Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Wine?

After seeing over 1000 replies on the beer thread, just wondering if anyone out there drinks wine. My wife and I have started to do a little drinking/collecting, mostly drinking, I figured if you guys are that knowlegable about beer, someone can give me some good wine tips.

Do a search. I think a wine thread was started in the "water cooler" forum.

Hey Michael, good idea. I think the beer thread started before we created the "Water Cooler" for posts that do not have to do with AV stuff.

Here is the link...don't worry about not using the Search...

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=first&Number=95249&page=&view=&sb=&o=

Sean and Randy Thanks, That thread will give me some good reading.

Thanks, Randy. I guess I should have provided a link. Oops.

Hey, it's Sunday--I'm allowed to be lazy.

I had to search for it.

Ha ha.

I really dig David Bruce Pinot Noir.

It's not the 1000 replies, it's the 53000 views.

mdrew is your man on wine.

I used to enjoy a good beer, back in the day. That hiatal hernia fixed all that. Boy, did it ever. Now, I enjoy good cup, mostly pot of coffee, and a Coca-Cola, now.

You just need to sleep sitting up.

It's a little more complicated than that. But, I've got Axioms and I keep on rockin'.

I am currently enjoying a nice Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon that I picked up in NYC. Unfortunately, they don't have any distributors in Tennessee. My other all time favorite wine is the Georis Merlot 1998.

Anybody know a good reason why I shouldn't store my collection of reds in the garage frig for the summer months?
I'm guessing that would be preferable to 78-80* in the wine cabinet for 4 months. Ya think?

I know it is not the most expensive wine in the world, but right now I'm enjoying a cold glass of 2001 SutterHome Zinfandel. Speaking of Sutter, where the heck is that boy?

I do the same thing with my reds during the summer. I just make sure the temp. on the garage frig is between 55 and 60 degrees F.

bigwill,

The only reasons I can think of is that it will slow the aging process and waiting for it to warm up to serving temperature might try your patience.

From what I've read about wines, temperatures in the mid 70's to 80's will double the aging process of the wine. Anything under 55F will slow the aging process.

Thanks fellas, that is exactly what the guy at BevMo said today.

You also want a "stable" tempurature of the wine you intend to keep for a spell.

So wintering indoors at 65* or so, then summering in the frig at 40-50* would be no good?

I do have a smallish frig (that stainless Sanyo job from Costco) that I'm not using. Hate to waste the juice but I suppose I could plug that one in. 62* is ideal?

As Mike said, if you plan on keeping the wine for a while try to keep the temp. stable, anywhere from 55-65 degrees F. Most my wines I drink within a year, but I've gotta few that I plan to preserve for about 5 years. 62 would be a good temp to store because thats right about the serving temp. for most reds.

Good points, HomeDad. I usually drink 'em before too long, too. I've never bought wines without planning to drink them immediately prior to this past year or so.
Years ago a friend who worked for Universal/Seagram gave me a bottle of French stuff from one of the premier wineries there (I belive it was called "L'Alter Ego de Margaux Palmer" or something like that) with instructions to wait a few years before drinking it. I did, but it aged under less than optimum circumstances apparently. We also drank it at a poolside bbq in the summer at probably 75-80*. It seemed flabby and unremarkable, LOL.
I currently have about 15-20 tannic young reds that would probably age well (though I like em as is now).

Just for shits & giggles, here's one I like (taken from their newsletter):

2003 Leonesse Cellars Limited Selection Series “Two”, Temecula Valley. This unique blend of 51% Petit Verdot, 32% Merlot, and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon is robust and well-balanced, deep in color, and explodes with concentrated aromas of boysenberry, black licorice, cedar and tobacco. The wine’s firm tannin structure, along with extended aging in small oak barrels, imparts a silky mouth-feel and a long, linger-ing finish.VARIETAL COMPOSITION:51% Petit Verdot, 32% Merlot, 17% Cabernet SauvignonAPPELLATION: Temecula ValleyTITRATABLE ACIDITY/pH: 0.61g per 100ml/3.76RESIDUAL SUGAR:DryBARREL PROFILE: 23 months in 71% French Oak and 29% Ameri-can Oak (35% new)SKIN CONTACT: 22 daysALCOHOL: 14.8% by volumeCASES PRODUCED: 218RELEASE DATE:November, 2005SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $32

I have a small cooler (54 btls). I also have a wine rack that’s integrated with the kitchen cabinets that holds 12 btls.

My everyday, drink a bottle with dinner wines that I intend to drink within a few weeks go into the cabinet. These bottles are generally bottles that I pick up at the store when I’m ‘experimenting’ and looking for a good discovery under $15. These bottles are actually my favorites, because I’m not pissed off if they taste like crap (due to the price), but sometimes I find really good inexpensive bottles. Contrary to popular belief, wine does not have to be expensive to be wonderful, including cabs and pinot’s.

Then there are some bottles that I buy that are more expensive, but come with good ratings / reviews or someone recommended. These bottles I enjoy saving for special occasions when my wine drinking friends come over. I have a few friends that enjoy wine as much as I do, and we all get together and share a few bottles of the “good stuff”. These particular bottles usually come with a recommendation to let age for a particular amount of time. For example, I’ve got some 93 cabs left in the cooler that are ready to drink now. I’ve also got some 97’s and 95’s that need to be drunk this year. Then there’s some great 2000’s that I’m waiting for a couple more years to drink.

All the babbling aside, anything I intend to drink within 8 weeks stays out of the cooler, all others go into the cooler. So if you just want to wait until next summer to drink some of yours, go ahead and put them in the fridge for a few months.

For temp, I just set the cooler to 55 deg F. The temp sensor is in the middle of the cooler. It’s about 53 deg F at the bottom and 57 deg F at the top. I put the whites in the bottom, and cabs at the top. Pino’s, shara’s, zin’s go in the middle.

When I drink a bottle of red that’s been in the cooler for a spell, I use a decanter and let it breath for about a half an hour. By then it’s just the right temp and ready to be drank.

Whites, I don’t really care. I’m not a white wine drinker. Hey all pretty much taste like cool-aid to me.

Thanks for the babble - you're speaking my language.

Good point about the aging. I'm not going to let anything sit for more than a year - unless I know it sucks.

Wife made some some spaghetti today (with considerable help from me over the phone) that turned out pretty damn good. She mistakenly purchased the hot italian sausage which seemed to complicate the wine selection, IMO. I tasted the sauce with an Aussie merlot that was already open. Sauce was bright and tomato-ey, with heavy garlic and anise flavors. Finished with red pepper heAt.
The merlot was overpowered but the aussie fruit was a good foil to the heat. I figured a syrah would be about right, but I also opened a "Tuscan" style local wine just in case.
The syrah (also a local) was the best match, the merlot second. The local Tuscan style seems flawed (it was a clearance job at the end of a long day of wine tasting). Not sure if the nose is sherry or rotten eggs, but it finishes OK. Maybe cork taint?

Sounds like a great meal, A nice Red Zin would have fit in there nicely also. In the last year or so my tastes have been leaning towards some of the Calif. Red Zins that are becoming so popular. Seems like my tastes change every year or so, although I love most wine as long as its not white. If you can get your hands on a bottle, try the 2001 Rosenblum Zin from Sonoma rated #3 by Wine Spectator, probably one of the best wines I've ever had.

Hell I'm no wine expert, but I sure do like the stuff. So I reckon It could be the cork.

I like Shiraz'es with spicy food (is that a word?). Mexican included. I don't much care for Ausie cabs, but they sure do make a good Shiraz. Try that next time. A real bold one. One of the Penfold's bin brews.

I love a good Zin! I usually just pick up one of the Ridge zins when I go shopping. Have yet to get a bad one, and I've drank a lot!! I'll look for that Rosenblum next time.

I love the Ausie's Shiraz, thats one grape they sure can grow. I've heard the Penfolds Grange are great, I'll be sure to try one next time I do some wine shopping. Some of the French Syrahs (same grape differnt name, which I didn't realize for awhile) aren't to bad either, but I prefer the Australian brands.

Oy, we've been slamming that Aussie Yellow Tail Shiraz they have at Costco like its water. Almost candied it is so fruity. Clearly not a wine for the "connoiseur", but enjoyable nonetheless.

I figured the zins would be overkill, but there are leftovers.

Has anybody ever try Sebastiani Wines? I'm currently drinking their 2001 Merlot. Not as good as the 2003, but good nevertheless.

My wife and I are planning a trip out to Napa Valley. Has anybody every been there... Are there any wineries we should check out?

Napa? wineries? The question you should be asking is which wineries you should skip. There are so many good ones.

I drank a Cherry Block from Sebastiani last night, great wines from Sonoma. You will love Napa, you have to see Copola's winery just for the sheer beauty of the place. As Peter said too many good ones for one visit. If you have enough time you will want to see Napa and Sonoma. Napa is to wine ,what Pebble Beach is to golf.

Even though they are the same grape, IMO, the Sarah is just too damn light and un-exciting. I try French wines all the time, and have yet to find one that I’ll buy again.

If you look at the "wine thread" in the water cooler, there is a lot of information about Napa trips. http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=first&Number=95249&page=&view=&sb=&o=

I had a half bottle of 2004 Seghesio Zinfandel from Sonoma the other day. The mgr of BevMo recommended it in the price range I had in mind (sub $20). It's good - very nice polished fruit flavors, good balance - but it seemed to have a flat, boring middle that left me disappointed.
In comparison to the Hart Zinfandel from Temecula (which is sadly, very sadly, all gone ) there is simply no comparison.
I learned a lesson, I suppose. When you find something good, try it at home and realize it is sensational... stock up.

I could not agree more with stocking up on what you enjoy. although its great to experience new wines, good or bad. It's nice to see you decided to move away from the water cooler for a bit to talk about things that are really important.

I know what you mean. Living in Tennessee, I have hard time on stocking up on my favorite wines. I'm a big fan of Joel Gott's Zinfandel, but I couldn't get it shipped to Tennessee. When I made a trip to New York, I just bought a case, and lugged it home. A pain to do, but worth it.

I'm going to try to make a trip out to Napa or Sonoma this spring. Any suggestions on how I can carry two cases of wine on the plane, without breaking my back?

I dunno, that's alot of weight - and fragile, too.

At any rate, I would certainly avoid the phrase, "This wine is the bomb!"

I've bought a few cases from here before. http://www.geerwade.com/gw/default.asp

They have some pretty good stuff. Some not so good too, but you might give em a try.

Awesome. The wine wizard is pretty damn cool.
I'll give it a more thorough look-see tomorrow, but I think I saw a Sonoma sangiovese right off the bat that has to be a winner. And then the recipes at the bottom...

Thanks, I think that will be a very useful link.

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Are there any wineries we should check out?

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If you have time for a dinner, the "Fix price" dinner with wine at Domain Chandon is worth the effort.