My Pops makes the big time

[CRASH]

And, when the bladder is empty, you can blow it up and use it for a camp pillow.

That's an old Boy Scout trick.

CRASH....far from an Eagle Scout.

 

[FarmerMatt]

What CRASH doesn't realize & what is industry standard is that the majority of wine in da bottle is cheap grapes out of the central valley. Even Kenwood & other snooty wineries up in Napa / Sonoma truck it in. Only a certain percentage of grapes have to come out of those counties into the bottles to classify them as Napa / Sonoma wines. If you did a true blind taste test I'd be willing to bet the cheaper wines would come close if not win. 2 buck Chuck (Charles Shaw) is actually good wine. For my money I wouldn't spend over $15 on any bottle of wine. There are so many different lables & wines out on the market that pinning down a certain one is hard to do. The other problem is what tastes good to me will taste like mouth wash to you. Bottom line is that 99% of all the different wines you see in the store all come from around 3 different wineries. The only difference is the color of the bottle, the lable, & maybe a slightly different formula to the wine going into the bottle. A fun little trivia item... the lable on a bottle of wine costs more than the juice in the bottle.

Matt

 

[poomba]

And, when the bladder is empty, you can blow it up and use it for a camp pillow.

That's an old Boy Scout trick.

CRASH....far from an Eagle Scout.

Lemme guess, next we'll see it as an anti-rollover device, too...

 

[Lupine]

she's also an anti-box snob

GSequoia,

She doesn't know what she's missin. One taste of the Chillable Red, and she will confirm that FarmerMatt's grapes are the best in the world, despite the packaging.

Does she prefer reds or whites?

Lu

 

[CRASH]

What CRASH doesn't realize

CRASH realizes more than you think.

While it is undoubtedly true that most wineries are grape whores, there are some very special wines in California that come from very special grapes.

Sierra foothill wines are an excellent example. They are grown in certain micro-climates between 1,500 and 3,000 foot elevation, and definately have a unique quality. The winery down the way produces wine ONLY from their own grapes, or grapes grown in micro-climates they have specified.

Another wine to try is one grown from a xero-phytic winery. This method involves short watering the grapes or not watering them at all during the summer months. The method originates in Greece, Turkey and Israel, where water is in short supply. Harvest tonnage is 1/3 to 1/2 of normal, but the sugar content is through the roof, and the grapes make an excellent Pinot Grigio, or Rhine varietal. Wines made from these grapes are pricey, so get ready to lay out $30 a bottle, but they are well worth the complex flavors and unique sugars.

Micro wineries are an excellent choice, but you are unlikely to find them distributed outside of the region. That's why it's best to order your wine online, a custom shop can often get you some premium micro-wines for a good rate if you buy by the case.

I will agree with :farmer: on this. Drink California, forget the rest.

CRASH

 

[GSequoia]

She prefers reds, but doesn't mind whites when the food is right (same here, I'm slowly getting a taste for it..I came from a family wihtout class ).

She has a unique test for the quality of wine. Basically, the good wine leaves her tongue normally colored, cheap red wine turns it purple!

One of hese days a wine tasting tour would be cool, they ought to put those togther with busses though!

Sequoia

 

[CRASH]

Maybe we should do this on next years Naxja Rubicon run. Everyone brings a bottle or two of their favourite wine for tasting and comparison.

That would be high-tone.

CRASH

 

[Hunter-LynchburgVa]

Maybe we should do this on next years Naxja Rubicon run. Everyone brings a bottle or two of their favourite wine for tasting and comparison.

That would be high-tone.

CRASH

only catch with that is some fred G. sanford fan will show up with a bottle of ripple

Hunter

 

[CRASH]

Or Boones "Strawberry Hill"

That's OK, we'll ridicule them sufficiently.

And no one dishes out ridicule like the West Coast Crew.

CRASH

 

[FarmerMatt]

Did you copy that straight out of the pamphlet or did you change some of the wording to make it your own? All this coming from a man who's going to JB weld his cage to the roof?

The stuff CRASH is talking about you’ll never find in a grocery store & is generally only sold out of the winery itself or out of very limited distributors. In most cases only state workers & the very rich can afford to partake of da juice.

Matt

 

[JJ13]

What no Orange wine lovers???? Go MD 20/20 or go home. Next thing you know you guys will be comparing grey poupon. I actually have been curious to try good wine. I have only tasted cheap wine and a red wine that I believe was a Merlot (was way to sweet for me).

 

[CRASH]

Once you discover the joys of good wine, it's hard to go back.

There are so many good ones out there, it's hard to know what to choose.

Pick up a magazine at the store called "Wine Spectator", flip through it looking for something that sounds yummy and buy a bottle. If you like it, save the review from the Spectator and try and remember how it tasted compared to how the reviewer thought it tasted.

Do this once a month until you get a feel for the flavors you are looking for and then buy a few bottles of your favorites. Use them for special occasions or dates. Women love a man who can talk about wines.

CRASH

 

[Lupine]

I'm a red fan myself, prefer a pinot noir or merlot kept in wood, not stainless steel. Louis Martini makes a cheap merlot that's excellent as a table wine. Husch also makes good, cheap reds.

And yes, this is how Crash won my heart. :smootch: