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Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95527 12/05/05 06:08 AM
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Oh man, nice to see this thread pop up again. Thanksgiving weekend was a HUGE winefest for Peter and I (and family and friends). We rented a nice riverfront vacation home in the Russian River Valley and had a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast followed by 2 days of wine tasting.

Just as a brief teaser - here was the wine selection for Thanksgiving dinner - BEFORE we did any wine tasting!


A brief list of the wineries we hit in the 2 days
Mill Creek - good stuff, nothing outstanding though
J. Rochioli - rumor had it they had an amazing Pinot, pity they were only tasting chardonnay that morning
Hop Kiln - Nice fruity, if a little simple, reds
Porter Creek - tops in my book - they did everything well, but had an absolutely amazing Pinot!
Gary Farrell - Great big complex reds
Martinelli - A sentimental favorite
Rodney Strong - Huuuuuuge complex, but the wines were very nice and their port is amazing!
La Crema - A surprise favorite - amazing Chardonnay and nice pinots
Selby - We went for the port - Peter took a case.
Everett Ridge - A nice end - and with a 30% discount for a case, we made away like thieves!

I came away with 11 bottles of wine and 4 bottles of port. I'd estimate that altogether we probably bought close to 9 cases of wine (there were 12 adults in the group).

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95528 12/05/05 06:18 AM
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Thanks for the list - that Gary Farrell sounds up my alley. Any specific recommendations?

Seems like the port and sherry always gets bought late in the day, huh? Maybe when you're good and toasty?

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95529 12/05/05 06:30 AM
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Actually, Peter made it quite clear that we had to find a good port on our second (and last) day of wine tasting. I think he's not too optimistic about the quality or quantity of port available in Virginia.

Gary Farrell has a couple zins that are really nice - I think wine.com has one of them. If you ever get the chance to go up into Sonoma County - you have to stop at Porter Creek. Definitely my favorite from the trip, and possibly from all my wine tasting adventures since living here. If money wasn't an issue I would've bought a bottle of everything I tasted (and a case of the Reserve Pinot ) - every single one of their wines was very good to outstanding.

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95530 12/05/05 04:49 PM
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Wow, a lot of responses to reply to….

The William Hill is not an expensive wine. They typically go for around 15 – 20 $US. The bottle I had was at a restaurant and cost $65. Not bad for a 95 reserve cab considering that restaurants usually tack on about $30 a bottle.

I had a Rodney Strong last night…….very good wine.

The brown I referred to was just slight at the edge when tipping the glass over a white napkin. Not really brown, but I could detect a color change from the main body in the glass.

Thanks for the tips on the wine tasting trip guys. I’m planning one for next fall. A few of my friends and I are renting a limo for a week and plan to stay drunk with a professional designated driver.


Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95531 12/05/05 07:59 PM
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I didn't know there were port-ers on the board! Any recommendations? We're pretty limited in Ontario, but I have been known to smuggle some port over the Quebec/Ontario boarder before .

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95532 12/05/05 11:40 PM
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Rodney Strong was the best port we sampled. I bought a bottle. Selby also makes a good port. I bought half a case -- it only comes in half-bottle sizes, and my wife loves it. The third port I bought was Christopher Creek. It was the third best, but still very good.

Korbel port is also quite good, believe it or not.

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95533 12/06/05 12:44 AM
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I like Grahms (sp?) 10 and 20 year old. The 20 I buy when I find it on sale, the 10 is usually in my cabinet. Tried the 40 once and it was quite tasty, but too expensive for me to buy it by the bottle.

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95534 12/06/05 12:55 AM
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Peter must be dipping into the port already. We didn't visit Christopher Creek.

Everett Ridge.

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95535 12/06/05 02:11 AM
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My experience with port and sherry is extremely ltd - never much cared for sweet wines until recently.

I liked this sherry so much that I bought a couple bottles (scroll down to tasting notes):

http://www.vino.com/wines/winery.asp?CID=12&WID=5413

their port is supposed to be their award winning specialty (but I didn't buy any).

I will very, very, very heartily recommend their 2002 sangiovese, however. One of my favorite wines in the area. Very versatile, woody, almost austere, dry, clean, tart fruit. Big award winner, but my uncle and sister-in-law both prefer other sangiovese. It's all subjective, I reckon.

Re: wine thread (the blind tasting)
#95536 12/06/05 02:42 AM
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oops. that's right. The port won't be delivered until Friday, along with the rest of the trailer's load.

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