Piano World Home Page Forums Restricted and Archives The Coffee Room What wine are you drinking now?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make some predictions.

First, I think that the Marlborough New Zealand sauvignon blancs will get better and better, and will ultimately become the world's benchmark for this variety. Right now, I think the vines are still too young, and the grapes still a bit too herbal/grassy tasting. This will fade as the vines mature, allowing the flinty magic of the area's soil to come through. The combination of mineral and fruitiness is the Holy Grail of white winemaking (to me at least).

Second, South Africa's winemaking industry will emerge from its torpor to invent a new category in red wines. I think they will succeed wildly with blends that include their home-grown pinotage grape, yielding wines that are reminiscent yet intriguingly different from the best of France's burgundies.

Third, Spain and Portugal will continue in their efforts at modernizing their wineries and improving their winemaking techniques, which will yield a bumper crop of inexpensive yet elegant wines from vines that are at least as old as those of Bordeaux.

Finally, here in the US, I think we'll see an increase in regional wines, and maybe even a return to some of the historical wines of pre-Prohibition days. (Prohibition nearly killed the wine industry everywhere in the US but California and New York.) There has been a resurgence of interest in some of the varieties derived from native American grapes, which I find somewhat intriguing.

Apple those were my thoughts exactly

I'm on a cup of coffee right now can't start drinking wine before 10

Cathy

I saw this thread and thought the same exact thing! Who the heck is drinking wine at this hour?! I still have a headache from the champagne last night (celebrating our last kidless evening).

Uhg.

Jodi

Already my benchmark. Just discovered them and WOW.

[No, I am not having any this morning!]

jf

Are there any really good NY wines?

You know the best CHEAP champagne I have found is Great Western, a New York product. Other than that, I have no knowledge.

jf

Some of the Finger Lakes rieslings are decent. Not approaching Germany or Alsace yet, but it's pretty good considering where they started from.

The ones I've heard most often are:


"There's never a cop around when you need one."

"Taxi drivers should talk better American."

"Leona Helmsley should teach that Clinton woman some manners."


(but I haven't been there many times, TTTT)

I like your avatar. Klimt is a favorite and I have a calendar of his in my office (some months are a tad but risque).

jf

No Bob, that's whines.......

jf

Bernard, I'll let you know as soon as I open this bottle of Salmon Run. A Johannisberg Riesling from New York.(By Konstantin D. Frank)

Sure. For example, a lot of Long Island wines are really good.

My wife and I had the great privilege of actually meeting Dr. Konstantin Frank over 20 years ago. He was well up in age by then. We stopped by his winery and he personally met and served us. He was a legend; the first to prove vinifera (European) grapes could survive NY's cold winters. The wines were wonderful then; I hope his descendants have carried on his methods.

Matt, interesting your note about native grapes having a resurgence of interest. I always thought these wines had a place, but the wine snobs always dismiss them out of hand.

2002 Capçanes Mas Donís Barrica - Montsant (Spain)

Trying this one for the third time now. It gets better each time. Was also on the list from the link johnmoonlight supplied above. Despite being 80% grenache (or garnacha, in Spanish) and 20% syrah, it doesn't come across anything like a typical French Côtes du Rhône, with which it shares grape varieties. {Edited after I looked it up.}

Check out this really interesting set of web articles about the Norton grape. Sure, the sweet Concord and Catawba wines are nothing to get too excited about, but Norton has been used to make a respectable dry red wine for many, many years.

Tried an excellent wine last night at a nice Italian restaurant; Ken Wright Cellars Pinor Noir 2002. Extremely dense with dark cherries and blackberries. Sort of on the expensive side at $45 but well worth it!

Gryphon, you had previously asked about the wines from New York and I told you that I would let you know after I had tried the "Salmon Run".
I didn't care for it. I like a Reisling wine with a little bit more tartness and this one had none. Not a bad wine but just not my cup of uhhh, wine.

Offhand, I can't think of any region in NY state, other than Long Island, that has the relatively poor soil needed for superior wines ... or is that one more requisite for fine wine that's been superceded by technology?

45$!! Wanna date?

I can't keep enough Caymus Conundrum in the house...only about 23 a bottle.

Kathy, with YOU, anytime!!

Picked up some new (or new to me) Mirassou wines this past week. Yellow labels; they may be a second-string line. They are marked either California or Central Coast. A local store has them for 8 bucks and they are good.

I tried the cabernet sauv. and the pinot noir, the p.n. was surprisingly full. I think there's a Chard and maybe one other.