The wine appreciation club thread

[sortius]

I figured as noone has started one of these yet (I hope) I would start one...

I bought a nice drop from down the "bottle'o" tonight...

Vinyard: The Gorge
Area: Upper Hunter
Style: Pinot Noir
Comments: Smooth spicy flavour, with a slight berry flavour and high tannins. Somewhat of a spicy aftertaste. Subdued minty with a hint of the aforementioned spice...

Rating (/5): ***1/2

[Bifrost]

Vinyard: Piper's Brook
Area: Tasmania (North Coast)
Style: Classic Dry White
Name: Ninth Island Straits Dry White
Comments: VERY smooth, dry flavour. Could be consumed in great quantities without really realising that it was 12.6%. Not really a cheap bottle (generally retailing over $20), but it is worth it if you can afford the outlay and enjoy a good white wine. My girlfriend would probably give it 5.

Rating (/5): ****

[edeity]

Henschke Hill Of Grace 1990.

Exceptional blow job afterwards by drunk girlfriend in stockings and heels.

9.8/10

[Bifrost]

PS: Great thread idea Sotirus!

Weatherman, I luvs ya, but this thread deserves love!

http://www.tfdixie.com/images/love.jpg

[PhilDude]

i work in a bottle shop =)

come visit =)

[kleph]

actually, australian wine have been riding a wave of popularity over here of late. there have been a series of articles in the LA Times food section on the trend and the products of several wineries down there that are exporting to the states.

as i understand this, the aussie winemakers have cornered a section of the market the most here had previously ignored. a recent grape glut has driven wine prices into the ground and wineries have been losing money hand over fist as their premeir wines just don't sell.

one company, Charles Shaw, saw the trend coming, bought up a shitload of decent grapes at good cost and then cut a deal with the Trader Joe's chain to sell the wine wholesale. they make less profit on the individual bottle (it's not called "two buck chuck" for nothing) but by selling en masse they end up in the black overall.

but, it turns out, the australians were already doing this. they specifically set up their industry to target the wide middle range of wines that are decent quality but not too expensive. it opens up a whole set of the market of folks that like a decent wine but don't have the experience, money or desire to pay $30 or more for a bottle of the good stuff.

so as prices and profits plummet for the high end wines - particularly the californian ones - the aussie wines are already there on the shelf underselling them. and people are buying them and, because it's a quality product, coming back and buying them again.

[AnyName]

Bin 45

Good, cheap and a higher alcohol content than most French wine. What more could you ask for? I'm drinking some right now.... hic.....

[edeity]

http://au.image.sold.yahoo.com/users/8/5/5/6/darreneddy1968au-img450x600-103683866478hog.jpg

I thought of posting a pic of a blowjob, but that would be just crass.

[Bostonmess]

White = Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand

Red = Probably Oxford Landing Barossa Valley Black Grenache.

That's my g/f's opinion. Personally I will swill anything with food. I'm not keen on the heavily oaked stuff.

[beer_cAN]

Hill of Grace

*gives tick of approval*

[sortius]

we just went to a "wine sale", so we ended up with a bit of a bargain: mixed dozen for $104 (all garunteed $18+ bottles of plonk). the two we've drunk sofar are:

Marienberg Cabernet Mourvedre Grenache 1998 - I saw these and though, "hrmm, they must be good, or why else were they stacked BEHIND other bottles." so we grabbed three... well, I can say, I wish I had have grabbed the other two. Smooth complexion with low tannins and somewhat of a light aftertaste. very good with spicy meals, no competition with the wine, etc.

The other is:

redgate bin 588 2000 - not a bad drop, somewhat spicy undertones with an all over minty taste, being a Cabernet Sauvignon - Cabernet Franc - Merlot, it gives the drinker a somewhat overbearing flavour, but with low tannins it is very easy to drink.

we'll keep you posted on the others, and see how it goes.

fyi: just to make everyone jelous, we got a magnum (1.5L bottle) of Wolfblass Cab. Sav. for $12 at the "wine sale".

[hazza]

MMm we got this mad red and white wine imported from some place.

I will come back with the names of the reds and whites, but the red is chilled which is odd and the white is fucking soo goood.


ones from germany the other from .. belgium?

[sortius]

hrmm, cold red... usually that's a sweet red or a rose... if it's full coloured red and sweet... you know the answer, if not, well, the other... if it doesn't fit either... find out more ;)

[tikdoph]

Originally posted by edeity
Henschke Hill Of Grace 1990.

Exceptional blow job afterwards by drunk girlfriend in stockings and heels.

9.8/10

Was the 9.8 for the wine or for the blowjob?

[sortius]

I'd say the wine... it's hard to get a 9.8/10 blowie... damn hard...

[Princess]

I'm not usually a white drinker but i went on a wineries trip on the weekend (dad drove wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) and tyrrell's had this sparkling one...,um,.. hang on ill just go look at the label

Moscato Frizzante

Comments: Fragrant, light-bodied, slight spritzig. Low in alcohol to reatin the natural residual sugar and fresh aromatics....

yum yum!!

oh and my red that i love... Mc Guigan's Black Label Shiraz..... absolutely gorgeous....

[Chocoholic]

Originally posted by Princess


oh and my red that i love... Mc Guigan's Black Label Shiraz..... absolutely gorgeous....

I like their back label blend.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Like the sound of that hill of Grace stuff....

Penfolds Coonawarra Bin 389 Shiraz

10/10

My favourite wine

[hazza]

Tyrells wines = excellent

They make the wine for my school and its great, nice whites but apprently better reds. I wouldnt know though i dont drink red :S

And the Charles sturt university wines arnt bad either.

[angel_b]

I'm currently quaffing a fine De Bertolli Verdhelo.

It's okay that it comes in a box, right? I mean it's a 2 litre box so it's got to be the good stuff. :D

[edeity]

The bj was a 10.

In front of a huge mirror, standing in the living room, with the floor to ceiling blinds open to the alleyway. I think about it everytime I sip red wine now. No hands involved. Mouth technique utterly exceptional.

But enough about that. Bring on the wine.

[Princess]

Originally posted by angel_b
I'm currently quaffing a fine De Bertolli Verdhelo.



Verdhelo??? you mean giggle juice??? leg opener????

sorry.. just had to get that in..

i liked tyrrells the best... ive only just turned 18 and i dont always look it and they were the only responsible people who asked me for ID.... the rest were just downright rude because we were only there for the tasting we werent genuine buyers..... oops im bitching.. sorry

xox

[edeity]

Verdehlo rules. Doesnt even require any sex. I love it. The only white I drink.

[Sambellina]

Originally posted by angel_b
I'm currently quaffing a fine De Bertolli Verdhelo.

It's okay that it comes in a box, right? I mean it's a 2 litre box so it's got to be the good stuff. :D

That is quite acceptable! Due to the exceptional seasons Australian wine makers have been having, the quality of cask wine is quite good at the moment. The dry conditions due to drought will mean that the quality of cask wine is only getting better. In other words the shite used in cask wine is no longer shite.

I usually buy cask wine for cooking. You know how it goes - one for the pot, one for me :D

[Colonel Kurtz]

Originally posted by Princess
Verdhelo??? you mean giggle juice??? leg opener????

Alexopina

Originally posted by Sambellina
That is quite acceptable!
No, it's not :barf:

Originally posted by Sambellina
You know how it goes - one for the pot, one for me :D
I always cook with wine...sometimes I even put it in the food! :D

[royale]

my two latest discoveries...



Pepperjack Shiraz (Barossa) (http://www.beringerblass.com.au/brands/pepperjack.asp)

and

D'Arenberg Footbolt McLaren Vale Shiraz 2001 (http://www.boccaccio.com.au/prod304.htm)

[boozer]

Originally posted by royale
]D'Arenberg Footbolt McLaren Vale Shiraz 2001

Bingo.

Any D'Arenberg wine is pure class - I was able to work in their tent during that big Barossa Wine festival thing that they have a few years running - what a way to earn some money...

Annie's Lane red is great also, Shiraz is superb and reasonably priced. Love that SA wine.

[marshmallowmae]

I went to a wine tasting last weekend and had some great stuff. I found out I don't care too much for red wines but the Marques de Caceres Rioja wasn't bad at all. It was pretty soft to me. Oh yeah, if you all like a really sweet wine try Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine. That was soooo spectacularrrrr.

[sortius]

The wineries in the Hunter always offer a nice change from city life... plus a good chance to get totally shitfaced off nice wine... that's free to boot.

anyway, we went up last weekend and went to the Golden Grape Estate (http://www.nobbys.net.au/~gge/). They offer a nice selection of liquers... some schnapps (like the chilli schnapps), some other odd liquers, etc.

we tried their butterscotch schnapps, amazing, as well as their blackcurrant liquer that they had imported from Germany... as they said, Adults Only Ribeena. I do recommend their Rose aswell, a nice shiraz used to create a somewhat white wine, with a nice aroma and heavy undertones of berries...

the chilli schnapps took our breath away tho... so I had to get a bottle...

[russ9000]

When visiting China in 1997 We did the normal tourist thing and visited the Great wall in Bejing. If you have ever been there you will know that along side of the wall is nothing but market stalls for the tourists ... Anyway we managed to find a bottle of Get this ..

"Great Wall of China White Wine"


Now we only brought it for the label, never been game enough to try it. Cause I never saw one grape vine near the wall when I was there. It a good conversation piece at least though, that and the camel grazing alsong side the wall... A camel in china not what I expected.. but thats another story..

[Princess]

you bought it sortius???
i contemplated then bought a collection of liquers i think it was butterschnaaps scotch or buttersnot schaaps i cant remember then a latin lovers and something else... yumyumyum

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[angel_b]

Originally posted by sortius
The wineries in the Hunter always offer a nice change from city life... plus a good chance to get totally shitfaced off nice wine... that's free to boot.

anyway, we went up last weekend and went to the Golden Grape Estate (http://www.nobbys.net.au/~gge/). They offer a nice selection of liquers... some schnapps (like the chilli schnapps), some other odd liquers, etc.

we tried their butterscotch schnapps, amazing, as well as their blackcurrant liquer that they had imported from Germany... as they said, Adults Only Ribeena. I do recommend their Rose aswell, a nice shiraz used to create a somewhat white wine, with a nice aroma and heavy undertones of berries...

the chilli schnapps took our breath away tho... so I had to get a bottle...
Link is borked, but have taken note of the name of the winery. The chilli schnapps sounds fabulous!

[LisaJ]

Went to Calgary last year and they had this wine called "Fat Bastard" wine, never got any but one of the ladies at the conference did, its a red wine...

Rosemounts Merlo is a good wine as is Cockatoo Ridge Merlo

Not much of a wine drinker but the Merlo's are good...