Anyone for a nightcap?

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Huh! I think that would be interesting!

Agreed. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me! !

 

[CutieMouse]

Cellar No. 8 Cabernet.

And holymotherfuckinglingeriefairies, I just got an offer to pimp lingerie for someone really good. At a higher base+ than we initially discussed.

 

[Endless_Night]

Cellar No. 8 Cabernet.

And holymotherfuckinglingeriefairies, I just got an offer to pimp lingerie for someone really good. At a higher base+ than we initially discussed.

Woot!

 

[IrisAlthea]

Cellar No. 8 Cabernet.

And holymotherfuckinglingeriefairies, I just got an offer to pimp lingerie for someone really good. At a higher base+ than we initially discussed.

Yay! Congratulations!

 

[seela]

Verrocchio Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2012.

Quite delectable.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Well the whole arsenic thing has me off California wines completely Ok, to be honest it has me more than off, it has me freaking out quite a bit, given there are a few wines on that list that I would choose with some frequidity. I am moving on to France, Spain, Italy... ok, anywhere but CA. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

 

[rbijon]

Well the whole arsenic thing has me off California wines completely Ok, to be honest it has me more than off, it has me freaking out quite a bit, given there are a few wines on that list that I would choose with some frequidity. I am moving on to France, Spain, Italy... ok, anywhere but CA. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

Pour me a flaggon of French wine any time.

 

[seela]

Well the whole arsenic thing has me off California wines completely Ok, to be honest it has me more than off, it has me freaking out quite a bit, given there are a few wines on that list that I would choose with some frequidity. I am moving on to France, Spain, Italy... ok, anywhere but CA. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

What arsenic thing? I live in a cave of work and sleep and chocolate and carrots these days, please enlighten me.

Not that I consume CA wines anyways, but I'm still curious.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Supposedly there are high levels of inorganic arsenic in a bunch of wines from California. And even though the news is all over the place right now, it still makes me a bit antsy about drinking any...

Arsenic in wine

You can Google "California wine arsenic" and find tons of stuff on it.

 

[midwestyankee]

@Collar, thanks for the link. Most of the articles I'd seen suggested that the wines in question were, for some reason, most popular among millenials so I didn't bother to read further. I should have, as what the headline writers were trying to say was that the affected wines were generally on the cheap side. I've only ever had wines from three of the affected labels, and only one of the actually affected wines - at least based on the list of wines in the lawsuit. Of these, Menage a Trois is the one I've enjoyed the most - but not in the last four or five years at least.

I guess it pays to be a tad snobbish.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

@Collar, thanks for the link. Most of the articles I'd seen suggested that the wines in question were, for some reason, most popular among millenials so I didn't bother to read further. I should have, as what the headline writers were trying to say was that the affected wines were generally on the cheap side. I've only ever had wines from three of the affected labels, and only one of the actually affected wines - at least based on the list of wines in the lawsuit. Of these, Menage a Trois is the one I've enjoyed the most - but not in the last four or five years at least.

I guess it pays to be a tad snobbish.

That's so great for you.
So, back to my original question.
Any recommendations on NOT California wines?
Because I am off of all of them.

 

[IrisAlthea]

That's so great for you.
So, back to my original question.
Any recommendations on NOT California wines?
Because I am off of all of them.

I like Italian wines.
Amarone of course, but for less fancy times also Primitivo, Montepulciano and Catarratto Grecanico.

Chile makes nice wines and South Africa too.

One of my all time favouries is Argento Malbec, made in Argentina. I haven't met an Argento wine I didn't like actually.

 

[midwestyankee]

I agree with Iris's recommendation of Chilean and Argentinian wines. Chile's wine region is located at almost precisely the same latitude south of the equator as California's Napa Valley is to the north, so the growing conditions are often similar. I'm very fond of the Montes label, bit Cono Sur also makes some very fine wines in the $10 to $20 range. Somewhere I have a digital handout file from a one-hour tasting lecture I attended on Chilean wines. Can send it along to you if you'd like.

 

[Endless_Night]

FWIW, I really like Dry Creek. They are a Californian wine, but not one on your list.

Note: Since I primarily drink cabernet, or the occasional red meritage, I can't really speak for their whites.

 

[ouchfeelsgood]

So, back to my original question.
Any recommendations on NOT California wines?
Because I am off of all of them.

I've had various white wines from New Zealand, and most have been quite good. As for reds, Chile produces some very respectable labels at reasonable prices.

 

[seela]

If I had to drink wines from one area only, it would be Alsace for whites and Valpolicella for reds.

Wolfberger wines are my all time favorites for whites, but their reds have been good too, the few times I've tried them. I'm not a fan of Pinot Noir, but Wolfbergers Pinot Noir was excellent.

From Valpolicella it doesn't seem to matter which vineyard I choose, I almost always love it. Amarones are the most famous thing there, but Ripassos are very yummy too.

 

[seela]

I made J a whisky tasting last night. I originally thought it's silly, because the bottles naturally were from our own stock and he knew what the options were, but it was still interesting and a lot more difficult than he anticipated. I left out three whiskys we had just to make it more interesting for J. I don't know if it was luck or talent, but he was able to tell which three were left out, but out of the five I had picked for him he recognized only 2 correctly.

I chose

Nikka from the Barrel
Yamazaki 12 Y O
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
Glenmorangie Signet
Lagavulin 16 YO

It was lots of fun and tasting them side by side helped us notice the differences. Even though I knew which glass was which, I enjoyed comparing them as well. We should do this more often.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I've had various white wines from New Zealand, and most have been quite good. As for reds, Chile produces some very respectable labels at reasonable prices.

Yes, a lot of good Sauvignon Blancs have found their way here from Marborough, New Zeeland lately. Nice Rieslings and Chardonnays too.
Stoneleigh makes nice ones.

From Australia, I like Hardy's Nottage Hill. Might be something to try too.

I have no idea, what you can find in the US and what the price range would be though.

If I had to drink wines from one area only, it would be Alsace for whites and Valpolicella for reds.

Wolfberger wines are my all time favorites for whites, but their reds have been good too, the few times I've tried them. I'm not a fan of Pinot Noir, but Wolfbergers Pinot Noir was excellent.

From Valpolicella it doesn't seem to matter which vineyard I choose, I almost always love it. Amarones are the most famous thing there, but Ripassos are very yummy too.

Yes, Ripasso is great too.
I found an interesting one yesterday, Pagus Bisano, Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2013.
I look forward to tasting it.

Never seen the Wolfsberger wines here.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[midwestyankee]

About that pricey bottle of wine...

Expensive wine is for suckers.


I'll admit that I have had some wines, both expensive and not, that tasted like drain water that had been run through a slop barrel and others that tasted better than sex. Several years ago, I fell in love with a Chilean named Purple Angel at a tasting event. I've since bought two bottles of it and once the experience was as divine as it had been during the tasting. The second was flat and hugely disappointing (it's an $80 bottle). Every time I read articles like this one, I question myself and my tastes. Which is as it should be, right?

 

[Netzach]

That's so great for you.
So, back to my original question.
Any recommendations on NOT California wines?
Because I am off of all of them.

What are you trying to drink?

I'd just go for anything that's certified organic, and there are multiple options for that, plenty coming out of South America, plenty from every other state where you can grow a grape. I like Bonterra, which is CA, but organic, and notably absent from the list. You can certainly pass over the state, but it's got one of the *more* regulated organic labeling codes out there.

I drink full bodied reds until it's about 75 degrees out, so it's those pinots and other reds from WA and OR - and anything done by Andrew Rich in Oregon is one of the most solid bets out there.

Leaving the US, not everything out of France is prohibitive.

For table wine, La Vielle Ferme is decent across the board, and totally does the job cheaply. I like the rose, lately. I've been on a dry pink kick, there's only so much Pinot Grigio from Italy I can suck down in a decade.

La Vielle Ferme is the budget arm of Perrin + Fils, where I go for my Cotes Du Rhone fix, still never really spend over 25 unless something exceptional is going on.

I roll over to rose from SA or Spain when it's over 75 degrees, sometimes splashing a touch of water into an OK rose or drinking it over ice. (They know a thing or two in southern Spain) Marques De Caceres pink stuff = good. Good enough for chicken dinners, light pizzas, pasta, anything you can really throw at it.

 

[Netzach]

Expensive wine is for suckers.


I'll admit that I have had some wines, both expensive and not, that tasted like drain water that had been run through a slop barrel and others that tasted better than sex. Several years ago, I fell in love with a Chilean named Purple Angel at a tasting event. I've since bought two bottles of it and once the experience was as divine as it had been during the tasting. The second was flat and hugely disappointing (it's an $80 bottle). Every time I read articles like this one, I question myself and my tastes. Which is as it should be, right?

I feel like there are breakpoints. You can go terribly wrong at 7.99 a bottle, but you can also go right if you play your cards smart. Anything between like, nine bucks and fourteen bucks is chump change and I've been a chump for paying it.

You're going to be OK from 13.99 to 24.99 unless something is awry.

From 24.99 to 45 you're just making yourself feel better, silly rabbit.

Then from about 45-65 you're up another notch, but only about half the time.

I've never spent more than that, because single malt.

I almost always aim for the sweet spots of 8 bucks and 14 bucks.

And skunky bottles happen! I'm amazed, but they really do!

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Netzach]

So true, Gianbattista. I know that using random coffee mugs is probably not adding to my enjoyment, but sometimes I just don't care that much.

When people are over you can add 15 bucks to your purchase price instantly by aerating your wine, pouring it over the back of a spoon. Seriously.