Good Red Wines?

[Jim]

You are really getting into the “wine thing,” aren’t you?

TJ

Made another run through the wine section today. The cashiers are whispering about my alcohol problem. There’s talk of an intervention.

Pro tip, you can get 2 bottles of Ripple for the cost of one Pino Noir.

 

[J&JD]

Ripple & Thunderbird, it Just doesn’t get any better.

 

[TheLooks]

Someone has to do it.....Boones Farm, MD 2020, 4 Roses, and a shout out to my long dead aunt, Bali Hi....or was that Hai? Been a long long time.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Ripple & Thunderbird, it Just doesn’t get any better.

Wow! The price of Ripple has really gone up! You used to be able to get 7-8 bottles of Ripple for the price of a bottle of Pinot Noir.

 

[NWIP]

My introduction into wines at a very young age (less than legal) was Ripple and Boones Farm which explains why I drink beer

 

[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.