Just want to wine a bit...

A huge problem is that so many vineyards worldwide are splitting up into separate labels that it's impossible to keep track of who is who. Originally Posted by SeaDog

But thats also an opportunity. So called "second labels" can provide a great value proposition: http://discover.winecountry.com/wine...andouts-1.html

But thats also an opportunity. So called "second labels" can provide a great value proposition: http://discover.winecountry.com/wine...andouts-1.html Originally Posted by pjorourke

The same is true for spirits. One of my best finds (again, on a tip from "my gal at the wine shop") was Sobieski Vodka http://www.vodkasobieski.com/truth.php

a "value brand" from the folks that make Belvedere Vodka. I can get 2 1.75L bottles of Sobieski for about the same price as 1 750mL bottle of Belvedere & I can't tell the difference.

Not necessarily 2nd labels but two other labels that are just as good as the pricey brands for under $20/1.75liter: Pinnacle and Ruskova

I enjoy spirits more than wine. Even beer more than wine. Anyone want to start a bourbon thread?

I enjoy spirits more than wine. Even beer more than wine. Anyone want to start a bourbon thread? Originally Posted by atlcomedy

My drink of choice is rum & tonic with lime. Funny thing is, I am MUCH more particular about the tonic and the lime than I am the rum!

I enjoy many, many rum brands; but the tonic HAS to be Schweppes - in the tiny bottle - with a 1/4 to 1/6 slice of KEY lime (depending on tartness). I also prefer cracked hard ice, not household ice maker ice.

My "everyday" rum is Mt. Gay Eclipse.

I also have a pretty nice selection of aged island rums - most of which I sip - at room temp - straight up or with a drop or two of lime.

I also have a pretty nice selection of aged island rums - most of which I sip - at room temp - straight up or with a drop or two of lime. Originally Posted by SeaDog

You do lots of things when you are short on cash. When I was in college (back before dirt), I bought Meyer's 151 because it took longer to go through the bottle at that strength.

BTW, one college year, I lived in PR. When a hurricane came through that year, a friend of mine and I rode out the storm on the roof of a dorm. Yes, it was really stupid, but when you are young, you do young and stupid things (to quote George Bush). We took a bottle of Pinch with us and passed it back and forth. I got sooooo sick. I haven't been able to drink scotch to this day.

I like La Crema pinot noir.... It is tasty but I am nowhere near the wine snob.

I have some friends who have a 1,000+ bottle cellar stocked mostly with wines in the $40-75 price range, with a smattering of $100+ bottles.

They (and a few of their friends) have made sort of a game of finding drinkable wines in the sub-$20 range. Recently they gave me a bottle of Blue Franc "Shooting Star" 2007, saying it was around $15.

Very good wine for the money!

For those of you who live in Dallas, I noticed that Sigel's carries it. I may pick up some more soon.

The best wine for the price, and my favorite, is Bonny Doon's Big House Red.

I started drinking it in 2001 when you could buy it for $3.99/bottle at World Market. Now, the price is $12.99/bottle but Bonny Doon sold the brand, along with Cardinal Zin, to Underdog Wine Merchants in July 2006.

I came across Big House Red when Randall Grahm, owner of Bonny Doon Vineyards, was in town for a wine tasting here in Fort Worth. My sister and her friends were his wine groupies, haha!

I also like Vampire Merlot and Cab but does not seem as good as it was 10 years ago. Price is about $9.99/bottle. I always drink it when I eat at Byblos Lebanese Restaurant here in Fort Worth - they have a bottle on every table.

Drink up!

The second bottle is much better than the first!

Is that the 'special' bottle you have been saving for me?

Nicole,

Sorry your back was bothering you...

You didn't get to try the nice bottle of Peju 50/50 I had picked out for us to share.

My guess is that it would have made your back feel great. Then again, perhaps it would have made you not care your back was hurting! LOL

Hope you are back to feeling spry!

I work in the wine business, and there are literally tens of thousands of great wines out there for under $30.

It depends on if you like the heavier tannic reds or lighter bodied reds.

If you like cabs zins malbecs, etc.. check out Spanish Wines. Tempranillo is a beautiful grape, its flavors are similar to Cabernet Sauvingon, but the tannic acid level is similar to a Malbec. They also have some great wines using Mouvedre which they call Monestral. Jumilla, Rioja, and Yecla are great regions. Look for Crianzas they are the younger offerings and there are a lot under 20. The Reservas will have a vintage on them older than the drinkable California wines, but they have been held in barrel and bottle longer before release. You will find many Reservas for less than $30.

Also Portugal gets overlooked a LOT for table wine. Most people think the only wine from Portugal is sweet Port Wine. But they make some great dry reds. I am going to Portugal and Spain in the Summer, I will report back on my findings!

I wont mention any brands because the selection in Dallas will be somewhat different than here in Austin.

You will also find many beautiful wines from France and Italy for less than $30. Vin De Pays wines from France are not the "upper echelon" in quality or price, BUT they far surpass much of the juice coming from California. You will even find AOC wine from france for cheaper than similar quality wines from Cali. Rhone wines, and some Burgundies can be found that are VERY drinkable under $30.

Another cool origin for wine with great selections will be Columbia Valley Washington. You will find wine at half the price point of California wines that are superior in quality.

In general I am not a huge fan of California wine. The labes ARE a lot more approachable and easier to understand. But if you go into a wine store or liquor store that knows what is going on and ASK SOMEONE FOR A RECOMENDATION, you will usually walk away with something you will like. They should ask you questions like: "what kind of food are you having with this?, what flavors do you like?, do you like bold or soft wines?" etc...

Liberate yourself from the overpriced California wine and open up to the wonderful world that wine can be. Also stay away from MOST Texas wine. (Most are terrible) But if you run across Inwood Estates at $35 a bottle buy it and see what Texas wine COULD be. That wine is vinified in Dallas but most of the grapes are grown in West Texas.

PM me if you have any questions.

The same is true for spirits. One of my best finds (again, on a tip from "my gal at the wine shop") was Sobieski Vodka http://www.vodkasobieski.com/truth.php

a "value brand" from the folks that make Belvedere Vodka. I can get 2 1.75L bottles of Sobieski for about the same price as 1 750mL bottle of Belvedere & I can't tell the difference.

Not necessarily 2nd labels but two other labels that are just as good as the pricey brands for under $20/1.75liter: Pinnacle and Ruskova

I enjoy spirits more than wine. Even beer more than wine. Anyone want to start a bourbon thread? Originally Posted by atlcomedy

It would absolutely blow your mind to know who makes what in the alcohol world. There are basically less than a dozen major companies that make/own 90% of the liquor brands out there. They also own wineries and wine labels.

For example Diageo. They own/make Crown Royal, Smirnoff, Ketel One, Bushmills, Bailey's, Buchanan's, Bulleit Bourbon, 4 Roses Bourbon, George Dickel, Rosenblum Wine, Sterling Wine, BV Wine, Edna Valley Wine. And MANY MANY more. These are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Oh and Johnnie Walker.

On Sobiesky I am pretty sure it isn't made by Belvedere, but I didn't read the whole website. In Texas they used to be distributed by 2 different companies, until recently. But I could be wrong.

Check out this thread in Austin Sandbox... [ame="http://eccie.net/showthread.php?t=16340"]Bourbon Whiskey - ECCIE - Your source for escort reviews[/ame]

First if all, I do not like usually "mixes" like bottles that are merlot/cab concoctions. I also prefer the taste of wines from small wineries who do not use a lot of chemical to make 300,000+ bottles taste consistent.

Silver Oak Merlot is one of my faves. Bit it is pricey. Do I qualify as a wine snob? If so read on.

I found an everyday table wine that violates both my usual preferences listed above and a big bottle is about $15 and is in most grocery stores that have a decent sized wine section. FRONTERA cab/merlot from chile has a nice sweet but smooth taste that is quite pallete pleasing, IMO.

Nicole, I have had a bottle for you for awhile. We'll have to crack it open soon. Originally Posted by cpi3000

The sad reality is in California (and I always get the exact percentage wrong) if a label says "Merlot" it can actually be as little as 75-80% (see earlier perenthesis) and the remainder can be anything, but it is usually Cab if the label says Merlot. It can also be Petit Syrah, Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc etc...

In Washington the law is more restrictive and the name on the label has to be closer to 90% of the blend. In South America it has to be 100%.

Most wines are blends though. Like with European wines you get to know the AOC's or DO's or DOC's etc.. and you will know the types of grapes in the blend. I actually love blended wine. But I like a single varietel now and then as well.

I am sorry I am a little late to the party here, but another lesson would be on screw caps. I know it was discussed earlier.

Until recently cork was pretty much the only way to cap the bottle. The reality is that cork wood can contain a chemical (please dont ask me to spell it) that will taint the wine. It leaves the wine smelling like cardboard and tasting well awful (after I smell the tell tale smell I can't actually put the wine to my lips). And if you ever get a "corked" bottle take it back to the store and switch it out. The whole case is not bad, likely just the single bottle. In fact corked wine occurs on average 1 bottle per case.

Stelvin or Screw Caps are a revolution for the modern wine drinker. 1. they ARE cheaper, but the wine is not neccessarily cheap or bad. 2. the only wine that really needs a cork is the kind of wine intended to be stored and aged for long periods of time, because the wine will need small amounts of air to age properly. 3. there is no corked (cork taint) wine when you use a screw cap. 4. there are whole "appelations" that no longer use corks. i.e. Claire Valley in Australia.

Again Columbia Valley has embraced the screw cap.

You will begin to see more and more screw caps even on wines you have bought in the past that have had corks. Within a decade or less almost no wines will still be using wood corks.