best country for wine. poll and discussion

[Spiffor]

There is nothing more to add in this debate.

[Ecthy]

Nothing more to add than a tripod logo?

[SlowwHand]

Napa Valley.

[-Jrabbit]

I'm shocked at the support for italy. But hey, small sample size.
I'm a value shopper and have been through (serially) US, Australia, Argentina and Chile. All have good wines, but you've got to shop well ahead of the curve to find really good values.

I voted Chile because it's where the best values are right now, although I still find some fine Argentinian grape.

Demand forced prices too high on US and Aussie wines years ago, but the quality is still good.

France? The gold standard, but only when I'm over there. They don't export the good cheap stuff -- keep it all for themselves, the bastids.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by TCO
Back in the day (early 90s), I used to drive up to Temucula (effectively N SD Co, but legally part of Riverside or SB I think). Lots of wineries there and little more undiscovered then NOCAL. Got a great red at one of those for 5$. Bought a case. Long gone.

Yeah, it's about 45 minutes north of the city. My sister and her husband bought a house out there 7 years ago and when ever I visit them I make sure to stop at some of the 50 or so wineries they have in the valley. It's kind of become our local wine region though the San Pasqual Valley (north county coastal area) and the foothills around Escondido (north county inland) have a number of wineries with a growing reputation. Those two areas are a good decade or more behind Temecula in terms of quality and professionalism though. Temecula has winieries by most of the big international players along with several nice mom and pop type places.

[TCO]

ALL BECAUSE OF ME

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Spiffor
[img]/img]

There is nothing more to add in this debate.

Not even an image which works?

[TCO]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Not even an image which works?

YOU'RE LIKE THE STRAIGHT MR. FUN.

[SlowwHand]

Take THAT!

[chequita guevara]

I've had a wide sampling of grapes, regions, etc. When France is at its best, it is simply unsurpassed. But the weather in France is inconsistent, and they have more bad years than good.

Italy consistantly creates great wine (which was not the case even twenty years ago). They don't use most of the well known, i.e., French, grapes, except pinot grigio (pinot gris in French).

For value, look for emerging wine producers: Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, Bulgaria, etc. Chile produces wines of great value, they're good and cheap. Oz and California consistently produce great wines (though not as good as France's best).

Look to Hungary for great desert wines.

Germany, Alsace, and Austria (Alsace is part of France but it's part of the German tradition) all have wonderful, light, sweet wines, excellent for summer and desert.

Sadly, I don't know enough about Spaninsh or Portugese wines, though I love sherry and have had some amazing Spanish sparkling wines.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by TCO


YOU'RE LIKE THE STRAIGHT MR. FUN.

TAKE THAT BACK!!!!

[TCO]

you have to swim the peir with me at night in winter first.

[Dinner]

No one is talking about Greek wines. There are more native types of grapes in Greece then any where else in the world so there are literally hundreds of unique wine varietals in Greece waiting to be discovered. Also I hear Lebanon has a long tradition of wine making which the Lebanonese Christians carry on to this vary day. This caused considerable friction with the Muslim fundamentalists but the Christians (who historically were the majority until a flood of Palestinian refugees changed the balance in the 1950's) carry on making the wine as they always have. Portugal and Spain are two other countries whose wines I would like to learn more about.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Spiffor


There is nothing more to add in this debate.

France is hosted by tripod?

[TCO]

Originally posted by Oerdin
No one is talking about Greek wines. There are more native types of grapes in Greece then any where else in the world so there are literally hundreds of unique wine varietals in Greece waiting to be discovered. Also I hear Lebanon has a long tradition of wine making which the Lebanonese Christians carry on to this vary day. This caused considerable friction with the Muslim fundamentalists but the Christians (who historically were the majority until a flood of Palestinian refugees changed the balance in the 1950's) carry on making the wine as they always have. Portugal and Spain are two other countries whose wines I would like to learn more about.

The straight Spock