Drew's Wine

Patjew said:

I prefer Brancott. I took a tour of the vineyard when my family was in NZ two yrs ago. Such an amazing country. And I totally agree that NZ has the best SBs.

I'm most into Napa reds and French Petit Chablis now.

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Another one for me to try. New Year's Eve should be pretty good!

betterthanthealternative said:

My wife and I have a great thing going at MacArthur Beverages in DC. Once a month we give them roughly $200 and our guy there picks us a dozen bottles of red. We note what we like and don't like, and take that information to him the following month, and repeat the process.

After the first two months of doing this, he had us nailed. And the store loves it because we are a steady diet of feedback (and cash flow).

This is how I figure it: we have a rotating wine collection of several thousand bottles a few blocks from our home, a personal wine manager who is continuously updating his knowledge of our preferences, and access to a dozen bottles a month, all for $200 a month.

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I've bought wine at MacArthur's for over 30 years. They are one of the best, if not the best, wine and liquor store in the District. They have a great Italian wine section, and, Tim, who handles these wines, is extremely helpful.

OMGWTFJUDD said:

Effing, thieving kiwi bastards. It's $35 by the half doz here and we're basically a free trade zone with NZ and the Oz dollar is at $1.04 US!!!

That's it I'm going back to Oz whites. TBH, I prefer our Sem Sav Blancs, dry as toast and they're about $8-12 a bottle.

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At that price, maybe you should be exporting some Cloudy Bay to US buyers like me.

NormZauchin said:

At that price, maybe you should be exporting some Cloudy Bay to US buyers like me.

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Sorry, I meant $35 per bottle if bought 6 at a time.

OMGWTFJUDD said:

Sorry, I meant $35 per bottle if bought 6 at a time.

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Then we'll regift, I mean export, to you.

NormZauchin said:

Then we'll regift, I mean export, to you.

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By then it could be described as "earthy" having gone round it at least once.

NormZauchin said:

This past summer I met the guy, Warren Winiarski, whose Stag's Leap cab first beat the French back in 1976.

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Ya the story of that ("The Judgement of Paris") is hilarious. Those snobby Frogs looked pretty bad especially considering that many of the judges were French.

FredFromDartmouth said:

Ya the story of that ("The Judgement of Paris") is hilarious. Those snobby Frogs looked pretty bad especially considering that many of the judges were French.

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There is a movie about The Judgement of Paris called "Bottle Shock" with Alan Rickman. It is hilarious.

As far as wines I have found that Californian cult wines and the the better Italian wines seem to be way over priced. Last night I had a "Fontanafredda Langhe Nebbiolo" (seriously) that sucked compared to an Argentinean Malbec I had the night before for 50% less. Portuguese wine also seems like a good bargain. Chilean wines also seems like a good deal.

I may not know much about regions or prices of different wines, but I do know that I'm not drinking any f@*#-ing merlot!

Patjew said:

I prefer Brancott. I took a tour of the vineyard when my family was in NZ two yrs ago. Such an amazing country. And I totally agree that NZ has the best SBs.

I'm most into Napa reds and French Petit Chablis now.

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Tried the Brancott and liked it very much. Great price too (on sale at the NH Liquor Store for $8.99 per bottle). Also found my Matua there for $9.99 per bottle (instead of the $16.99 I'd lazily been paying at the grocery store). Couldn't find Cloudy Bay except for the grocery store, where it was $24.99 a bottle, so I decided to wait as I stocked up on the others. Also bought a bottle of 90+ SB from New Zealand which a bar tender I know recommended to me. Haven't tried it yet, but it had a good rating from Wine Spectator or one of the publications.

Did you try Drew's wine yet?

Hardboiled said:

I may not know much about regions or prices of different wines, but I do know that I'm not drinking any f@*#-ing merlot!

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Whaddya mean? I like Merlot. A good one is mellow and "dark" tasting, if that makes any sense.

PatsDeb said:

Tried the Brancott and liked it very much. Great price too (on sale at the NH Liquor Store for $8.99 per bottle). Also found my Matua there for $9.99 per bottle (instead of the $16.99 I'd lazily been paying at the grocery store). Couldn't find Cloudy Bay except for the grocery store, where it was $24.99 a bottle, so I decided to wait as I stocked up on the others. Also bought a bottle of 90+ SB from New Zealand which a bar tender I know recommended to me. Haven't tried it yet, but it had a good rating from Wine Spectator or one of the publications.

Did you try Drew's wine yet?

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Have not opened the bottle. I will probably put it down for a couple of years. However, in a private e-mail exchange with Zeus, he said that he had tasted some Doubleback and this was his comment: "Great stuff - not the the overextracted/high alcohol California style. More subtle, austere old world style (which is what Drew was hoping to do)."

Sorry the Cloudy Bay is so expensive. It is down here in Northern Virginia as well, but I can get it for about $21-$22. Most SBs from New Zealand are very good and affordable. Just that I think Cloudy Bay is the best. My wife, who rarely comments on wine, said "Wow, this is great stuff," the first time she tasted it. I would say that it is a bit more subtle, not quite as citrus fruit forward as your typical NZ SB.

Hardboiled said:

I may not know much about regions or prices of different wines, but I do know that I'm not drinking any f@*#-ing merlot!

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You should try the regular merlot instead of the f@*#-ing merlot...then again the latter might be good for those special occasions...

Speaking of which I was at a tasting at Newport Vineyards in RI and tried their reds. They are experimenting with a lot of obscure & interesting grapes but to my unsophisticated palate the best of the bunch seemed to be their merlot (and I did not even try their special merlot).

Argentina rules as far as I am concerned...(although I had a nice Italian Brunello the other day).

FredFromDartmouth said:

There is a movie about The Judgement of Paris called "Bottle Shock" with Alan Rickman. It is hilarious.

As far as wines I have found that Californian cult wines and the the better Italian wines seem to be way over priced. Last night I had a "Fontanafredda Langhe Nebbiolo" (seriously) that sucked compared to an Argentinean Malbec I had the night before for 50% less. Portuguese wine also seems like a good bargain. Chilean wines also seems like a good deal.

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If you are ever in the Napa Valley, go to Chateau Montelena and sign up for the "Bottle Shock Experience." They take you through the movie and tell you where it departed from reality. You also get to taste some of their great wines, and get a Bo Barrett autographed DVD of the movie.

PatsDeb said:

Whaddya mean? I like Merlot.

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Sideways: I'm not drinking Merlot

But back to baseball. When Pete Runnels was my favorite Red Sock, Tommy Addison was my favorite Pat. Another outstanding forgotten player. The T.V. contract meant, though, that I'd focus more on Alex Webster and a host of great football Giants and those hated Browns, Bears, and Packers.

Is this Patsfan.com 2 pages of comments and no insults or flames? Impossible, has the site been hijacked by Anonymous or something.

As a wine neonate I appreciate the informed comments of the participant and I am currently taking notes so I can buy some good bottles of wine for my wife who appreciates wine more than me.

Tricorn Hat said:

But back to baseball. When Pete Runnels was my favorite Red Sock, Tommy Addison was my favorite Pat. Another outstanding forgotten player. The T.V. contract meant, though, that I'd focus more on Alex Webster and a host of great football Giants and those hated Browns, Bears, and Packers.

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Growing up in Western Mass, I absolutely hated having the NY Giants (called Gnats by one Boston sportswriter of the time) pushed off on New Englanders as our "home team." Most of my friends, and even my Dad, took to rooting for them, but I could never bring myself to cheer for anything representing New York, Boston's rival. I took as my favorites those Browns, Bears, and Packers, and I was ecstatic when the Colts beat the Giants in the 1958 championship classic.

Wretch said:

Is this Patsfan.com 2 pages of comments and no insults or flames? Impossible, has the site been hijacked by Anonymous or something.

As a wine neonate I appreciate the informed comments of the participant and I am currently taking notes so I can buy some good bottles of wine for my wife who appreciates wine more than me.

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Since you live in Virginia, you and your wife might want to take a tour of some of the wineries in the state. It is a pleasant way to spend a day or two on a weekend.

Virginia is the fifth leading producer of wine in the US. Many of the wines are excellent, and the winery tasting rooms and grounds are often on par with what you find out in Napa and Sonoma.

Hardboiled said:

Sideways: I'm not drinking Merlot

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That scene, and that movie, had an effect on the national sales of pinot noir and merlot. From an economic analysis: "Virtually all the results are consistent with the theory that "Sideways" had a negative impact on the consumption of Merlot, while increasing the consumption of Pinot Noir."

Read more at: Wines & Vines - Wine Industry Feature Articles - The 'Sideways' Effect
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