Wine anyone?

[Cider]

Okay you fish and game connoisseurs...

Fish and game must be complimented with a great glass of wine.  What is everybody's favorite vineyard, type, vintage?

Personally, I like hearty/robust reds that are velvety with lots of tannins and a peppery finish.  I like to drink reds as a stand alone to relax after work, socially, and to compliment venison and other red meat game.

I like red wines from Northern California and South Eastern Australia.

Rosemount makes a syrah/cab blend that is great.  I also like Lindemans' and Yellow Tail from Australia.  Duckhorn Merlot (not cheap at $70 a bottle), Duckhorn Paraduxx (cab savgn/zinf blend), and Bogle Petite Syrah (especially 1998) are my favorite domestics.  Sterling Pinot Noir is another favorite.  Covey Run and Smoking Loon has good stuff too...

We just had a delmonico on the grill tonight and my wife and I had it with a Parducci Petite Syrah which is also very good.

For fish and poultry I like a good chilled reisling or viognier.  RH Phillips has a viognier (EXP) that is fantastic with fish and especially poultry.  I once prepared a roast canada goose over sweet onions in vodka and juniper berry sauce.  I served it with EXP and the meal was simply out of this world!

Anyone like to share their favorite wines?  I am always interested in trying new ones.

[grumpymoe]

cider cider..what have you done now??? this page is far too short to discuss some of my favourite wines. red or whites from australia, washington state, oregon....penfolds grange hermitage 1981-1983 cabernet sauvignon.... henry estate chardonnay from oregon probably the best white...(extremely hard to find)....on and on the list could go...we also make our own wine (almost exclusively in whites)...grump

[Smelt1]

Cider, I'm not a wine drinker but one of my brothers works for Cakebread vineyards out in Napa Ca. and all of my friends that drink wine say it is great,especialy the Merlots with eating fish.

[livin4ice]

Cider, I have tried more wines than I want to think about.  Believe it or nor, one of my favorites for every day is Turning Leaf Merlot.  I also like some of the Australian blends.  Southwest Michigan has some very good vinyards as do Indiana and Ohio.  I don't personaly buy into the strict rules of drinking specific kinds of wine with certain foods (beef, pork, fish etc.), I drink what tastes good to me. 

[Cider]

I drink what tastes good to me. 

Here Here!  I agree emphatically!  Rules were made to be broken and if you like something why not go for it!?

Grump - any wine making secrets you want to share with us?  I thought about making it but wasn't sure about the amount of work involved.  Thought it might be a huge undertaking...

[fozsey]

Wine??  PHEWY Beer. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

[Cider]

Wine??  PHEWY Beer. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

Oh com'on Brian, live a little!  Beer is good when it is hot out and you need something cold and refreshing and you will sweat it out right away.  It bloats you too much though.

Try wine and if you really can't get to like that, then we could always talk about bourbon, scotch, and whisky!!! 

[grumpymoe]

cider...home winemaking is relatively easy once you're equipped...5 food quality pails and 5 carboys, filtering pump, and you choose which wine kits!!! and away you go... i think for around $300.00 or less you can start producing high quality wine at home for about 1/3 the cost... if you want to know more, lets get started...grump....oh and by the way, wine gives you a nice warm glow much different than beer, or hard stuff..your taste will graduate to nice dry wine as your taste buds grow...

[fozsey]

Ok, how about a fine white wine then?? Like MD 20 20 

[fulltmedad]

I have a 1984 Concannon Vineyards Petite Sirah Anniversary Edition stashed away in a cool dark place. I have had it since the winery's celebration that I attended in 1984. I recently spoke with the winery and they said it would be at it's peak right now....Sooooo, do I drink it or continue to save it?
FTD

[Cider]

FTD - that is a tough decision!!  I like to horde (age) wine in my basement too!  However, if there is one thing that I have learned about wine it is this:

With reds, there are two types.  Those that are bottled and meant for drinking right away, and those you hold onto for 15-20 years and they mature.  After a certain time goes by, the wine will peak and then begin to go by.  The tannins will begin to break down and the wine will spoil.  It is also possible that the cork could react with the wine and spoil it.

If the vinyard that produced it told you that now is the time, I would heed their advice and give it the proper disposal it deserves!!

I know, it is like a close friend and you would hate to open it and not see it sitting in your rack anymore.  That is tough to get over.  So, go out and get a new one before you take the old one off the rack.  Simply switch them out and act like nothing ever happened!!  Twenty years from now you will be ready for another fine wine!! 

[vancouvercanuck]

I like a good Shiraz from the Hunter Valley. Lindemans, Wyndham, Cockfighters Ghost has a nice one.

[Cider]

if you want to know more, lets get started...grump

Hey Grump, where do you get your kits/equipment?  Is there a mail order company that specializes in this?  I am interested in giving it a whirl sometime.

This is off subject, but a friend of mine just gave me a bunch of homemade venison sausage that is 50% wild boar.  It is a sweet italian style sausage.  He makes lots of different sausages and put me in touch with a very cool mail order company.

For anyone who is interested here is the link:  http://www.sausagemaker.com

[grumpymoe]

ftd...listen to the winery...they know...like cider said..the hardest part is to get the corkscrew into the cork, but you know.....expectation sometimes exceeds the contents....i've found this many times...so enjoy it now and rack another for a special day......que sirah, sirah!!      grump

[Somers]

When I'm really looking forward to a nice fish dinner, I'd have to say my favorite white is a Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, but I have to say as well that the reds do pair nicely w/ fish or anything else your not "supposed" to drink them with.

I had a nice cab/merlot mix recently w/ some trout I cooked up, but the name escapes me at the moment.  Estancia or something like that.

I also enjoy putting out some fennel bulb, roquefort/gorgonzola, and some sliced venison pepperoni/salami and a good ruby port.

d**n, these threads are making me hungry.