wine not whine

[Lancer]

"Lancer, a lot of quality vintners are switching to screw tops because there is a shortage of quality cork. Spoilage rates have increased dramatically in the last decade because of the use of inferior cork. In addition, screw tops also allow leftover wine to be stored longer."

che, having wine left over is a very recent problem. However I just flip the cork down side up and beat on it until is seals the bottle. That keeps it fine for the day or two it will last.

I find that they don't put good wine into screw top bottles. Just cheap Gallo and Carlo Rossi. My father in law likes Carlo Rossi, but to me it tastes like candy with some alcohol added. Very poor quality stuff.

The only box wine I ever liked came in a 5 gallon box I bought at United Grocers. It was excellent. I had my gf from Switzerland staying with me at the time, and she didn't run out until the wine did. Guess she liked it too.

[boann]

Originally posted by Park Avenue
@ boann, talk about ditzy

I hear Lidl's 3 bottles for £6 is quite good

well i never pretend to know something if i don't.
even if i will appear to be ditzy..

[boann]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Oz = Australia

Consider getting a subscription to Wine Spectator, btw.

that sounds like a good idea.

so your saying i can buy a box wine if its australian wine and it will be good?.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Bordeaux is overrated overpriced export crap. We keep the good ones to ourselves

I'm not so sure. I have a couple of gorgeous bottles of Claret that I adore. I'm usually much more into the Burgandy for something complex or the Southern Rhone and Southern Regions for something a little rustic, but some Bordeaux bottles we get are rather nice.

My dad managed to find a case made by Chateau Margaux's but sold under and independent Chateau so as not to count towards their strict premier cru classification. It's a beautiful wine, obviously not up to their own label classification (as if I've ever tried it ) but still an amazing bottle, with quite some complexity and interest, but still a beautiful accompaniment to some good food.

I'm a big fan of Oz Shiraz/Cabernet's when I want something bog and bold, and a *huge* fan of New Zealand sparklers, especially when I want to show my friends that champagne isn't the be all and end all. I also like Chenin Blanc from the Loire and old German Rieslings from the Mosel Valley. Not such a fan of the Rheinland ones however, a little too petrol-like.

Over here, the French country wines are the best ones when you want a bargain - easy to find a £4 bottle that's beautiful. Because of the import cost, anything decent from Oz or California costs over £6 or £7, though I'm quite a fan of Californian Zinfandel.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by BlackCat
Eeeeuuwww - I guess that you also put cola in your Scotch single malt whiskey

There's nothing wrong with that. Adding Bell's or some other blended crap adds a lot of alcohol with little flavour. Adding a dash of a nice single malt gives a wonderful flavour to coke. I get a better drink, use half as much, and since it's less than twice the price, come off with more money

Glenmorangie and coke is one of the nicest things to relax with

[chequita guevara]

After all, Coke was made as a mixer.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by boann
so your saying i can buy a box wine if its australian wine and it will be good?.

In Australia, yes. In America, I don't know.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Bordeaux wines taste like wood because of the wooden barrels. This taste has become trendy, and now the Bordeaux wineries (like the Australian ones BTW) artificially add wood flavour to their wine.

French oak adds complexities to the wine. In Oz they don't add artificial wood flavor, they use oak chips instead of oak barrels. You get just as much oak flavor with far less oak, since there's a huge demand for oak and a limited supply (just as there is with Portugese cork) and lower quality oak (and cork) are getting into the market..

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Drogue

There's nothing wrong with that. Adding Bell's or some other blended crap adds a lot of alcohol with little flavour. Adding a dash of a nice single malt gives a wonderful flavour to coke. I get a better drink, use half as much, and since it's less than twice the price, come off with more money

Glenmorangie and coke is one of the nicest things to relax with

Maybe there are some single malts that you can mix with coke, but really, are they worth it ? why not just buy a Jhonnie Walker red label ?

I would cry if someone poured cola into a Laphroaigh (and if it was mine I would be ready to do some killing . )

[Jon Miller]

I have never had box wine...

I don't know much about wine, but

~$20 for a bottle, the wine is generally good

~$5 for a bottle, the wine is generally bad...

JM

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
French oak adds complexities to the wine. In Oz they don't add artificial wood flavor, they use oak chips instead of oak barrels.

Yep, that's the trend Bordeaux is taking (AFAIK, they haven't swooped so low as to add chemical flavouring substances). I call it artificial flavouring nonetheless.

And it doesn't add complexity to the wine, on the contrary. The taste of wood masks the subtelty of the taste from the fruit, and it homogenizes the wine's taste from yar to year, from winery to winery.

You can have a much better feeling of the wine's subtletly when there's no wood to ignore.

[Saras]

I had a cask strength Macallan with a few drops of spring water after my magnificent salmon carpaccio yesterday. I thought I died and was in hog heaven

Now, wines. Aside from the usual Argentine, Chilean, Oz and SA beauties as well as cliche Bordeaux, I was recently suprised with the following:

1. Austrian whites. No, not Rieslings - some other name (they put in in a book at the local wine shop so that I remember), the label is very minimalistic design. So much berry flavor, so balanced acidity and a magical bouquet that you can't keep in a glass - it filled the whole room! (literally!)

2. Sicilian reds. Again, committed to "the notebook", so no name, but try them. Damn neat.

[Solly]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I have never had box wine...

I don't know much about wine, but

~$20 for a bottle, the wine is generally good

~$5 for a bottle, the wine is generally bad...

JM

Yet a 50cent bottle of lemonade and you can get a generally good bottle of wine for $5.50

[Saras]

Originally posted by Park Avenue


Yet a 50cent bottle of lemonade and you can get a generally good bottle of wine for $5.50

Say it loud,
I'm a hick and I'm proud!

[Spiffor]

Saras: you may want to try Hungarian/Romanian whites. Some are nice sweeties. A little pleasure for before the meal, or during the dessert