NationStates Jolt Archive

What's your favourite varietal and/or region? I love wine, and am always looking for new ones to try, so I'm hoping I'll get some recommendations. Do you have a winery in particular that you would recommend?

Gewurztraminer.

Fortified wine!!!111!!!!!

New Zealand wines I'm pretty good in:
Marlborough Savignon Blancs are bloody awesome. Best drunk within the first couple of years. Nice sharp taste, fruity, great refreshing wine to drink on a picnic on a hot summer's day.
Hawkes Bay makes good Chardonnays. Big taste, buttery, very much like Californian Chards.
Otago and Canertbury make awesome pinots. A nice smooth rich taste.

Chillean wines can be areal revelation. Cheap but extremely quaffable. As are Argentina's wines, especially their Mendoza chards. Chilli makes better reds though. Their pinot's are good.

It all depends on what you like. Sweet, dry, red, white...?

If you just want to try a few varietals, here's my suggestion...

red
Sweet:
Italian Brachetto (sparking)

Dry:
1)French Bordeaux- literally the best red wines available. All are blends of one or more of the following grapes: Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Malbec. My personal favorite brands: Ch. Margaux (really expensive), Pavillon Rouge (expensive), and Ch. du Tertre (inexpensive)
2) California Mertage- blends, in much the same fashion as the Bordeaux, but no restrictions on grapes allowed. With the Cali's, they are either good or terrible. So I wouldn't recommend getting a bottle under 30 bucks. My favs- Guenoc Langtree and Flora Springs Trilogy.
3) Australian Shiraz If you're poor, this is the way to go.


white
sweet:
1. German Riesling - there are some dry ones as well, but I think reisling is tastiest when it's sweet. German wines have the sweetness on the bottle, you just have to decipher it. Trocken and halb-trocken are dry. Kabinnet is from dry to barely a hint of sweetness. Spatelese is semi-sweet. Auslese is sweet. Berenauslese is really sweet. Trokenberenauselese (TBA) is REALLY sweet. Eiswein is rare, but supersweet. It's pronounced "Ice Vine", and it's literally true. The grapes aren't picked til they freeze.
2. Vouvray (or Chenin Blanc)- not always sweet, usually just a tad sweet. Very fruity. The best are French.

dry:
1. New Zealand Sauv Blanc- inexpensive to moderately priced, but almost always great. My fav is Wairou River.
2. French Chardonnay- I am not a Chard fan. American Chardonnay tastes like tree-bark flavored cat urine. French Chard, on the other hand, is tasty, and isn't over oaked. Some (not many) Australian Chards are good too.

New Zealand wines I'm pretty good in:
Marlborough Savignon Blancs are bloody awesome. Best drunk within the first couple of years. Nice sharp taste, fruity, great refreshing wine to drink on a picnic on a hot summer's day.
Hawkes Bay makes good Chardonnays. Big taste, buttery, very much like Californian Chards.
Otago and Canertbury make awesome pinots. A nice smooth rich taste.

I've had mixed experiences with New Zealand sauvignon blancs. I like most of them; as you say, they tend to be crisp, fruity, and very refreshing. The problem I've run into (and I'm told this isn't uncommon) is that some of them taste very, well, herbal. Grassy, almost. My favourite thus far is Nobilo, don't know if you're familiar with that one. One of the few widely available where I am.

I'll have to try the pinots, I don't think I've ever had one from New Zealand.

Chillean wines can be areal revelation. Cheap but extremely quaffable. As are Argentina's wines, especially their Mendoza chards. Chilli makes better reds though. Their pinot's are good.

I had a Chilean blend a few weeks ago that I really enjoyed. It was a 60/40 blend of cab and merlot. Very smooth drinking, I enjoyed it a lot.

It all depends on what you like. Sweet, dry, red, white...?

I tend to veer away from the sweeter wines, although I do like a sweet riesling from time to time. I like reds and whites about equally well, just depends what (if anything) I'm eating, and what mood I'm in.


If you just want to try a few varietals, here's my suggestion...

red
Sweet:
Italian Brachetto (sparking)

Dry:
1)French Bordeaux- literally the best red wines available. All are blends of one or more of the following grapes: Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Malbec. My personal favorite brands: Ch. Margaux (really expensive), Pavillon Rouge (expensive), and Ch. du Tertre (inexpensive)
2) California Mertage- blends, in much the same fashion as the Bordeaux, but no restrictions on grapes allowed. With the Cali's, they are either good or terrible. So I wouldn't recommend getting a bottle under 30 bucks. My favs- Guenoc Langtree and Flora Springs Trilogy.
3) Australian Shiraz If you're poor, this is the way to go.

Bordeaux are lovely! I once had a glass of Lafite-Rothschild that was absolutely gorgeous. Velvety smooth, nice long finish, nice balance between tannins and fruit... yummy. :D

I have yet to come across a California meritage that I really like. I'll have to keep an eye out for the ones you mentioned.

Oddly enough, I've never had an Australian shiraz. My friends all love it, but somehow I've managed to avoid it (not purposely).


white
sweet:
1. German Riesling - there are some dry ones as well, but I think reisling is tastiest when it's sweet. German wines have the sweetness on the bottle, you just have to decipher it. Trocken and halb-trocken are dry. Kabinnet is from dry to barely a hint of sweetness. Spatelese is semi-sweet. Auslese is sweet. Berenauslese is really sweet. Trokenberenauselese (TBA) is REALLY sweet. Eiswein is rare, but supersweet. It's pronounced "Ice Vine", and it's literally true. The grapes aren't picked til they freeze.
2. Vouvray (or Chenin Blanc)- not always sweet, usually just a tad sweet. Very fruity. The best are French.

As I said, I'm not the biggest fan of sweet wines. I do like eiswein occasionally with dessert, however, and I enjoy riesling from time to time.

dry:
1. New Zealand Sauv Blanc- inexpensive to moderately priced, but almost always great. My fav is Wairou River.
2. French Chardonnay- I am not a Chard fan. American Chardonnay tastes like tree-bark flavored cat urine. French Chard, on the other hand, is tasty, and isn't over oaked. Some (not many) Australian Chards are good too.

See above post on my experience with New Zealand sauv blanc.

I agree with you on chardonnay. Almost all chardonnays that I've tried make me sneeze. I hate the in-your-face oaky characteristics that most of them have. St. Supery makes an oak-free chardonnay that I really enjoy, though - you might have a go at that one if you want to try something new. I also quite enjoy Edna Valley Vineyard chardonnay, but only very occasionnally.

I've had mixed experiences with New Zealand sauvignon blancs. I like most of them; as you say, they tend to be crisp, fruity, and very refreshing. The problem I've run into (and I'm told this isn't uncommon) is that some of them taste very, well, herbal. Grassy, almost. My favourite thus far is Nobilo, don't know if you're familiar with that one. One of the few widely available where I am.

I'll have to try the pinots, I don't think I've ever had one from New Zealand.



I had a Chilean blend a few weeks ago that I really enjoyed. It was a 60/40 blend of cab and merlot. Very smooth drinking, I enjoyed it a lot.
Yep, that is a prob with NZ Sauvs. They tend to make them very sharp and grassy. They went thru a phase a few years back where they were very sharp. They tend to release them too early, imo. Get them 8-12 months after they've been released and they peaking. After 20+ months they tend to start tasting a bit asparugus-y. Pretty much any Sauv that's from Marlborough is worth it. My favs have been Hunters, Highfield, Alan Scott, Framingham, Nautilus. Cloudy Bay is prob the most internationall recognised, and it's good, but I found them pretentious and arrogant when I visited their winery which turned me off. Also they a bit overpriced imo.

Chards can be a bit tricky. Lots of winemakers go overboard with the oak and malo-lactic fermintation. It ends up too buttery and overpowered by the oak. Get it right, though, and they awesome. Quite a few 'makers now release decent unoaked Chard.

And yep, I have tried Nobilo. It's one of NZ biggest winemakers. I've even visited their winery (it's out in West Auckland). Not bad. They make good quality wine at very reasonable prices.

varietal eh? I haven't heard of that type of beer before ...

*runs away giggling*

[blah]... beer ...[blah]


anyone for a vb?
mmmmmm yum

"Why is everyone against meeeeee?!?!?!"

Sorry for that response, my real answer is "non-alcoholic".

Other: Retsina.

Shiraz for red, though I quite like Merlot as well. For white, Sauvignon Blanc.

I agree with the Marlborough recommendation - their Savignons are lovely. Try also a range of Chilean Sauvignons. For Shiraz, I thoroughly Hardy's (an Australian); it's fairly light for a red, but is oh-so-tasty.

cote de fucking rhone - £2.88 from tesco and worth every penny

cheap sweet white wine.

It's cheap - bonus (thus, affordable in mass)
It's sweet - bonus (I like sweetness)
It's white - bonus (something about white wine is just better than red)
It's wine - bonus (that alcohol is good for you!)

I'd also like to point out that you can only get champagne from the province of champagne in France. Everywhere else it is "vin moussant" or "vin mousseux" or something like that (yes, champagne IS trademarked and it comes from champagne, that's why it's called champagne).

Red - Chianti or Montepulciano.
White - Gruener Veltliner or Kerner. Mueller-Thurgau is ok as well.

The wine of Liguria.

Tempranillo.

Thunderbird

Im partial to a good Reisling.

I guess I prefer the sweeter ones.

Im partial to a good Reisling.

I guess I prefer the sweeter ones.

Oehh, good.
I prefer sweet white wines, but drink others too depending on the occasion.

Yquem Saunternes, Port, Chianti, Riesling, tons else.

Ooh! I actually have a favourite wine, now.

It's a Greek wine, made from Aidani and Athiri grapes. It's called Vin Santo.
http://www.atheneeimporters.com/antoniou.htm

I'd also like to point out that you can only get champagne from the province of champagne in France. Everywhere else it is "vin moussant" or "vin mousseux" or something like that (yes, champagne IS trademarked and it comes from champagne, that's why it's called champagne).

Did someone say something about champagne, that I missed?

Yquem Saunternes, Port, Chianti, Riesling, tons else.

I can hear wine afficionados across the world giving a collective gasp as I say this, but I don't really like Chateau d'Yquem. Too syrupy sweet.

I do enjoy a good port though. :)

Ooh! I actually have a favourite wine, now.

It's a Greek wine, made from Aidani and Athiri grapes. It's called Vin Santo.
http://www.atheneeimporters.com/antoniou.htm

Hmm, interesting. I must admit I've never tried any Greek wines (or seen them sold anywhere, for that matter), but if I see this I'll have to pick up a bottle.

That is my fav to date, though I am looking foreward to the 2003 release.

A bottle costed $30 Canadian at the LCBO (Ontario liqoure store)

Thought right now I am working on a 1997 Tempranillo which has just started to open up!

Cheers

Portugese Douro
Italian barberra (some)
temperanillo
pomerol
margaux

I like cab sav & shiraz usually.

Wine is the nectar of the gods. More wine!!!!

Wine that somebody else buys is my favourite.

Wine that somebody else buys is my favourite.

With my group of friends, that rarely works out in my favour. They've been known to drink Two Buck Chuck. *shudder*

Whatever I happen to be drinking at the moment. And at the moment it's a really nice Sirah that an enologist friend made.

A cool cup of Italian "Chianti Rosso" while eating makes me live a new experience.

Anybody ever tried Sauterne wine?

A jewish princess' favorite wine:

"I wanna go to MIAmi!!"

pinot grigio


my favorite reds are Cab and Chianti