Wine Enthusiasts of NA?
I've recently discovered the vast world of wine, and have sampled a few different things. I won't lie, my first experience with wine, I thought it tasted nasty and it was hard to drink. However, I've done a bit of research and found some that I've actually enjoyed, especially paired with the right food! Are there any wine enthusiasts or hobbyists on NA? Let's talk wine.
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I used to prefer white and would drink it all the time, and I would still say on balance that a lovely chilled medium-dry white is my poison of choice. I can easily down two bottles of the stuff, given the occasion. Not too sweet though, I don't like sweet white that much. However, since moving to Taiwan, there isn't an amazing selection of white available easily, and also the hot and humid temperatures make keeping the wine cold while you drink it a problem.
So, now I drink a lot more red than I used to. I tend to find that with reds I DO prefer some of the sweeter wines, I'd say I'm a medium to medium-sweet with those. Once you go too dry with red, it gets a nasty hit as soon as you taste it, although the aftertaste is usually much nicer. So, yeah I'm pretty happy with maybe a bottle or a bottle and a half of red, can't usually drink it as quickly or as much as white.
Yay wine!
OMG, I LOOOOOOOVE WINE! By far my favourite alcoholic beverage.
I used to prefer white and would drink it all the time, and I would still say on balance that a lovely chilled medium-dry white is my poison of choice. I can easily down two bottles of the stuff, given the occasion. Not too sweet though, I don't like sweet white that much. However, since moving to Taiwan, there isn't an amazing selection of white available easily, and also the hot and humid temperatures make keeping the wine cold while you drink it a problem.
So, now I drink a lot more red than I used to. I tend to find that with reds I DO prefer some of the sweeter wines, I'd say I'm a medium to medium-sweet with those. Once you go too dry with red, it gets a nasty hit as soon as you taste it, although the aftertaste is usually much nicer. So, yeah I'm pretty happy with maybe a bottle or a bottle and a half of red, can't usually drink it as quickly or as much as white.
Yay wine!
I never drank wine at all when I lived in the US, and I've also kind of noticed that here in Japan, the selection is not terrific. If you're a bit more interested in slightly sweeter reds, maybe you might be able to find a malbec? Do they sell Yellow Tail wine in Taiwan? It's everywhere here in Japan.
I've been drinking wine since way back tho. Me and my mates started off sharing bottles of Rose in our early drinking years, cause it was so cheap and so sweet we loved it lol! I can barely even get drunk off that stuff anymore, Rose is practically a soft-drink to me by this point! Ugh, so sweet!
There's a website/service I enjoyed for a while you might want to check out called Naked Wines. You pay a certain amount each month and that money goes to your wine bank that you can draw on at any time to find wine from small producers that interests you. If you have enough money in your bank you barely pay anything, otherwise you pay the difference between your balance and the order total. No obligation to use your wine bank, and it doesn't get lost to fees. Basically just it as your leisure to bankroll new wines and explore just about every type.
I love a nice big Cab or Petite Sirah during the cold winters and a nice bright Pinot Noir or dry chilled rosé during the summer. Not big into white wine but ifwhem I do get into that mood I go for a nice oaky Chardonnay.
i am fortunate to work im a store with a good selection and a great wine buyer. He really knows his shit and introduced me to the wine world 10 years ago.
I love a nice big Cab or Petite Sirah during the cold winters and a nice bright Pinot Noir or dry chilled rosé during the summer. Not big into white wine but ifwhem I do get into that mood I go for a nice oaky Chardonnay.
i am fortunate to work im a store with a good selection and a great wine buyer. He really knows his shit and introduced me to the wine world 10 years ago.
Damn that is a huge wine store. I'm jealous, wish we had something like that around here! Have you found any particular wineries that you regularly gravitate towards?
But I've really narrowed down on just drinking beer the past few years. Which is something I've always like.
Wine is definentily a fun hobby so I can totally relate.
We have a wine festival here in Niagara and icewine.
I love a nice big Cab or Petite Sirah during the cold winters and a nice bright Pinot Noir or dry chilled rosé during the summer. Not big into white wine but ifwhem I do get into that mood I go for a nice oaky Chardonnay.
i am fortunate to work im a store with a good selection and a great wine buyer. He really knows his shit and introduced me to the wine world 10 years ago.
Hell yeah, amazing! God, what I wouldn't give to be locked in that store with a bottle opener and a glass for an evening, lush!
I love a nice big Cab or Petite Sirah during the cold winters and a nice bright Pinot Noir or dry chilled rosé during the summer. Not big into white wine but ifwhem I do get into that mood I go for a nice oaky Chardonnay.
i am fortunate to work im a store with a good selection and a great wine buyer. He really knows his shit and introduced me to the wine world 10 years ago.
Damn that is a huge wine store. I'm jealous, wish we had something like that around here! Have you found any particular wineries that you regularly gravitate towards?
A lot of what I drink depends on the day. I don’t make a ton of money so I’ve found some really good inexpensive everyday wines, but I do have some higher end wines I drink a couple times a year.
For my go to cab, I’m currently really liking 90+ cellars(actually they have been good across the board on all wines they do) most bottle are about $10-$12 dollars. Beringer does a bourbon barrel aged cab that’s really good and goes for about $15. Decoy also does a fantastic cab which depending on where you go it’s anywhere from $18-$25.
As far as Pinot noir goes I reall like again the 90+ cellars about $11, Mark west is about $10 and right now my absolute favorite Pinot is Machine Breaker, a little pricey for an everyday bottle at $23 but it drinks really well. Almost like an expensive Old vine Zin.
When I do Rosé, I stick to French. The California ones tend to have a little sweetness that I don’t like.
Heres one thing to avoid when in a wine store. Do not just pick based on price and nice labels. Far too often someone comes in and wants a really good bottle of wine for a gift and they won’t take anything under $100. We have $20 bottles of wine that drink better than most of those expensive bottles.
Also never be afraid to ask an employee or even another customer that’s shopping.
Wine? As in coolers? I like a good '86 premium Bartles and Jaymes.
Get outta here. Go start a shitty beer thread.
I like red wine, especially chianti, but I'm not a big fan of white wine, with the exception of champagne.
Learned a funny saying from a Portuguese fighter pilot -- "When there is no wine, drink white"
I went to Vegas with some winos and had some expensive (relatively, like $2-400?) bottles of wine and I thought they were a moderate sized step above my grocery store wine, but man I cannot imagine making a hobby out of drinking that much money away over a couple hours! It sure was fun listening to the wine-man (that's the technical name, right?) tell us about the rainfall in that region of France in that year. I'm a connoisseur of cabernet that costs less than 10 bucks, from Charles Shaw to Oak Creek to Gallo Family and if you want to be really fancy, a whole box of Franzia from Walmart.
My man! That's how we do it, maximum bang for buck as long as you can keep the stuff down! Although, maybe that's just my inner British binge drinker talking...
Generally, the way we do it, as soon as the cork pops or the cap unscrews, there is only one conclusion and that is complete legless annihilation!
Why do I start to feel like I'm enjoying this thread way too much, lol!
Malbec. Never tried it until a co-worker suggested it and now its the only thing my wife and I will drink if we get wine with dinner, or drinking wine in general. Doesn't matter if its a $10 bottle or $100 bottle, as long as it's from Argentina you cant go wrong.
I've been looking for exactly that. From what I've read, it sounds like something I will enjoy. It's just a bit hard to find here.
Later my father, brother, and I would then start making our own wine, and I even worked at a local winery for a stint.
Keeping up the traditions, I sometimes will make a batch of wine here in Taiwan. Last November or December I made some dragon fruit wine, and it turned out delicious.
I work for one of the larger grocery wholesaler/retailers in the US. As an analyst, I review categories of goods and facilitate meetings with internal results/trends/recommendations. Well, I led a Wine meeting where our main buyer was raving about Black Box branded wines and all of their blind tasting awards. As a red wine enthusiast, I couldnt take him seriously until I actually tried the product. Now I am officially a convert to Black Box wine (each box is the equiv of 4 reg bottles) for under $20! I used to spend $20+ for one bottle. Highly recommend the Merlot & Pinot Noir.
Your bug stuck in my brain...I grabbed a Black Box Rose from Sam's Club after work today. I believe they were marked as 2017, but I found one oddity sticking out as a "Limited Edition" from 2015 lol. 3 liters in such a tiny little box lol!
Malbec. Never tried it until a co-worker suggested it and now its the only thing my wife and I will drink if we get wine with dinner, or drinking wine in general. Doesn't matter if its a $10 bottle or $100 bottle, as long as it's from Argentina you cant go wrong.
I really want to try an Angelica Zapata Malbec 2014. It's more expensive than an Angelica Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon but it may be worth it.
I also have two bottles of a Coldisole Brunello di Montalcino 2012 that I'm looking forward to tasting but I'm waiting for a cold weather.
As for everyday wines, I like Fox Brooks from California.
I used to buy a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon from them but I can't find it anymore here in Brazil and so I started to buy the Chardonnay (white) from them and it's good. My girlfriend and mother loves it.
I work for one of the larger grocery wholesaler/retailers in the US. As an analyst, I review categories of goods and facilitate meetings with internal results/trends/recommendations. Well, I led a Wine meeting where our main buyer was raving about Black Box branded wines and all of their blind tasting awards. As a red wine enthusiast, I couldnt take him seriously until I actually tried the product. Now I am officially a convert to Black Box wine (each box is the equiv of 4 reg bottles) for under $20! I used to spend $20+ for one bottle. Highly recommend the Merlot & Pinot Noir.
I'm not much of a wine snob, so I find the Black Box red blend and the similar red blend from Bota Box to be fairly interchangeable.
And I think both are quite decent for red table wine. (I just favor whichever one is on sale)
Corks, bottles, and distribution are expensive, so paying $4-$5/bottle in box form (for a wine you don't have to drink in one sitting because the vacuum-sealed wine skin) probably works out to something you'd pay more like $10-$12/bottle for if it were individually bottled with a real cork.