied Pinotage would be quite good probably. Anyway, wine/food matching conventions are being shattered around the world, as people realise that experimentation yields remarkable results.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of italian wines...I tend to find them a bit rough. That said, I'll not turn down the opportunity to broaden my horizons either.

--A

[Vader]

Are all of these reds, Vader?

The first duty of a wine is to be red.

A full-bodied Pinotage would be quite good probably. Anyway, wine/food matching conventions are being shattered around the world, as people realise that experimentation yields remarkable results.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of italian wines...I tend to find them a bit rough. That said, I'll not turn down the opportunity to broaden my horizons either.

--A

Maybe it's that roughness in the wines I enjoy and that I lack in oversea (for me oversea) wines. :p

However, compared to the great French Bordeauxs with tastes like tabacco, ceder or whatnot Italian wines are rather smooth.