so let's talk about wine

[silverwhisper]

hm...so you're more interested in porters and stouts? well, they do a nice pairing of bleu cheese w/ something, a honey wheat ale IIRC. i know they've paired something w/ their stout but don't recall rightly what it was anymore.

ed

 

[midwestyankee]

adults wearing cheeseheads....

and which wine do you choose to accompany the steamed wallpaper?

Because of the blandness in the paste, I prefer to drink something hearty and zestful with wallpaper. Actually, it really doesn't matter what I drink with the wallpaper as long as the crap comes down off the walls. But it definitely helps to have a glass or bottle of something alcoholic handy to pass the time while holding the steamer to the wall. Yikes but this is a tedious task.

 

[Guest]

If you are looking for a red that can be chilled, try some of the light Italian Reds.....they respond nicely to having a little time in the chiller. When it gets very hot over here, I light to lightly chill a Pinot Noir. As a red wine, it is light enough to take a bit of temperature drop 'specially when its sizzling hot enough to fry eggs on the pavement!

Wolf Blass White Shiraz is very popular here in Aus at the moment ...... colour, flavour and chillable!

If you are looking for a white wine that is suited to a palate that prefers red, you cannot go past Houghton's White Burgandy.....a West Australian wine.

Of course, sourcing these wines in the US might be a little challenging but all Australian wineries of note offer a freight service!

As a teenager I was in the "yuk it is horrible" group and only started to drink white in my 20's. It took until my 30's to start to appreciate red and now it is always my preference. I think that began because I could bring it home from the supermarket and drink it without having to chill it first!!! Now, it is just because there is so much more to the taste of a red.

My absolute favourite label is Wolf Blass. We are able to get a wide range of their wine in the UK at anything for about £6 to £13 a bottle. I love the shiraz and the merlot but have not yet seen the white shiraz but I WILL be looking for it now!!

I tend to prefer other wines from Australia and also south america such as Chile and Argentinia to those from the traditional wine making areas in Europe. I am holidaying in the US next year so I shall be writing a list of the wines recommended here and will try some during my holiday.

 

[SummerMorning]

summer morning: define "mediterranean wines". i can easily find italian & spanish wines in my local wine shop. did you have something different in mind? and i think a good pinot noir would be lovely w/ game: the customary jam-like flavors should compliment most game animals, i would think. what particular critter, though?

Those and wines from further east. I doubt you get many Slovene, Croatian or Greek wines. Slovenia actually starts with the Carst, right above Trieste, so you get good conditions for growing dry whites. A very strong red, Teran, is also made there, but it's a bit stiff for my taste. And some Englishmen might define it as "suitable for a salad."

I was thinking of combining the pinot noir with a bit of deer (damn, there must be a word for deer meat, but I can't recall it at the moment), sliced very thin, garnished with olive oil, a few capers and freshly ground pepper. Maybe a bit of lemon for the finishing touch.

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

summermorning: you're right, those are pretty hard to find in the states. i've never had venison carpaccio but that sounds quite tasty. :> however, i would wonder if that jamminess of pinot noir is the best match: i keep thinking merlot for some reason.

ed

 

[SummerMorning]

venison

what do you know, I actually contributed something to this thread

Thanks! Yeah, venison. Had it at the tip of my tongue ... yeah, really.

SW: Merlot? Hm. Possibly. I'm not really sure ... the catch is that a well seasoned venison carpaccio tends towards spicy-meaty with sweet overtones. Hm.

Well, there's only one way to settle it! Try both!

Vive l'empiricisme!

 

[Rocket69]

Although I don't know much about wine, the times I do drink it I enjoy the rich flavors it offers.
I'll have to try some of the recommended wines.


The first time I drank wine, i was 17, drank an entire bottle of Boonesfarm apple plus 3 16oz cans of schlitz. The details of the rest of the evening are to gory to post here, suffice to say it took me a good portion of the next day to clean my bedroom floor and walls.

I remember drinking a few Boonesfarm in my day, just like fruitpunch, add the Schlitz to that, yuk! Bad combo, course you know that though

 

[wally2450]

I don't drink wine often, but when I do, I prefer Blue Nun. Oh, and I'm another lurker you lured out!

 

[australwind]

I don't drink wine often, but when I do, I prefer Blue Nun. Oh, and I'm another lurker you lured out!

WOW! Blue Nun!

I haven't heard of that in years, I can't believe its still out there!

Suddenly I'm 17 again!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Wally....and welcome to daylight!

 

[silverwhisper]

summermorning, you ever get to try merlot with venison?

ed

 

[Munachi]

hm, I have been wanting to ask y'all here something... I hope it isn't an annoying/boring question, but since this is a thread about wine - about a week or two ago there was something on the news about the new wine import contracts between the EU and the US, and about wine purity laws connected to that, etc. - so my question is, first of all, is that something that is even discussed/mentioned on the news elsewhere (particularly the US), and what is your point of view on that? Since what I get to hear is mainly my fathers point of view - he is a wine lover, and, how to put it, not the greatest fan of the US right now, I would really like to hear some other point of views, particularly from the US... I just like to hear different sides of a story...

 

[silverwhisper]

munachi: i'm sorry, but i don't know anything at all re: US/EU wine import stuff. you mention wine purity as a factor, which to me sounds like an issue with what the french call appelation controlee: a wine must meet certain criteria (e.g., the grapes having been grown in [x] region) to be sold under a certain label: margaux, bordeaux, etc. the italians do the same as well. can you provide any more detail?

ed

 

[TBKahuna123]

I agree, we don't really hear anything about this in the US. Now I do know that Germany has purity laws on their beers, so I assume it's something along those lines. My sister actually worked for a few months harvesting for a winery in the Bordeaux region, and I think Ed's right about the grapes having to be grown in such and such a region to be called a bordeaux.

Most US wine types are determined by the type of grape used, aren't they?

All I really knowis that the wine she brought back from France was far superior to anything I've drank since and she said we really shouldn't have drank it for about 3 more years. Patience though, was never my strong suit.

 

[Munachi]

Looking for links... the thing is that I don't know too much about the issue either, that is why I am looking for opinions, but so far all I find link-wise is in German... Basically it has to do with import agreements, that for EU countries to have easier ways to import wine into the US they have to accept imports from the US, also of wines that aren't up to the expected standards here, that have sugar in it etc. - and people here (well those that are into wine) fear the market might get flooded with cheap low quality wine... I think it also has to do with what is allowed to call itself wine.

appearantly though there aren't the same type of purity laws here for wine as there are for beer, it is more of a silent agreement, I guess. In one of the articles I read a German minister is wanting such laws and something put on the bottle to inform people if they have been kept in the case of that wine so they know what they are buying. But the same article actually says, that in Germany "unlawful" wine making is not uncommon either (what I mean by unlawful is what in German we refer to as "panschen", i.e. putting water, sugar in the wine and creating the taste by artificial means...)

So anyway, some seem to say it is good, because the whole wine import contract is a way to export more wine from here to the US which will be good for wine producers, while others say, it will lead to further decline in the quality of wines as there will be more price pressure...

 

[silverwhisper]

somewhere, a bottle of beaujolais is singing is siren song to me.

ed

 

[M's girl]

I agree, we don't really hear anything about this in the US. Now I do know that Germany has purity laws on their beers, so I assume it's something along those lines. My sister actually worked for a few months harvesting for a winery in the Bordeaux region, and I think Ed's right about the grapes having to be grown in such and such a region to be called a bordeaux.

Most US wine types are determined by the type of grape used, aren't they?

All I really knowis that the wine she brought back from France was far superior to anything I've drank since and she said we really shouldn't have drank it for about 3 more years. Patience though, was never my strong suit.

You (and Ed) are right about the region stuff. Same goes, of course, for Champagne. The funny thing with champagne is, that it's almost like a brand name, but it still and in the first place is a region near Paris. Only wine (Champagne is just another wine) from that region/area can be called Champagne. Closest to it is a Méthode Champénoise; producers of certain wines can sort of use the name when the wine is produced following a certain method.

And yes, wine types are determined as much by the grape (or grapes) they are made of as by the region the grapes are grown in and the wine is produced in. The substance of the earth/ground also has a large influence on the taste, but is reflected automatically in where the wine comes from.

I agree (of course ) that French wines are wonderful, although I'm not a huge Bordeaux-fan myself. But that's me, because actually Bordeaux wines are considered to be one of the best on the earth. Still, they are often what I call 'heavy' wines with a high 'tannine' percentage. Gives me headaches easily

I prefer, for that reason, the French wines from the eastern regions, like Chateauneuf du Pape, Costieres, Hermitage, Macon and more southern (Provence) wines like from Bandol and Cassis!

Having said that.... you know, I'm a huge fan of France. I like the food, I like the wine, I like almost everything about France (much better temperatures there, in the south, than in this cold country of mine too!) and M and I hope to move there somewhere this year, but..... there are some really nice wines coming from other countries as well!

South Africa, California (so the US - I don't have to explain to you) but also Spain and Italy.

But French wines are great, and a part of our dinner frequently. Guess we're lucky to live relatively close...

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

the key was the tomato-based sauce, which means red wine. i'd recommend either a chianti classico or perhaps a light barbera. pasta, IMHO, requires an italian wine.

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[midwestyankee]

I've had chianti classico before with pasta and it is a good choice. have not had the light barbera. Unfortunely, my wife probably will not drink a red, but it's worth a try.

So how did this go? What wine did you pick? Did you enjoy it? What about your wife? Details, man, we need details!


Note: this site is not always about details of one's sex life. Wine and food count too.

 

[Guest]

 

[de-valmont]

I can't recommend Alsatian Gewurtzraminner highly enough, gorgeous French wine with a slight hint of sweetness buried in the depths of the flavour, perfect for a summer evening or for a white meat or salad.

 

[midwestyankee]

Well that turned out to be a total disaster. First, I was in such a hurry at the store (and my friggin' hand carried basket was so heavy that I thought the handle would break) that I forgot to get the wine (now where are my priorities, it should have been the first thing I picked out).

So, I'm at home cooking, my wife gets home from work about 5:30, asks what we're having, I told her ravioli & garlic bread, and she said "oh, I'm not really up for that tonight" and proceeded to reheat some homemade mac & cheese she had made (could you see the smoke coming out my ears from your house?) I could have really used the wine at that point.

Geez...no wonder there wasn't anything on the news about a new Chicago Fire. So that was you! Been there, done that...wanna do a tee-shirt swap?

This is one reason why I tend to keep a 1.5 bottle of Shiraz in my rack at all times...some nights a bottle of wine is your only friend.