I think I take my wine a bit too seriously

[LT Garrix]

So, this last week we were vactioning in Hawaii and ate at very high class Chinese restaurant in our hotel. Now, when we are seated, the host gives us a winelist. This is a book about a dozen pages long equally split white and red with a pretty nice selection of worldly wines.

For us this is a long process. Sometimes we know what wine we want and will order food to complement it, but normally we choose either red or white for the evening and select food from there, though it might change if someone sees an entre they really want.

This was an especially long process that night as we were ordering a combo meal that had braised beef, duck fried rice, Szechuan chicken and Lobster curry. Now because the chicken and lobster are spicy, we decide that a Zinfandel would be a really great complement to dinner (the red one, not the the pink "white zinfandel"). Well, the list doesn't have any zins as it is not currently a very popular wine.

Hubby notices that they have an expanded wine list, so we ask for it. This easily has over 500 wines listed, thankfully organized by type and country of origin.

We saw a couple of French reds that probably would have worked and toyed with a sparkling wine, but eventually settled on a Zin hubby had seen in the Wine Enthusiast when he had been reading it earlier that afternoon at the pool.

All in all, it took us about 15 minutes to decide on a wine. The host was a little surprised when we asked about the expanded list (I'm guessing that doesn't happen very often). ;)

What can I say? We are the same people that brought back 8 cases of wine from our trip to Monterey a couple weeks back. I still need to finish that cataloging. We also seek out restaurants that are known for their extensive wine lists. We thought we had found one here in San Diego, but the first three wines we tried to order they were out of. Needless to say we won't be going back there.

Anyone else here get picky about ordering wine or are you just afraid of the wine list? And for those intimidated by that much choice, they had several of the more popular middle of the road vintages in their dinner menu so you only had to look at about 10 wines.

[trinamick]

Wine makes me sick, but I'm picky about my whiskey. I don't ask for a list, though.

[scrape_medic]

Me....love good wine...and had the pleasure of selling the stuff as my first real job when I started working....yum

For a white, my favortie is Chablis, really chilled and served with a white crumbly cheese.

Red, I just love Chateau Neuf du Pape.....but at about $40 a bottle in a restaurant I don't go for that often.

[LT Garrix]

We have quite the extensive collection here, over 300 bottles I'm sure, properly refrigerated, too. ;) Of course, I have found a couple of holes, most notably Zinfandels. They aren't grown in Monterey, which is where a bulk of our wine is from. Would have gone great with my dinner, but I had a heavier Merlot which worked just fine.

I've thought of working at a tasting room when I get out of the Navy, but depending on where we live, that might not be much of an option. Sadly Norfolk, VA didn't have much in the way of tasting rooms, unless I go work up the Williamsburg Winery. Of course, that would probably be a bit of a waste of an education, but it would make me happy. :drinkin: Oh how I wish I lived back in Monterey.

Whiskey wise, I'm into Irish whiskey. I have a friend whose a big Scotch person and he takes that very seriously. Hubby's an American whiskey person, but he's been leaning towards cognac lately, which he takes very seriously.

We also take our beer very seriously. We pretty much stay away from the watery American pilsners, prefering beer with a bit more character like the mircrobrews and other specialty beers. There are also some really great imports that I run across every now and then.

[Lord Loser]

you're an alcohol snob, aren't you? :P

[LT Garrix]

To a point, yes. The point being if I'm paying for it. If it's free, I won't turn it down. ;) That's the best type of beer you know. :D I've drank some rather nasty free stuff in the past.

I thoroughly enjoy a good mixed drink, too. Spent the last week drinking Mai Tais on the beach.

[AgentSun]

Lt. Garrix, i don't know anything about wine (except that i tend to like fruitier tastes) and i don't drink, but have you ever tried Old Dominion beer? they're a specialty company based in Ashburn, Va. they make amazing root beer and ginger ale which is how i came to be a fan of theirs, but from what i have heard, their big selection of beers is also great. it's what they started with. their prices are fairly cheap too if you're a beer enthusiast who will try new things. go to www.olddominion.com for prices.

[LT Garrix]

I generally go for the local small breweries. We've managed to find places where you can buy a half gallon jug of beer and they have all kinds of great flavors. I don't think We've ever had Old Dominion, doesn't ring a bell, but I could check the wall of beer bottles to be sure. I would be surprised if we hadn't since we lived in VA for 4 years.

[AgentSun]

the strangest thing is that since they're based in northern virginia, their brews (alcoholic or non) don't really show up anywhere but northern va, dc, and a bit of maryland. i can't find any when i'm in college in virginia, 3.5 hours away. i took back 16 bottles of root beer with me back to college to last me 3 weeks. everyone who tasted the root beer and ginger ale loved it.

[Owlman]

I'm picky about my whiskey. I don't ask for a list, though.

Me as well.

Crown Royal
Canadian Club (15 year)
Jack (not really anymore)
Wild Turkey 101 proof (makes bad ass stone sours)

[trinamick]

The weird thing is, wine affects my ulcer - makes me sick in minutes. But I can drink whiskey, beer, etc. and it doesn't bother me at all. Crown & Mt. Dew - the drink of champions. :D

[Owlman]

Try Stone Sour:
Orange Juice
Whiskey
Sour Mix
(all equal parts)

[AgentSun]

this reminds me of a conversation i've had before...the way you guys are picky about your alcohol is how picky i am with bottled water. weird, i know, but i hate dasani and aquafina. they have a weird taste to me. i like deer park. i love fiji water. my mom thinks i'm nuts for wanting fiji water all the time. but i figure if it can be found in a gas station, it isn't that upscale.

my parents both drink red wines. they don't like white. they also drink vodkas and my dad likes japanese beers like sapporo.

[trinamick]

That will have to wait for another night. I don't think it would mix well with the beer in my gut.

My mom makes an awesome grape wine. I love the taste, but none for me, I'm afraid.
:(

[LT Garrix]

I've had some interesting fruit wines, most recently pineapple from Hawaii, while I was there. What can I say $9, had to try it. Apricot and Peach make some rather nice desert wines and I've had some nice blackberry, blueberry and raspberry wines as well, very nice over vanilla ice cream.

I don't really discriminate. Depends on my mood. When it's warm out I generally prefer whites as they are chilled, but as it really doesn't get cold or hot here it depends on the mood.

Merlot is a good sipping wine and we have some of the more buttery chardonnays that are good for sipping as well. Sometimes I get in the mood for one of the sweeter ice wines, not native to this area, but I can find them in wine shops and Costco.

I normally prefer domestics and not the ones from the mega vineyards. Those just go for consistency from year to year. That's why I like Monterey Co wines. The vineyards have more character as do their wines. Vintages differ from year to year.

While we do drink the occasional pricey wine, most of our bottles cost between $10-15 each. Top it off we are in 4 different wine clubs so we get more wine every month. Guess I need to drink more, huh?

As silly as it sounds, I recommend "Wine for Dummies." It's a very educational, not condescending book for the beginner. It'll give you good insight on different varietals and help you understand how foreign wines are named (thinking mostly French wines here, but given EU proposed regulations this will probably change for the rest of the world). Hubby got me a huge book on wine for Christmas. I need to crack into that bad boy. It gives some history on wine regions and famous vineyards.

[AgentSun]

are you telling us you're a wino?

[LT Garrix]

I am a "wine connoiseur" there's a very big difference. ;) A wino will drink the cheapest nastiest stuff out there. When we build our house we are planning on having a wine cellar of some sort. Probably going to be a climate controlled room since the area we are looking at living you can't build basements due to the shallow water table.

[Third EYe]

My neighbor love Pino Noir, he drinks it quite often. We were discussing this and it came up in our conversation that there has been some study with this particular wine in assisting with incontinence. Apparently there is an agent in the specific grape that during the fermentation process that can illiminate incontinence in most test subjects. The developers of Pino Noir are going to produce this wine and sell it under the name Pino More.

[AgentSun]

my parents always get at least 3 bottles of merlot or chardonnay every holiday season. they rarely ever get white wine, and if they do, they store it or give it away.

[Owlman]

Red wine is good, but I can't stand white wine.

[LT Garrix]

For me it depends on the wine. There are reds and whites that I love, but I've had some real dogs of both. Some people never like one type. Of both types there are sweet, fruity and dry. Some people don't like whites because they prefer drier wines, but have only had the fruity whites. Opposited for the reds. My mom can't stand dry wines and thus won't give reds much of a chance even though not all are dry. She really prefers the sweet, fruity wines so I'll send her one every now and then when I find one I know she'll like.

The thing I really don't like is reds fermented in steel barrels. Those really seem to take on a metallic taste. :yuck:

[trinamick]

My neighbor love Pino Noir, he drinks it quite often. We were discussing this and it came up in our conversation that there has been some study with this particular wine in assisting with incontinence. Apparently there is an agent in the specific grape that during the fermentation process that can illiminate incontinence in most test subjects. The developers of Pino Noir are going to produce this wine and sell it under the name Pino More.

:lol

My grandmother used to make dandelion wine, which was quite good even though it sounds nasty.

[scrape_medic]

The thing I really don't like is reds fermented in steel barrels. Those really seem to take on a metallic taste. :yuck:Had a great one the other day....you could really taste the cask.....excellent

[LT Garrix]

I like a hint of oakiness, but not when it become overpowering. I've had some where all you taste is the barrel. That's what sets a truly good wine apart, it has great balance of all flavors.

[trubador]

Can't say that I'm much of a fan of Zin (red nor white). Had a nice Sangiovese at dinner last week. I tend to drink reds rather than whites. For some reason, Chardonnays are a turn off for me.

Has anyone seen the movie "Sideways" yet? I was thinking of checking it out this week.

[LT Garrix]

Sangiovese is a nice wine. A little hard to find, but I really enjoy it.

Problem with Chards is that they are the 'popular' white wine right now so you get all sorts of stuff. Some are so oaky you think you are eating a tree, others are dry (which a chard shouldn't be), others are so buttery you can't take more than a sip. I generally prefer the somewhat buttery ones for sipping, but those don't pair with food well. For that it's the oaky one. For this reason you really need to know about the vineyard and vintage before you order one at a restaurant. Pinot Grigios went through this a few years back and will probably make a resurgence soon as people tire of all the low quality chards.

Same thing happens in the reds. Merlot was the in wine for a while and then it turned to Syrah/Shirazs. As we get a glut of those it'll turn to something else.

Personally in the red world I like a nice aged Cabernet Sauvnignon or Meritage blend. We've got some Cabs coming up on time to be drunk in the next couple of years.

[trubador]

YOu can't go wrong with a good Cab. One of the best wines I ever had was also one of the first "serious" wines I ever drank. Before I moved to California (from back east), a good friend and I vacationed in Cal in the summer of '89. The first few days were spent in SanFran and the Napa Valley. Did the wine tour thing (Mondavi, V. Sattui, Sterling, and the small/exclusive [at the time] Stag's Leap). My friend loved the '86 Sterling Reserve Cab. But for me, the '86 Cab by Stag's Leap Wine Stellars (with a fine homemade beef dinner) was without a doubt like sipping from a heavenly fountain. I still have the empty bottle and cork on my book shelf.

I don't drink wine on a regular basis. Maybe a bottle a month. Maybe two. I live near the CA Central Coast wine region, and the wines from there have really come into their own in recent years. I can usually find a decent and drinkable wine for under $10. Occasionally, I'll delve into the $10-20 range.

[LT Garrix]

Yup, the CA Central Coast wines are very nice. I've found they have more character than the Napa/Sonoma Valley wines. We enjoyed wine before moving to Monterey, but the collection really grew while we were there. There's a part of me seriously considering driving up for the wine weekend in Feb, but it's not as much fun alone.

My prize Cab was a 76 we got for a steal at $50 a bottle. We drank one last year and the second for Thanksgiving. It was really just perfect. Much longer and it would have been salad dressing. We've got 8 or 9 from the mid 90s that are just hitting their prime.

[trubador]

Gainey makes a nice little Reisling. Qupe makes good wines, as does Cottonwood Canyon. I've yet to drink a Byron wine, but have heard good things about 'em. All are from the Santa Ynez/Santa Maria region.

[LT Garrix]

Not had any of those. I've had very few California wines outside Monterey Co. As we drink through some of those (yeah, right, we'll just make another trip up there ;) ) I may replenish them with some Central Coast stuff.