Wine! All things wine

[trew]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Another question - has anyone been able to find Bevan Cellars wines in Calgary? J Webb and Co-Op can't get it. Have not tried Willow Park yet. Had their Pentaluma Gap Pinot Noir in Vegas - $87 USD at a liquor store and took it to B & B for dinner - it was incredible. On Vivino, their wines have massive ratings.

It's probably off the market, but if you want to know for sure, here's the page for the agent:

http://www.liquorconnect.com/Agents/...-30067400.aspx

Most agents don't mind if consumers call them about their wines, and they can some times tell you what stores have the last few bottles of a product.

With that said, Petaluma Gap is a sub-AVA of the Sonoma Coast, which pretty consistently makes great Pinot. Something from there might strike your fancy.

[Johnny Makarov]

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as I would go US-Chile-Italy-Ausralia-Canada-etc. I personally cannot stand French wine for the most part, even the very expensive, but I love California wines. Canada wines are generally overpriced, but there are some gems.

I actually should have made it by grape, because it really all depends. When it comes to California for instance, I generally find they do the best Cab Sauv, but that Merlot's and Pinot's are not nearly as good as other regions. I personally am a Malbec Shiraz/Syrah kind of person, and of course South America and Australia are the best for those. I also left out New Zealand for whites, they have some of the best whites for sure.

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

We usually get Apothic red/dark/whatever other red one they come out with. It's probably the Budweiser of wines but it's tasty and goes down easy once the kids are asleep. Also indirectly responsible for our second child.

It's not the Budweiser of wines, it's definitely better than that. Maybe the MGD of wines? Either way it is great value, maybe a touch too sweet for my liking but a mild complaint. If anyone shows up to a dinner with a bottle of Prop Reserve or Copper Moon instead, scold them.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I like my wine's by the box.

The quality of boxed wines available now is so much higher than it was even 10 years ago. Yeah there's still crap like Franzia and Hochtaler (sorry mom), but there's some good one's like Black Box Cab Sauv (CA) and Banrock Shiraz (AUS).

[Senator Clay Davis]

I'll also add that if you like to drink wine a decent amount, buying an aerator is definitely worth it. When I worked in a liquor store a few years ago we had a sommelier who worked there and he was the one who showed me the light on that one. Definitely makes for a smoother drink and it's easier to pick out the flavors.

[BigRed]

Originally Posted by Robbob

I picked up a bottle of Masi Amarone at costco and noticed it's 20 bucks cheaper there than at other liquor stores.

20 bucks? Buy 100 and I'll buy 50 from you! What did you pay?


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[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

zyn.ca has it, as well as their Reserve Amarone. Where else do you buy it?

I usually buy it from Co-op although they we out of stock the last time I was at Dalhousie. Superstore also carries it and puts it on sale from time to time. My Italian friend turned me on to the Zenato Amarone but based on this thread I'm going to try the Masi I have downstairs a try.

I saw a 1 Litre Masi Amarone today at Zyn downtown. Might have to pick that up for the Oilers game Saturday.

We should really stop talking about Amarone in general. The word is going to get out and the Apothic crowd will start buying up our supply.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by trew

It's probably off the market, but if you want to know for sure, here's the page for the agent:

http://www.liquorconnect.com/Agents/...-30067400.aspx

Most agents don't mind if consumers call them about their wines, and they can some times tell you what stores have the last few bottles of a product.

With that said, Petaluma Gap is a sub-AVA of the Sonoma Coast, which pretty consistently makes great Pinot. Something from there might strike your fancy.

Thanks. I have had some of those.

[station]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Best of luck on your forty acres. That would be a massive vineyard. I also really like your area. Larch Hills is great. Their Mad Angie is the best. There are a few others too.

I love love love Foreign Affair winery in Ontario. If you like heavy duty "punch in the mouth" reds, you'll love their passimiento (sp?) style of wine making. It requires about ten times as many grapes and it shows. It's super dense and rich. I think the spread it out in blends too. The 100% passimiento is about quite expensive. Most definitely worth a try if not just for the unique style.

Thank you! Definitely won't do all forty, that would be huge. We'll probably start with 2-3 acres in 2019 (after a year of establishing a better cover crop) and then work up to maybe 10-15 acres over time.

Larch Hills is great too! Most of the wineries around here produce somewhat unique varieties (ones commonly grown in Germany and Austria) due to most of them being around and on the mountains. We're in a bit of a hotter and drier micro-climate on a bench over the lake with long afternoon sun exposure so I'm hoping it'll work to grow more common and traditional varieties.

Thanks for the tip on Foreign Affair I'll check it out for sure. I've not heard of that process so I'll ask my friends at the winery what that's about.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Just bring it in and set it on the table when they seat you. The waiter will take it from there. If it's a heavier red, ask to have it decanted if the waiter doesn't volunteer.
The other thing is glasses - having the appropriate wine glass affects the taste. So for pinot noir you want the big bulging glass with a narrower opening, and you don't decant pinot. For pretty much every other red you can use the standard bordeaux red glass. The finer establishments/experienced waiters will know this, but others you have to ask. Sounds super pretentious , but it actually makes a difference to the taste and smell.

Actually, the glass makes pretty much no difference to flavour. Controlled, blindfolded experiments have shown that drinking out of a jar is just as good as drinking out of an expensive riedel glass and the like. Having a slight inward slope of the container helps to capture aromas, but beyond that it's all marketing.

The thing is that the experience of flavour is all in your head. Just as being told that a wine is more expensive results in perception of better flavour, so too does the expectations created by myths about glass shape. Our perceptions are just easily manipulated through priming.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by station

Great thread! The North Okanagan / Shuswap is an emerging wine region and we have a half a dozen small but mostly quality wineries here. Someone mentioned Edge of the Earth already. Celista Cuvée is a nice semi-sweet, fruity white and my friends at Marionette Winery make a really nice dry Riesling and a full-bodied Pulcinella that's a great pairing for Italian food. I've had the chance to participate in both their pressing and bottling processes and it was amazing.

Also since I'm sitting on nearly 40 southwest facing acres here I've started the process of planting a vineyard. So far I have a test vineyard with around 25 vines each in 6 varietals - 4 whites and 2 reds. The success of these will determine which varietals will make the cut for the full plantation.

Here are year one grapes on our Sauvignon Blanc vines!

This is awesome. Good luck with it!

Out of curiosity, how are you planning for future climate change with your current plantings? I've often thought about investing in potential vineyard lands in BC in areas that are not currently ideal but are forecast to become suitable vineyard land with continued climate change.

The northern Okanagan and Shuwswap area is a good example of that, but as such an area in transition do you give much thought to the appropriateness of current varietal selection for how vineyard conditions may change 15 years from now?

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by station

We're in a bit of a hotter and drier micro-climate on a bench over the lake with long afternoon sun exposure so I'm hoping it'll work to grow more common and traditional varieties.

Thanks for the tip on Foreign Affair I'll check it out for sure. I've not heard of that process so I'll ask my friends at the winery what that's about.

That's going to be just amazing. Are you at a higher elevation than the average Kelowna vineyard? Yours might be a really cool and interesting twist on old world grapes. Are you going to make wine too or just sell grapes?

Here's the biz on appassimento wine making at Foreign Affair...

The process of making an appassimento wine means that at harvest the grape bunches are placed on racks for drying for two to six months. That allows some of the water to evaporate which produces a more dense, concentrated juice. All the grapes go through this appassimento process and are then crushed and fermented. The entire ‘slow wine making process’ is very labour intensive and significantly reduces the yield. This means that the best quality and more grapes are required to produce a bottle of appassimento wine. The final outcome produces more concentrated flavours and deep intense colour.

[JohnnyB]

Appassimento is used in Amarone as well, which is a great representation of what you can do with somewhat dried grapes. So much intensity.

[DFO]

Looks like a bunch of Amarone fans here. Not my go to but I've got a few 2010 Masi Costasera that I'll get at in a few years. In the mean time I like Tedeschi's Corasco Appassimento (~$24) and Mayu Appassimento ($32). The Mayu is a Carmenere from Chile.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I also left out New Zealand for whites, they have some of the best whites for sure.

Yeah Kiwi's make the best whites (bonus... they're very reasonably priced). Can't go wrong with a NZ Sauv Blanc. My go to white at the moment is a NZ Blanc de Noir.

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Appassimento is used in Amarone as well, which is a great representation of what you can do with somewhat dried grapes. So much intensity.

If folk want to try some Appassimento wines outside of the Valpolicella blends I have some recommendations...

Argentinian Malbec: http://www.liquorconnect.com/Product...spx?SKU=742383
Sicilian Cab Sauv/Nero D'Avola: http://www.liquorconnect.com/Product...spx?SKU=774482
Lombardian Nebbiolo: http://www.liquorconnect.com/Product...spx?SKU=732840

[OMG!WTF!]

Anyone know of a wine delivery service in Toronto? I just need a bottle on a door step by Friday. I don't really like the online ones. Would much prefer to talk to some nice Torontonian with a good selection of bub.

Speaking of good wine selections in Toronto...those poor people have it rough. The LCBO sucks.

[JohnnyB]

Here in Shanghai we finally have a pretty decent selection available, but the pricing is terrible. Most wines face a 50% duty just to cross the border into China and the markup thereafter is still often quite a bit. I rarely drink anything that's under $40CDN a bottle, because anything under that here is bound to be pretty poor, and wines with any real typicity are typically around $80-100CDN. Needless to say, that sucks.

Fortunately, NZ has a deal that reduces their import duties and which makes them one of the best value countries to drink from in China, and I love their wines.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Actually, the glass makes pretty much no difference to flavour. Controlled, blindfolded experiments have shown that drinking out of a jar is just as good as drinking out of an expensive riedel glass and the like. Having a slight inward slope of the container helps to capture aromas, but beyond that it's all marketing.

The thing is that the experience of flavour is all in your head. Just as being told that a wine is more expensive results in perception of better flavour, so too does the expectations created by myths about glass shape. Our perceptions are just easily manipulated through priming.

Well, without knowing what the result should be (i.e. without preconceived notions, being entirely ignorant), I could tell the difference and it was significant.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Well, without knowing what the result should be (i.e. without preconceived notions, being entirely ignorant), I could tell the difference and it was significant.

It's all in your head....

[OMG!WTF!]

As much as I'd like to tell some people to shut up about the Dixie cup I've served their wine in, apparently the glass type does make a difference...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...affect-flavor/

I'd add that for me, shape is second to composition. Waterford crystal red wine glasses make the most beautiful ring when you toast. If there's more than just me rattling glasses around, they are a must to serve with.

The decanting process probably matters even more though. I ordered a gruener veltliner in Toronto and the waiter shook it up like a martini for thirty seconds. I don't think it mattered what style of glass it was served in after that.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

It's all in your head....

So, someone pours me a glass of wine and says "try it". Then they pour it in a different glass and say "try it". Since I have no idea about glasses at this point or any expectations, why would I have any preconceived notions in my head??? With pinot noir in particular, the difference is very significant. Also, what OMG said.