Good Red Wines?

[rjwilliams11741]

I still remember the old days when my wine choices were whether I wanted my Ripple to be the red or the white. As a wine lover it's certainly gotten more complicated over the years.

 

[Jim]

We had this with a batch of gourmet chicken wings, med hot, and served on our best paper plates. The wine though, was served in our best wine glasses, and in my opinion it was about what you expect from an inexpensive red wine. ($23.00)

I sure hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, but it didn't have any attributes to write home about. Well, not in my opinion anyway.

 

[RKins]

Stick to the Oregon wines. I was told that the dirt they are planted in make the difference.
I sat beside a guy on a flight one time and he explained he was a professor at a nearby college for 30+ years and then his wife got the "let's move up north" bug. They moved to upper Michigan, bought 100 acres outside Traverse City and after seeing his first tax bill he told his wife that this land needed to start paying for itself. They decided to start a winery. He said he planted 100, 000+ seedlings and got them growing.
Long story short, he has a store front in Traverse City and his best selling wine (and most $$) is his frozen grape wine. They leave the grapes on the vine and when they get their first freeze the harvest begins for that batch.
Getting back to the dirt I told him about the soil in Oregan having a peppery taste and an "earthy taste" - he called BS on that - "you can add certain stuff to make it taste anyway you want".

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

We had this with a batch of gourmet chicken wings, med hot, and served on our best paper plates. The wine though, was served in our best wine glasses, and in my opinion it was about what you expect from an inexpensive red wine. ($23.00)

I sure hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, but it didn't have any attributes to write home about. Well, not in my opinion anyway.

View attachment 16540

That’s a good sign, @Jim; you are learning what you like and what you don’t.

Check your PMs for a reply to your PM.

TJ

 

[Buc]

My wife and I have always picked wines based on the design of the label. We’re not wine connoisseurs, but this tactic has not failed us yet.

 

[Jim]

My wife and I have always picked wines based on the design of the label.

Yeah, me too! lol . . .

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

@Jim, I just looked at the weekly flyer for your Ingles Market (at least the one at 4501 Highway 441 Byp -132 in Franklin) and they had Louis M. Martini Sonoma Cabernet on sale for $16.98 a bottle. That would give you an opportunity to try a decent Cabernet at a reasonable price.

Louis M. Martini is a long-time, major wine producer in the Napa Valley of California. Now, a $16.98 bottle of Cabernet won’t be world class, but coming from Martini, it sure should be representative of a decent Cab.

Oh, and as for a good Pinot Noir from Oregon, here’s one I tried and liked: Product - Beaux Frères Vineyards & Winery. You can order it directly from the winery.

TJ

 

[Jim]

Oh, and as for a good Pinot Noir from Oregon, here’s one I tried and liked: Product - Beaux Frères Vineyards & Winery. You can order it directly from the winery.

TJ

Yep, ordered half a dozen. On second thought, I might just get 5 or 6 of them.

 

[Neal]

I also enjoy Pinot Noir's but I suggest dabble into Merlot's which seem to be a close neighbor in flavor and sweetness.

 

[Rich W.]

Branch out a bit and try Mourvèdre, Grenache, Sirah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cab Franc, and Barbera. There are a lot of good blends, but as mentioned above, they can easily vary from year to year and commonly do not enjoy reliable consistency, so you don’t learn much from the experience other than whether or not you found it enjoyable. Instead, look for estate bottled varietals, in vintages from 3-5 years old for both a reasonable price and a reliable representation of the variety.

The app Vivino is helpful as it describes the characteristics, and has a lot of reviews and going-rate prices. Some of the reviews are just people entertaining themselves with their vast knowledge, but most are legit and its easy to sort them out. You can take a picture of the labled with your phone while shopping and instantly get more un-biased information on the quality and price of a given offering.

Also while sweet wines don’t generally appeal to me, and grocery store port gives dessert wines a bad name, there are some very good ports and “late harvest“ reds made from different varieties that you might enjoy. As a suggestion, look for an estate bottled Dessert Sirah. You might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Jim]

Anyone familiar with Frog's Leap? One of our guests from last year referred this to me, although his budget is probably a bit larger than mine.

 

[Rich W.]

Frogs Leap is a respected and dependable winery. The Rutherford Valley is just North of Napa (within the Napa Valley AVA) and produces some very fine wines.

 

[J&JD]

Anyone familiar with Frog's Leap? One of our guests from last year referred this to me, although his budget is probably a bit larger than mine.

We have tasted there in the past and enjoyed their wines very much.

 

[Jim]

Frogs Leap is a respected and dependable winery. The Rutherford Valley is just North of Napa (within the Napa Valley AVA) and produces some very fine wines.

We have tasted there in the past and enjoyed their wines very much.

Well Awesome! Looks like I now have a new winery to follow.

 

[J&JD]

lol, yes, I guess I am. Do you know anything about this one?

Wines | Siduri Wines

www.siduri.com

The big problem in my area is we have no place to buy wine except at the local grocery store. Ingles does a good job of stocking their wine selection, but still, it would be nice to go to go somewhere that specialized in wine sales.

You might want to give the Walt wine club a try. You can get as little as 2 bottles of Pinot Noir sent to you a few times a year, and you can cancel at any time. Consistently good wine. Judy D

 

[Jim]

We had this with a batch of gourmet chicken wings, med hot, and served on our best paper plates. The wine though, was served in our best wine glasses, and in my opinion it was about what you expect from an inexpensive red wine. ($23.00)

I sure hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, but it didn't have any attributes to write home about. Well, not in my opinion anyway.

I'm have to update my previous review. I went back and had another glass of this and I'm liking it much more than the first night. Probably need to get another one and see how it goes!

 

[J&JD]

Try this inexpensive wine if you can find it. Seriously good for the $.

One Stop Wine Shop - Best Selling Online Wines

One Stop Wine Shop is the premier online shopping destination for red, white, rosé and sparkling wines delivered straight to your door.

www.onestopwineshop.com

 

[sheridany]

Anyone familiar with Frog's Leap?

One of the better wineries in the Napa Valley. I also like Failla and one of my better favorites is Turley.

Failla Wines

www.faillawines.com

Turley Wine Cellars

The one and only Turley. While you can't taste wines on our website, you can certainly get closer to doing so.

www.turleywinecellars.com

 

[Rich W.]

Since we’re on the subject of favorites:

Home - Truchard Vineyards

truchardvineyards.com

also:

The Terraces

A family-owned, estate vineyard and winery in the Napa Valley’s Rutherford AVA.

www.terraceswine.com

Both family run, estate vineyards, both have reasonably priced wines for Napa Valley. Also both are well worth a tour if you are in the area.

 

[Rich W.]

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not typically a big fan of sweet wines, but this is something my local winery (Naggiar Vineyards & Winery | Grass Valley California) really got right. Thinking about this thread, I opened a bottle. We grow Petit Sirah and Petit Verdot for Naggiar.