[LordOpie]

...must drink a $hitload of wine.

vendors often have free training session to educate and give samples to staffers on the wines they sell.

At a big enough liquor store, you might even be talking to the vendor representative themselves. They work the store(s) that sell their products the most to sell to the stores clients

 

[berkshire_rider]

This place is pretty big - about the size of a small grocery store. He's always there, but has the liquor stores name tag on. He definitely seems to be the, or one of the store's wine experts.

This place is always having tastings. Sometimes more than one on Friday's. This week they had a Chianti, Merlot, and Cab. from someone I have never heard of, but I did try them anyway. I would have bought a Merlot, if I didn't allready have three other bottles picked out.

 

[SkaredShtles]

advice by liquor store staff?

Yeah. Some do. But I tend to be a bit skeptical of the motives of someone who works there.

Although Mondo Vino is an exception to this. That wine shop kicks a$$!

 

[berkshire_rider]

Let us know how you like that Casillero del Diablo.

Good stuff.

 

[laura]

I definitely buy by the numbers. I don't have the money or inclination to simply go out on a limb every time I go in the liquor store. I *will* go on a recommendation before a rating, though.

numbers schmumbers.

I "go out on a limb" every time i go to the liquor store. I act similarly to a divining rod. I walk in, wander for a second, pick up a bottle of decently priced whatever, and get it. (I find some of the best wines too, i might add) TN likes to browse and read labels and compare. While I've never really been into gambling, I think this may be my way of getting my fix. To date, I have only picked one bad bottle of wine and its because we were on a mission for a magnum, a very cheap magnum, and it sucked. go figure.

 

[SkaredShtles]

numbers schmumbers.

I "go out on a limb" every time i go to the liquor store.

Like I said, I don't have the money or inclination to do it........

 

[TN]

Best $8 Pinot money can buy. Usually you get what you pay for with Pinot but this is not the case here.

A damn good Shiraz for $8. Those Aussie's do a mighty fine job with this grape.

I wont bore you with tasting notes but if you are curios click my sig.

 

[N8 v2.0]

A damn good Shiraz for $8. Those Aussie's do a mighty fine job with this grape.

I wont bore you with tasting notes but if you are curios click my sig.

Yes! That is a good one.

 

[spincrazy]

back to the thread....the old standards for good cheap wine for me are Guigal's cote du rhone, and wolf blass green label shiraz. it used to also include ravenswood's vintners blend of zin, but tasting Ridge made me realize what a fairly crappy wine that really is. their shiraz (aussie-sourced) isn't too bad.

Sometimes I think we were separated at birth.....

I still like the Vitners Blend of Ravenswood and their reserve pretty well, just not so much the last couple of years.

Ridge has for so many years made excellent, excellent zinfandel. I recently had a bottle of the Ridge Geyserville (normally get the Lytton Springs), don't recall the vintage, and it was also very good - more like a cab in some ways.

Lytton Springs

Lytton Springs bottlings are generally perceived as quintessential zinfandel, which is true, as far as it goes. On the Ridge Lytton Estate (East), zinfandel grows atop seven hills; petite sirah surrounds the zin on six, grenache on the seventh — an unusual configuration. There is some interplanting. Lytton Estate (West) is a magnificent hodgepodge of grapes, including more zinfandel, which seems so at home here. The wines are classic Dry Creek Valley. They show the potent, ripe boysenberry and blackberry of old-vine Sonoma zinfandel, notes of leaf and briar, and the intricacy of multiple varietals. Acid and tannin are firm, yet not overwhelming; in youth, at least, fruit predominates. These balanced, powerful zins become more nuanced with age.

 

[narlus]

spincrazy, have you had the Ponzo bottling from Ridge? it's delicious, and a bit of a departure for them in that it's almost all zinfandel. something like 96%; usually Draper throws in some mataro, carigagne (sp?), petite verdot, and the like.

i wanna search around for some more. sadly, all my '97 and '98 Geyservilles are gone. i killed the last '97 last september.

 

[narlus]

sampled some of the wine which i bought for my wife's book club. both of these bottles were in the $10-12 range.

the armida merlot ('98) was pretty good; when i had it, it was still fairly cold (it was in the garage), so i didn't get a full view of it, but i'd buy it again. definitely worth a tenner.

sterling pinot noir (vintner's collection, ooh!) was the other wine. this was i think $12 a bottle, which is a very good price i think for a decent PN.

the wine had nice berry overtones, but it was a little hot; i didn't see the alcohol content on the bottle (website says Alcohol: 13.5%) but that was my main complaint. it had been sitting out for a few hours, so maybe a bit more chill would have helped it.

 

[spincrazy]

spincrazy, have you had the Ponzo bottling from Ridge? it's delicious, and a bit of a departure for them in that it's almost all zinfandel. something like 96%; usually Draper throws in some mataro, carigagne (sp?), petite verdot, and the like.

i wanna search around for some more. sadly, all my '97 and '98 Geyservilles are gone. i killed the last '97 last september.

Nope, but I will hunt some down now. My wine shop has a buttload of the 97 Geyserville and two other vineyards still. Sounds like I would really like it. I tend to like high concentrations of one grape. I've been known to drink Cabernet Franc and other 'mixing' grapes pretty much undiluted.

Across the board, Sterling makes some nice wines.

Nobody is really talking whites here, how come? Check out the Alsation Pinot Gris from Trimbach

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
Nobody is really talking whites here, how come? Check out the Alsation Pinot Gris from Trimbach

Because real men drink red.

Kid. I'm kidding. I'm a kidder!

 

[berkshire_rider]

Nobody is really talking whites here, how come? Check out the Alsation Pinot Gris from Trimbach

Because this is "The Inexpensive Red Wine Thread"

 

[SkaredShtles]

Because this is "The Inexpensive Red Wine Thread"

Good point.

 

[TN]

Another Pinot under $10. I liked the Trapiche better. It was more complex. The Castle Rock is still good though.

 

[OGRipper]

^^^ cool pic.

When it comes to cheap red wine, half the fun is in tasting lots of different stuff. For me it's like food and cooking: trying different stuff is always good and if it doesn't work out, you had the experience and hey, you will eat and drink again - most likely well within 24 hours!

 

[Silver]

Good stuff.

Agreed. And in my fairly limited palate when it comes to wines usually doesn't like Cabs that much...

 

[berkshire_rider]

I saw it at Trader Joe's last week for $8 a bottle. About $3 a bottle cheaper then the normal Massachusetts packie store.

 

[berkshire_rider]

Went into the liquor store tonight expecting to just pick up one decent Chianti Classico Riserva, but it's a store I don't usually go to, and they had almost no Italian Red. Instead, I decided to continue the inexpensive red wine journey, and I picked up 3 new to me Aussie Merlot's. Grand total for all three bottles - $25.00, hope they are decent. Pretty sure the Penfold's will be as I have had their Cab.

 

[TN]

Went into the liquor store tonight expecting to just pick up one decent Chianti Classico Riserva, but it's a store I don't usually go to, and they had almost no Italian Red. Instead, I decided to continue the inexpensive red wine journey, and I picked up 3 new to me Aussie Merlot's. Grand total for all three bottles - $25.00, hope they are decent. Pretty sure the Penfold's will be as I have had their Cab.

Let us know how they stack up. We had a Jindalee Merlot earlier this week. I think I will pass on that one next time.

 

[TN]

^^^ cool pic.

Thanks.

Here are some of my recent picks.

Get this if you see it. It is $11 & tastes like a much more expensive wine. Big & luscious. I picked up a bottle of their falgship wine..Three Vineyards Red. It is a left bank Bordeaux style blend of Cab, Merlot, a touch of Cab Franc. I am now drooling on my keyboard.

Very nice. Excellent value. I got a bottle of their Petite Syrah that is supposed to be their signature grape. I cant wait to try it.

Dancing Bull Zin. Awesome $10 Zin.

 

[narlus]

TN, that last photo is really nice. i like the lighting a lot. did you do any photoshopping to that?

 

[TN]

TN, that last photo is really nice. i like the lighting a lot. did you do any photoshopping to that?

Thanks.
No PS. I got one of those compact fluorescent bulbs in one of our lamp & it puts off some nice warm light (especially for a fluorescent) & the shade makes it spill onto the wall with a cool little effect.

 

[TN]

TN, that last photo is really nice. i like the lighting a lot. did you do any photoshopping to that?

I just uncorked a Ridge Zin (Three Valleys) I got from your recommendation. It is not a cheap red @ $20, so I might have to put it in that other thread. So far it is rocking my world. It is rich & vibrant with lots of cocoa & burnt coffee & tons peppery spice. Good call!

 

[narlus]

sweet, glad you took the plunge into the Ridge world...they are not inexpensive wines, but are really a good value...they are (imo) not overpriced and always of excellent quality.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Had an excellent Rioja at a local restaurant this weekend:

Bodegas Ramon Bilbao Tempranillo Limited Edition Rioja

Get some if you get a chance.

 

[TN]

our recent picks...

Nice straightforward Rioja, nice & rich.

Very excellent, blend of Bordeaux grapes.

good fruit forward, zin.

more later, dinner is ON!