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Old 11-27-2017, 11:17 PM   #41
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It's Beaujolais Nouveaux season for all those who like to try something a little special that isn't usually very expensive. I always have a few bottles from end of November in the run-up to Xmas.

Don't age them if you find them. The sooner you drink them the better.
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Old 11-27-2017, 11:19 PM   #42
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If wine is something you're interested in, but you've found intimidating or opaque or whatever, I can't reccomend Windows on the World by Kevin Zraly highly enough.

It is a book that is absolutely directed at the new or inexperienced wine consumer for the express purpose of helping them become more knowledgable. It's well written, clear, approachable, not overwhelming, and provides a really good foundation if you find the subject interesting.
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Old 11-27-2017, 11:48 PM   #43
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Great thread! I love red wine and drink it regularly, so many great wines out there and the truth is that you don't need to spend a lot of money in order to get a great wine. One of the biggest lies in the business is that really expensive wines taste better which can be false a lot of the time.

Here are some tips that I use when looking for wine.

1) If you give wine as a gift when going to an event like a birthday or someone's home, I always recommend looking for some good wine that you like and buying a case or two when it goes on LTO (limited time offer, its code in the booze business) It saves multiple trips to the liquor store and you can give a nicer bottle for less.

2) I really recommend Costco for wine and I really love their in house Kirkland label. Costco is the #1 wine purchaser in the world so when they go to a vineyard or a supplier and ask them to send them X amount of cases, you know you will get a great quality wine at a great price. The Kirkland signature series is the higher level wine and is excellent value and Costco never marks up their product more than 14%. A $30 Costco branded wine could easily be $50 at a regular liquor store for similar quality. If your having people over, educate them a bit. There should be no reason to have "label fear" At the end of the day it's a beverage made with grapes!

3) If you travel to the US frequently I always recommend bringing back wine, especially the higher priced stuff as the savings can be great when compared to Alberta prices.

Enjoy the vino everyone!
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Old 11-27-2017, 11:54 PM   #44
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It's funny, whenever I'm sitting around the house drinking it's never wine, it's always beer or hard stuff. But I love going on wine tours and tastings. Weird.

We spend quite a bit of time in the Okanagan, so have gone on all day tours in the Oliver area (one time we started at 10am, and had 10 samples at the first winery. That will get you in the mood to taste wine!) and also have tasted quite a few of the wineries on the Naramata Bench. It's kind of crazy how many wineries are now in that part of the world, they're everywhere. Lot of good wine too, so it's great.

It's also interesting to see what countries people like their wine from, or what preference anyway. For some reason I always seem to enjoy Australian wines. But I'm not fussy, I'll try anything.

I like the thread, I'll be checking in for some helpful tips!
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Old 11-28-2017, 12:05 AM   #45
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Okay, wine people.... I need some suggestions for something new to try. I prefer a dry, white wine (reds give me a headache). This thread would have been more helpful last week as I just got a new 6 pack. I picked up a few favourites but wanted to try some others and was kind of at a loss (local Safeway, so no help from the staff).
A couple general suggestions would be to explore Spanish and Italian whites you haven't had before. There's really great, and inexpensive, white wine made in both countries.

Some ideas would be to try one or more of the following:

- White Rioja (Muga white is fairly common)
- Soave (Pieropan is a good one to try)
- Albarino (anything from Rias Baixas region)
- Arneis (anything from Langhe or Roero regions)
- Vermentino (La Spinetta is great, but cheaper options from Tuscanny and Sardinia are around also).

Last edited by trew; 11-28-2017 at 08:36 AM.
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Old 11-28-2017, 03:22 AM   #46
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Wine's the best of all alcohols imho. The fact that it's so varied and that it's unique and changes over time makes it better to me. Having a wine and being able to taste the impact of a growing season in the grapes and the time it spent on bottle, knowing that once that bottle's gone you never have another quite the same is a bittersweet pleasure. Makes me appreciate time. I enjoy sharing a bottle, but with my better wines I often prefer to share just a little and not over food. I know most people don't enjoy it as much as I do and some wines need to build up on the palate to appreciate their full intensity.

It's a great thing to get into, but getting really into it ruins a lot of wines for you too as you end up paying attention to everything they're not. Appreciation of the special ones increases, which is something most people won't share, and appreciation of factory wines goes down, which is what most people drink and what's mostly available when dining out without spending a bunch of money. Being what I am now though, there are few things I appreciate more than a really excellent bottle of wine on a peaceful Sunday afternoon.
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Old 11-28-2017, 06:36 AM   #47
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BTW the lowest corkage fee I have seen so far is $15 at Tango Bistro (part of the Smugglers group).
Montreal was fantastic for this. Illegal to charge corkage fees (for wine) in Quebec.
Makes for a fantastic and cheap (relative) dinner out when that $30 bottle of wine doesn't cost you $80... and there are lots of bring your own places.
Heavy dark reds that punch you in the mouth yet finish smooth are delicious.

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Old 11-28-2017, 08:11 AM   #48
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BTW the lowest corkage fee I have seen so far is $15 at Tango Bistro (part of the Smugglers group).
I went to Murrieta's in Calgary last year and there was no corkage if you bought your wine around the corner at "The Cellar". We just told them at the till we we're eating at Murrietta's and they let them know somehow.
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Old 11-28-2017, 09:00 AM   #49
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FYI, Open table maintains a list of low/no corkage restaurants:

https://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=370&m=77

Sunday and Monday nights are "no-corkage" at quite a few places, including Teatro, and River Cafe.

This Turkish restaurant downtown does not sell liquor, but allows people to bring their own without any corkage fee. I haven't been there yet, but am planning on going soon!
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Old 11-28-2017, 09:21 AM   #50
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If wine is something you're interested in, but you've found intimidating or opaque or whatever, I can't reccomend Windows on the World by Kevin Zraly highly enough.

It is a book that is absolutely directed at the new or inexperienced wine consumer for the express purpose of helping them become more knowledgable. It's well written, clear, approachable, not overwhelming, and provides a really good foundation if you find the subject interesting.
Other great/fun resources...

Winefolly (The Book): http://winefolly.com/book/
Winefolly (The Blog): http://winefolly.com/blog/

And if you want to watch an interesting doc about wine I'd recommend "Somm: Into the Bottle" on Netflix (As of about six months ago).

And if anyone is planning on going to the Okanagan for a wine tour these are some of my favorites in the region...

http://www.nkmipcellars.com/About-Us
http://www.laughingstock.ca/
http://www.lafrenzwinery.com

Last edited by Parallex; 11-28-2017 at 09:25 AM.
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Old 11-28-2017, 09:55 AM   #51
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I don't know much about wine but here is a cellar built for a client a few years back...

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Old 11-28-2017, 09:57 AM   #52
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Originally Posted by trew View Post
A couple general suggestions would be to explore Spanish and Italian whites you haven't had before. There's really great, and inexpensive, white wine made in both countries.

Some ideas would be to try one or more of the following:

- White Rioja (Muga white is fairly common)
- Soave (Pieropan is a good one to try)
- Albarino (anything from Rias Baixas region)
- Arneis (anything from Langhe or Roero regions)
- Vermentino (La Spinetta is great, but cheaper options from Tuscanny and Sardinia are around also).
Out of thanks, but very helpful. The wine departments here in Panama dedicate a lot of shelf space to Spanish wines.
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Old 11-28-2017, 09:58 AM   #53
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City Palate suggested this crab apple wine from BC. Sounds interesting:

https://www.elephantislandwine.com/p...pple-Wine-2016
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Old 11-28-2017, 10:05 AM   #54
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I recently downloaded the Vivino app and find it a good resource when out and about.
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Old 11-28-2017, 10:05 AM   #55
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Sonoma and Napa Wineries Damaged by California Wildfires: Updated List

http://fortune.com/2017/10/11/napa-w...aged-by-fires/

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...-a8032611.html
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Old 11-28-2017, 11:39 AM   #56
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I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I do enjoy fortified wine every now and then, and recently in Quebec I had an amazing cider vermouth called Rouge Gorge. Since coming home I've been checking any time I'm in a liquor store, and can't find it.

Where would be my best bet in Calgary for finding it?
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Old 11-28-2017, 11:42 AM   #57
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I recently downloaded the Vivino app and find it a good resource when out and about.
It's good for finding out how much your guests spent on that bottle of wine they brought over.
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Old 11-28-2017, 11:56 AM   #58
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What's the etiquette when bringing your own wine to a restaurant. I've never done this before. Do I just walk in with a bottle of wine in a paper bag and set it down on the table? lol
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Old 11-28-2017, 12:11 PM   #59
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I don't know much about wine but here is a cellar built for a client a few years back...

Waaaaaaaaaaaaant!!!!!!!!
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Old 11-28-2017, 12:17 PM   #60
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What's the etiquette when bringing your own wine to a restaurant. I've never done this before. Do I just walk in with a bottle of wine in a paper bag and set it down on the table? lol
I think you just give it to your waiter. Then they will open, decant, pour and chill it for you. Or, set the box under the table, cover with napkin and apologize in advance.
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