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Wine Tasting Thread

vibr8tor

vibr8tor

Bluelight Crew
Joined
May 27, 2000
Messages
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i've been wanting to start a wine tasting discussion thread for a long time now, but since it will need organization and participation to be successful, it's been easy for me to avoid actually initiating it. but once i post this, the ball is rolling, so how about we start things by seeing who is interested? we'll alternate from red to white, and the variety will be pre-determined on a set schedule. what you pick from that variety is up to you; just stick to the current theme and review after you select.

for right now, here's a *somewhat* loose schedule:

Current Variety= (white) Chardonnay

next up: (RED) Pinot Noir start date 4-1-10

it's a loose schedule, though. until we see how many people have an interest, and how long it takes those who want to do this to buy and discuss, it's difficult to plan for months from now. i'm a complete novice, but i keep a journal and rate everything i buy, and i've given bottles that range from $8-$25 one to five stars without correlation. so at least in my opinion, there's room to work with that general range. also, with online stores, the availability issue doesn't seem like it will slow things down too much.

there's a lot more i want to say, but to avoid this becoming a tl;dr i'll just shut up for now and see what the general feel is...
 
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This is a GREAT idea! I can't participate right away, as I'm giving up booze while cutting, but I'd be happy to join in a couple months.

The biggest problem that I see is that we may be limited to larger vintners/commercial wineries, as the smaller (and IMO better) ones may not be as widely available. Still, I'll vote to do this... in April. :)
 
^ nominate one for the first round, and we'll see how easy it is to find :)
 
Busty St Clare said:
Sounds like a great idea, I just don't think I will have access to the same wines :(
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This is my concern too because on the other side of the planet we have a lot of really different wine varieties to you northern-hemispherians!

Perhaps we could choose 1 northern hemisphere wine and 1 southern hemisphere wine per tasting session? OR alternate between northern and southern varieties each time? Just thinking aloud :)

Either way this thread excites me!
 
both of you just nominate a barbera, dammit! if the majority cant locate them, yours might not win, but you might be surprised. i'm gonna throw out my nom when i'm home later :)
 
from wikipedia:

Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano).[1] It produces good yields and is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid (which is unusual for a warm climate red grape). Century-old vines still exist in many regional vineyards and allow for the production of long-aging, robust red wines with intense fruit and enhanced tannic content. The best known appellation is the DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) Barbera d'Asti in the Piedmont region. When young, the wines offer a very intense aroma of fresh red and blackberries. In the lightest versions notes of cherries, raspberries and blueberries and with notes of blackberry and black cherries in wines made of more ripe grapes. Many producers employ the use of toasted (seared over a fire) oak barrels, which provides for increased complexity, aging potential, and hints of vanilla notes. The lightest versions are generally known for flavors and aromas of fresh fruit and dried fruits, and are not recommended for cellaring. Wines with better balance between acid and fruit, often with the addition of oak and having a high alcohol content are more capable of cellaring; these wines often result from reduced yield viticultural methods.[2]
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and from lovetoknow.com:

Respect is rarely automatic, not always deserved and not taken lightly. Barbera has lacked respect in the wine world because it was said to be too acidic, too rustic, too coarse, lacking flavor and compromised too easily. Barbera's only apparent redeeming quality was its cheapness or more modestly put, its value. Perhaps it has had a bad reputation because it is a primary Piedmont resident in Italy's northwest wine region, where the other two grape varietals, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto, overshadow the lowly Barbera in respect and admiration. It's grown in other Italian wine regions, in fact, after Sangiovese, Barbera is the second most planted grape in the boot-country, but there's no correlation with that fact and that people love and praise their Chiantis, their Brunellos, and their Barolos more. While Barbera has been sneered at, spat upon and spurned, bottles of it are commonly found as the table wine in Italian restaurants
. What do they know that the snooty critics don't? Barbera may be underrated, but it's the everyday underrated drinking wine.
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and

Contrary to Barolo or Barbaresco, a Barbera wine is not a dark and sinister purple but a brighter ruby red. Also, Barbera has negligible tannins and does not age as well. It's probably a good idea to drink the wine when it's fairly young, say within four to six years of the vintage date. As it ages, the color will turn to garnet with brownish edges. Regarding its flavors, when expertly done, Barbera shows modes of black cherries, black berries, currants and plums.
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:) i think it would be nice to learn about each variety as we go, cuz i really know jack shit about wine, other than i like some and dislike others!
 
my nomination

69373.jpg


Coppo Barbera d'Asti Camp du Rouss 750ml 2006
Sku: 1532294

Deep red in color with garnet highlights. The bouquet is pleasantly intense with persistent aromas. Full bodied and velvety smooth. Recommended with beef cooked in red wine sauce.

Made from 100% Barbera The first vintage was bottled in 1987, and 100,000 bottles are produced annually.

Wine maker notes
Production area: Camp Du Rouss - located 650 - 980 ft. above sea level, with south/southwestern exposure and a marly calcareous soil composition

Vineyard characteristics: acres planted in 1960-1980 with a density of 1800 - 2000 vines per acre. The vines are planted in the Guyot method and yield 2.8 - 3.2 tons per acre.

Technical notes
Type of Press: Method of extraction: maceration with skin contact with multiple pumpovers Length of Maceration: 12 days Fermented in stainless steel at a temperature of 82- 86 degrees for 10 days. Malolactic fermentation is totally carried out The wine is not refrigerated prior to bottling. Filtered: Unfiltered Fining: Fined Aging Container: Type: French barrique Age: 20% new Size: 225 liters Toast: Medium The wine is aged for 12 months followed by an additional 12 months in bottle prior to release from the winery.

Analytical Data Total Acidity: 5.5 gram(s) per liter pH: 3.48 Dry Extract: 29.6 gram(s) per liter Alcohol Content: 13.6 % alc. by volume Residual Sugars: 0 gram(s) per liter
***************************************************************************


It can be ordered here for $15.98, and has free shipping with the promo code "searcher"
 
well i dont think i got to tell yall that there aint no way i would go nowhere near this thread ur plannin but I thought at least vibby would think this ish I read abou the other day was funny...i was just readin thru some shit online last wk and seen it but when i looked at this thread it reminded me of it and i figured i would post it....Shit, i always knew all them snobby ass wine ppl was a bunch of fakers...;)

In one experiment, wine experts were given two bottles of the same wine, only one was labeled a "vin de table" (France's version of "Night Train") and one was labeled a "grand cru" (top-rated vineyard since 1855). Want to guess what happened?

According to the article: "Whereas the tasters found the wine from the first bottle 'simple,' 'unbalanced,' and 'weak,' they found the wine from the second 'complex,' 'balanced,' and 'full.'"
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Studies suggest that the experience of smelling and tasting wine is extremely susceptible to interference from the cognitive parts of the brain. Several years ago, Frédéric Brochet, a Ph.D. student in oenology at the University of Bordeaux, did a study in which he served fifty-seven participants a midrange red Bordeaux from a bottle with a label indicating that it was a modest vin de table. A week later, he served the same wine to the same subjects but this time poured from a bottle indicating that the wine was a grand cru. Whereas the tasters found the wine from the first bottle “simple,” “unbalanced,” and “weak,” they found the wine from the second “complex,” “balanced,” and “full.” Brochet argues that our “perceptive expectation” arising from the label often governs our experience of a wine, overriding our actual sensory response to whatever is in the bottle.

Rajat Parr, a prominent wine director who oversees restaurants in Las Vegas, told me that several years ago some of his customers ordered a bottle of 1982 Pétrus, which can sell in restaurants for as much as six thousand dollars. The party finished the bottle and ordered a second. But the second bottle tasted noticeably different, so they sent it back. The staff apologetically produced a third bottle, which the diners consumed with pleasure. Parr closely examined the three bottles and discovered the problem with the second one: it was genuine (the first and third were counterfeits.)

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/03/070903fa_fact_keefe?currentPage=all#ixzz0eGE7j2Ep
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and a different experiment where they could not tell the difference betwen white and red wine

http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2007/11/the_subjectivity_of_wine.phpIn 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted two separate and very mischievous experiments. In the first test, Brochet invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn't stop the experts from describing the "red" wine in language typically used to describe red wines. One expert praised its "jamminess," while another enjoyed its "crushed red fruit." Not a single one noticed it was actually a white wine.
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I know this aint really got nothin to do with your tasting thread and all that but it made me laugh to read those articles thats all. I aint sayin that yall are like that just becuz u like to drink wine n all that. I jus figured anybody whose inerested in that type of thing would think those stories were interesting since its somethin they familiar with. :)

anyways keep goin on with ur thread Im outta here for sure just wanted to give yall some lol's
 
^hah, i love hearing about shit like that! i heard something similar recently; a professional wine reviewer had been saving this super expensive bottle, like ridiculously high priced, and gave it an incredible review after drinking. and then realized that they opened the wrong bottle, and it was like $15 bottle or something. which is why i think we have a lot of room for something like this thread (for amateurs like me at least!).

honestly, i'd love to have the opportunity to sample something good which is ridiculously priced, just to see what all the hype is about. i started drinking wine a few years ago, and i literally had to force myself to down sips and acquire a taste. but it was something i wanted to develop, because it seemed like it would be fun, especially when you end up at some fancy event and wine is one of the few alcoholic beverages offered. so i started writing them all down in a little journal which i designated for it, and i rate them from 1-5 stars.

and even though i'm super shy, it's fun to strike up a conversation with strangers in the wine department. i love hearing their opinion, and since i keep track of all the stuff i've tried, i feel like i can offer suggestions if they're buying some for a gift and have no idea what to get. as long as they aren't looking for something that costs a lot :D
 
sounds like fun :)

i am horrible at reviewing wine tho. i know what i like, and what i don't like. i have a really hard time picking out flavors and deciding if something is complex or simple. this would be good practice.
 
^^ Before my boyfriend met me he'd never drunk wine in his life. My parents are avid wine connoisseurs so my boyfriend made a real effort to get in to the world of wine. My parents bought him this book (except the 2006 edition) and he literally studied it until he knew a shitload about many different wine varieties and also how to adequately explain the taste/senstation of each. Now he collects wine and really knows his stuff about it.

This particular publication is Australian-specific, but I'm sure there are books like it in any country/region in the world :)

Oh and yes, picking out the different components of a wine's taste is definitely something that can be practised! Some people are just naturally good at it and have a particularly strong sense of smell/taste, but most people can become good at it with practice. Just like anything else really :)
 
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Nice idea for a thread, but the suggested wine is only available in the US as far as I can see.
 
:! so suggest one from your country, dammit! it's like the photo contest. or more like a book club, actually. submit your preference and then we'll vote on which one we use!
 
Oooooooooooooooooohhhh... I seeeeee.

I did not get that.

I blame poor formatting in the OP's schedule. Either that or lazy reading on my part.

Never had Barbera before. I will peruse and rejoin later...
 
It's great of you live in Australia or New Zealand we have thousands of bottles of local wines too choose from ;)

Also, screw the Wine critics! everyones taste is different at the end of the day it's what taste good to you!
 
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Schwartz Katz or Riesling come to mind for good German whites, although I can think of no specific makers at this time.

I do not know wine very well.
 
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