Wine thread

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evalseraphim

evalseraphim

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Can't have a food and dining section without wine. <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->

If you like wine and want learn more and/or spend time with other wine enthusiasts, I would highly recommend the Orange County Wine Society. The organization is a non profit that started in the '70s, runs the wine competition for the OC Fair, and provides scholarships to students studying enology.

It's a good group of very friendly people (ok, there are a few wine snobs, but they are few and far between). You can choose to keep it social, or hang out with the people who know a lot about wine and learn from them.
 
Hopefully we can add a few good reviews to this thread over the weekend!

*Goes to dig in the wine fridge for something cool.*
 
[quote author="evalseraphim"]Today only (until 9:59 pm or sold out) at Wine Woot: Vinturis for $23.99 + $5 shipping.[/quote]

That is a fantastic deal! If you have wine loving relatives or friends, this would make a great x-mas gift. No need to get me one though, I scored on the last Woot deal on it, it was $1 more.
 
[quote author="evalseraphim"]Can't have a food and dining section without wine. <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->

If you like wine and want learn more and/or spend time with other wine enthusiasts, I would highly recommend the Orange County Wine Society. The organization is a non profit that started in the '70s, runs the wine competition for the OC Fair, and provides scholarships to students studying enology.

It's a good group of very friendly people (ok, there are a few wine snobs, but they are few and far between). You can choose to keep it social, or hang out with the people who know a lot about wine and learn from them. [/quote]

Wow, I'm truly humbled. There is an entire society dedicated to me?
 
Can this gadget turn $10 wine into $50 wine?

venturi.jpg


http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/15/the-vinturi-invention-of-genius-or-a-con-job/45031/

Did we discuss this gadget before on IHB?
 
^^^ We did. Good memory!

I wouldn't go so far as to say it would make $10 wine a $50 wine (which is all pretty subjective anyway), but I will say any red wine priced at <$8 would be improved by the use of a Vinturi. I even used it on a young Rhone style white wine (either a Marsanne or Rousanne, I can't recall which), and made the wine much more layered and interesting. Any whites that can improve with some age (Marsanne, Roussane, oaked Chardonnays and Burgundies) would likely have a different flavor ("better" being in the tastebuds of the drinker) if run through the Vinturi.

One word of advice: if your wine has any sediment, strain or decant it first, and then run the wine through the Vinturi. The sediment will clog / back it up. The newer Vinturis come with a strainer.
 
I'd say it can make a 89 score red into a 90 point wine. Provided that you let that $8.00 bottle sit for a day afterwards. It's not the quick fix they advertised it to be.

Ditto on the sediment issue. What good is an aerated wine when you've got shmutz in the glass?

The next IHB TalkIrvine face to face should meet at either The Hobbit in Orange or Hi-Time in Costa Mesa.
 
Apparently it has worked better for me than for you. Toe-mato / Toe-mahto. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->

We might consider a meet up at Total Wine. In the back, they have those machines where you buy a pre-paid card and then can taste whatever wines are open by the glass. Not super ideal, but less expensive than The Hobbit, for sure, and maybe a little closer to home.

Wine Exchange in Orange also has the same machines.
 
[quote author="evalseraphim"]We might consider a meet up at Total Wine. In the back, they have those machines where you buy a pre-paid card and then can taste whatever wines are open by the glass. .[/quote]

What does this mean? You've got me curious now. Is this a vending machine for wine? Or it dispenses it into a glass? I never heard of such a thing! What does it look like?
 
[quote author="SoCal78"]
[quote author="evalseraphim"]We might consider a meet up at Total Wine. In the back, they have those machines where you buy a pre-paid card and then can taste whatever wines are open by the glass. .[/quote]

What does this mean? You've got me curious now. Is this a vending machine for wine? Or it dispenses it into a glass? I never heard of such a thing! What does it look like?[/quote]

Basically, yes. I'll post more info when I get home.
 
I just used the Vinturi on a 2004 Eberle Zin from the Remo Belli vineyard. It definitely helped open it up and made the fruit come out on the forefront. YMMV but it does help on wines that are still tight. Like opening it up in the morning and decanting it to have it that night. I will say that the 2002 Eberle reserve cab that I busted out on the Friday after t-day at Cayci's aunt's house was better with out it. So it just depends on the wine. Some need the help, others don't, and some are just helpless.
 
Cameray was kind enough to send me this link to an article on Paso Robles wines in the OC Register.

The unofficial IHB wine tour of Paso Robles last January visited Jada Vineyards, one of wineries mentioned in the article, and we really enjoyed what they had on offer. The only downside is that they are very high alcohol wines. Even sharing tastings, we were "done" after this one, needing to re-charge on the tasting room's balcony for a bit with cheese, crackers, and water. One of things I liked about their wines were their willingness to use atypical varietals, like Tannat.
 
NNNNNOOOOOO!!!!!!! Stop posting about Jada. Damn you OC Register! They don't make that many wines and the good ones sell out. We got lucky and they found a bottle in the back of one of the wines that we loved. EvaL remembers that one.

One nice thing about Jada is they serve cheese with their wines and sell that cheese there. They sell other food items too. It is nice to be able to get some food in when the wines are high in heat. It was cool to just chill out on their patio overlooking the vineyard and get some much needed food.

Man... I love Jada wines. Can't wait to go back there again!
 
I am curious to see how Spanish wines fare going forward. Our economic slump is bad, but nothing compared to theirs, and I know a number of wineries expanded or were bought for high prices. I had also heard that many recent vintages were very good, but from 2007 forward, not so much.
 
Wine sediment question:

I have read that wine sediment is nothing to be concerned about. However, I have a bottle that is so full of it, I don't think I could pour any wine without it coming out, and probably a lot of it. I have never seen a bottle with this much sediment before. What should I do with this bottle... get rid of it?
 
the wife and I went to Olive Garden last Saturday, we haven't had a date night for a while and wanted to go all out...

we even ordered wine, they served this ros? color sample and we loved it... it wasn't sweet enough so we poured on the sugar, and we even sipped it with a straw, we had three glasses, I liked it with some ice chunks from the water in mine...
 
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