Good Red Wines?

[Jim]

It’s a bit late in life, but now that I’m a Class A luxury coach owner, I feel a bit of culture is in order. So I asked my friend Jim (@TJ&LadyDi) for some help picking out an good, yet not overly expensive, red wine that can be enjoyed with friends.

He suggested I look for a Pinot Noir, as it can be reasonably priced and a good choice for the occasion. As luck would have it, a quick search on this site for “wine”, also brought up the same recommendation by @J&JD. So today, while browsing the wine sector of our local Ingles grocery store, I stumbled upon this bottle of Pinot Noir.

It was completely misplaced and must have been randomly put back on the shelf by a shopper who had second thoughts about the purchase. But I saw it as a good omen, and it quickly found a place in my basket.

We just opened the bottle and it’s really quite nice. It’s been aged 75 days in a brandy barrel and according to the label, it has a “Lush and Jammy with salted caramel note.” Which I can attest to! I know nothing about the winery, but the wine seems like a nice “first step” in my education of enjoyable red wines.

Please feel free to add your favorite wines to this thread. The more culture, the better, right? lol

 

[sheridany]

You are going to regret you ever heard of me. I can run up a very nice bill for you. California produces wonderful red wines but so does Oregon ( more whites) and Washington but Argentina and Spain produce very formidable reds at a reasonable price. Can I get that RTN and account number please? JK. Are you more a Cabernet and Zin drinker (heavy tannins and a strong finish) or do you prefer softer Pinot noir type wines. Recommendations can be provided. Better yet, why not set the gps on that LADP heading west towards us and I can promise damage to your wallet and liver. We could do a rv wine tour and pack that LADP full of wine cases to take home.

 

[Jim]

Better yet, why not set the gps on that LADP heading west towards us and I can promise damage to your wallet and liver. We could do a rv wine tour and pack that LADP full of wine cases to take home.

Lord, I'd love to Sheridany. But the GPS I'm using had me going in circles on the way to NIRVC yesterday, so its unlikely it would ever successfully guide me all the way to Calif.

But I'm open to receiving care packages via UPS.

 

[sheridany]

Lord, I'd love to Sheridany. But the GPS I'm using had me going in circles on the way to NIRVC yesterday, so its unlikely it would ever successfully guide me all the way to Calif.

Not to worry. @Neal has got your back as he will be leading his winter wonderland caravan tour so tag along but remind him that’s there’s snow only in certain parts of CA. He might not be aware of that minor fact.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

It’s a bit late in life, but now that I’m a Class A luxury coach owner, I feel a bit of culture is in order. So I asked my friend Jim (@TJ&LadyDi) for some help picking out an good, yet not overly expensive, red wine that can be enjoyed with friends.

He suggested I look for a Pinot Noir, as it can be reasonably priced and a good choice for the occasion. As luck would have it, a quick search on this site for “wine”, also brought up the same recommendation by @J&JD. So today, while browsing the wine sector of our local Ingles grocery store, I stumbled upon this bottle of Pinot Noir.

It was completely misplaced and must have been randomly put back on the shelf by a shopper who had second thoughts about the purchase. But I saw it as a good omen, and it quickly found a place in my basket.

We just opened the bottle and it’s really quite nice. It’s been aged 75 days in a brandy barrel and according to the label, it has a “Lush and Jammy with salted caramel note.” Which I can attest to! I know nothing about the winery, but the wine seems like a nice “first step” in my education of enjoyable red wines.

Please feel free to add your favorite wines to this thread. The more culture, the better, right? lol


View attachment 16413

Hi, Jim.

Your Cooper & Thief Pinot Noir is actually from a small coastal California winery (Meiomi Wines) that was recently purchased by a large wine reseller, Constellation Brands, The actual wine is a blend of Pinot Noir grapes from several coastal California growing regions.

The pros are that it is modestly priced and can be a decent vintage. The cons are that there will probably be a wide quality variation in each vintage because the operation buys grapes or grape juice on the open market rather than grow their own. Additionally, when a large reseller controls production and branding, you can’t be sure of future availability or quality.

Glad you liked what you found, Oregon produces some nice Pinot Noirs and you might see if you can find one from Erath Cellars or Willamette Valley Vineyards, They should be in the $20 a bottle price range and are pretty consistently good. YMMV

TJ

 

[J&JD]

Pinot Noir is by far our favorite wine as it compliments virtually every meal. California and Oregon make, in our opinion, the best of the best Pino‘s. We could give you a list of our favorites but it is so subjective. Go on line and pick 10 of the suggested best and enjoy the experience of trying our countries wonderful bounty of goodness.

 

[Headhunter]

Hi Jim:

One of my favorites Red Wines for years is Louis Jadot beaujolais. I am a sucker for French wines. It is a fresh wine and usually is one or two years old. It won't break the bank, usually around $18 to $20 bucks a bottle. The magnum bottles are usually around $45.00 to $50.00 Open it up and let it breathe for five minutes or more.

I also like Italian Red Wine...LOL For family gatherings Furtissomo is hard to beat, It's about $21.00 for less than a liter jug.

Cheers.........

HH

 

[RKins]

Wherever we travel in the states I like to look for wineries. What I have found is that there are more (as @TJ&LadyDi mentioned) resellers that go buy a 100+ gal tank of wine from their supply chain and bottle it themselves, with their own labels. Some buy several tanks and blend them and others bottle the pure juice of fruit juice they bought, like blueberry, raspberry, etc.
@Jim If you have a Total Wine and Spirit store near you, they have 2 aisles dedicated just to Pinot Noirs. I started at one end and stated browsing and buying, never making it to the end of one aisle. One common theme was Willamette Valley Oregon seems to be a place where the better tasting Pinot Noir comes from.

​

 

[JRS]

Prior to full timing a retail liquor store used to post Wine Spectator Ratings on many of the wines he sold. IMHO anything rated 90 and above will be a good bottle.

Wine Ratings

Need help figuring out which wine to buy? Here are 390,000+ expert reviews—tasting notes, score, price and when to drink. Plus, Top 100 Wines of the Year, best values, vintage charts, exclusive editors' picks and in-depth tasting reports by region.

www.winespectator.com

 

[Magua]

We like Pinot Noir’s more than any other red wine. Sidiri Wines have been consistently the best wines we have tasted. We finally joined their club in order to “sample” the different regions they offer. BUT… we also try different red wines at the wineries we visit in Texas and Washington. Some good, some not so good.

 

[Jim]

Bought several new wines to try.

• Pinot Noir (2019) from NAPA cellars,
• Robert Mondavi Private Selection (2019), Red Blend, RYE barrel aged Calif wine,
• and Rainstorm, Pinot Noir Rose (2020) from Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Picked up a couple of "fruity" wines as well, but from the first tasting, I can tell you that they're way to sweet and will probably spend most of their remaining life, untouched in the refrigerator. In the back. Behind the milk. Maybe even further back than that.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

You are really getting into the “wine thing,” aren’t you? Interesting Pinot Noir choices; I am personally familiar with both NAPA Cellars and Robert Mondavi wines. Don’t know anything about Rainstorm, but the Willamette Valley produces some nice Pinot Noirs.

My dad was involved in the startup of the NAPA Wine Company many years ago. It has been through several owners since then.

And, he was Cellar Master at Charles Krug Winery when brothers Robert and Peter Mondavi owned it. When Robert split with his brother and formed Robert Mondavi Winery, my dad left Charles Krug and moved to Wente Brothers Winery in Livermore, California; again as Cellar Master.

One piece of advice; the “best“ wines are the ones you enjoy. Now, if you enjoy experimenting, then just enjoy the process. You’ll find some wines you like and some you don’t. Let YOUR palate be the judge.

TJ

 

[Jim]

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

TJ

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.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

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.

No, I am not familiar with Siduri wines. From a quick web search, it appears to be a relatively small, specialty operation. Some of them are great; some of them not.

There is also an online alternative. I have used this one a couple of times and have had good results. Wine online from Saratoga Wine Exchange

There are several other reputable online wine sellers.

TJ

 

[J&JD]

Bought several new wines to try.

• Pinot Noir (2019) from NAPA cellars,
• Robert Mondavi Private Selection (2019), Red Blend, RYE barrel aged Calif wine,
• and Rainstorm, Pinot Noir Rose (2020) from Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Picked up a couple of "fruity" wines as well, but from the first tasting, I can tell you that they're way to sweet and will probably spend most of their remaining life, untouched in the refrigerator. In the back. Behind the milk. Maybe even further back than that.

The good Pinot Noirs are produced from grapes grown closer to the coast. They do not like the heat of the Napa area. Napa vintners source their Pinot grapes from cooler areas normally. Look for wines that are produced from more coastal areas such as Sonoma, Russian River, and the central coast of Ca. Hope you are not too far from a Total Wine store. Great place to stock up. Judy D

 

[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