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The Wine Cellar

NurseDave

NurseDave

“You'd be Wrong!”
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Intro - It’s been mentioned a few times that I should do some forum posts to share some basic wine knowledge. I’m not an expert, but I do enjoy wine as a hobby. To lay out my experience for you, we live not too far from Napa and that’s where I cut my wine chops so to speak. After many trips up there I started learning more and more, and eventually had official education resulting in a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level II certification. Think sommelier certification without the testing on service. My tastes are fairly limited, though I’ve tasted wines widely trying to expand them. I’m a red wine guy, and Napa area reds to be specific. I don’t like many wines from other areas and I can explain the differences later. I like the stereotypical big bold wines with Cabernet being at the top, then Merlot and Zinfandel. I do cellar (age) most of my wines, but this is a rarity in America. The typical wine purchase is something like <$12 and consumed within a few weeks of purchase. And especially when discussing storage I’ll be focused on those.

Lastly, I want to say, drink what you enjoy! If you found a $5 bottle that knocks your socks off, then you won the wine lottery. You’re getting enjoyment on the cheap! Personally I’ll drink a nice bold Cab with anything because I enjoy it. 44% of my cellar is Cabernet or a Cab blend. Fish? Cab. Cheese? Cab. Nothing? Cab. Obviously I do drink other wines, and will “pair” to some extent from time to time, but I drink what I like when I like to.

So far I'm working on topics Types of wine, How much to spend, Storage, Opening and serving a bottle, Drinking/pairing, and What to do with open wine.
 
Types of wine - Here’s a huge topic. When I started drinking wine, I knew nothing than there was red, white and pink. And I think this can be the first hurdle for people not familiar with wine at all. Just like in traditional shaving where one DE might work well for you and another be just simply terrible, you didn’t know that until you tried several and started noticing the differences. Same is true with wine. There is a big difference in taste between a big juicy Cabernet and a fresh tangy Pinot. But they are both red wines. And you have to taste enough to learn some generalities of what types of wines you like and those you don’t. It would be very sad to try a couple of Pinots you didn’t enjoy and then proclaim that you don’t like red wine. To complicate matters even more, you can get into blends and even styles of wines. I like a nice Napa style Bordeaux blend, but not a Bordeaux blend from Bordeaux. Heck, there are even Napa wineries where I don’t enjoy the style of Cab they make but really enjoy the winemaker down the road. This gets to be very personal. My only suggestion is to try as many different types of wines as you can and keep notes. In a good restaurant you should be able to mention a style you enjoy or a couple of wines you’ve liked in the past and then ask for what else they would recommend.

Red:
Cabernet Sauvignon or “Cab” - This is the big daddy of reds. Full flavor and can have higher alcohol and tannin content. Think dark red fruits.
Merlot - I call this “Cab lite”. It can have the nice full flavor, but be a little more mellow with a little less tannin. For some folks this might be preferable to Cab if you’re not having a heavy meal.
Zinfandel - Can range from medium to full body. Is known for peppery, berry or baking spice notes.
Pinot Noir or “Pinot” - Lightest of this group. Typically more acidic, tangy, with bright red fruit flavors. Think strawberry or cranberry.

White:
Riesling - Can be two extremes. Some versions are sweet and can be very enjoyable to those that don’t enjoy “traditional” wines. Other versions are very dry (not sweet) and acidic. Citrus and stone-fruit flavors. The fullest body of this group.
Sauvignon Blanc - Usually light bodied, not sweet and usually on the tart side. Can have some light tropical fruit notes but known for herb or green pepper flavors.
Chardonnay - Medium to full body. Can be fresh or more rounded “buttery” if aged in oak barrels. Typically tropical fruits with some vanilla or burnt sugar.
 
Good intro Dave! I can for sure enjoy a Cab once in a while. For me the big thing is i don't like dry wines. My favorite that i have tried so far is an Australian Shiraz. Its been a while but if i remember correctly the ones i tried were all very fruity but not sweet and just a bit of peppery flavor to it.

Looking forward to future discussions here
 
I like Moscato after dinner. And lately have been enjoying lambrusco with dinner. Not sure if that's a brand or a type but it's yummy
 
uacowboy said:
Good intro Dave! I can for sure enjoy a Cab once in a while. For me the big thing is i don't like dry wines. My favorite that i have tried so far is an Australian Shiraz. Its been a while but if i remember correctly the ones i tried were all very fruity but not sweet and just a bit of peppery flavor to it.
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Totally right. Shiraz or Syrah as labeled in the US is similar to Zinfandel in the pepper aspect. I like that stuff with BBQ!
 
Cvargo said:
I like Moscato after dinner. And lately have been enjoying lambrusco with dinner. Not sure if that's a brand or a type but it's yummy
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I’ve never tried Lambrusco, but from the general notes it sounds a bit like Pinot?
 
The only thing we don’t enjoy on your list of wines is Riesling. XD is our forte and of course we have lots of nations represented in our modest cellar. Awesome topic and looking forward to the learning about and discussing wine with ya!
 
So let’s go! Today’s dinner appetizer is a lovely Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2016 from Sonoma Valley. My I love a lovely Pinot Noir and this one is so good, not stellar but solid. Light and flavourful! Dinner will be Mrs S’s eggplant lasagna...yummy! A lovely Chianti will be slain! Enjoy your Sunday Hermanos!
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Awesome @Somnos! Hope you see you keep posting your dinner selections here. Most likely pinots are too acidic for me, but we’ve found a few producers here and in Oregon that tame that down so that I can enjoy it. My wife favors pinots.
 
Posting about wine, whiskey and shaving, I love this place!...that’s a no brainer! It will be my pleasure! As long as AA doesn’t show up at my door! Never mind, they’ll have to grab a bottle from the cellar for that convo! :p This one has a little zing to it but it is quite manageable.
 
It’s big football night tonight. We’re starting with veggies and dip, moving on to cheese and meats and then a little sous vide tri-tip to finish. Opened this to start pouring with the cheese. Thought we’d go with something a little smoother than a cab that would be fine with veggies.

Rutherford Hill was one of the first wineries that where we were members. Beautiful views and a nice wine cave tour. Many wineries on the hills of Napa drill into the hills to have energy efficient caves for aging their wines in barrels.
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With you guys posting your wine selections I am really hoping the wife gets over her bronchitis soon. There are some wines in the rack that I am looking forward to trying. And a special wine that I recently received from Cali...😉
 
Tonight I Coravin’d a glass of Petite Sirah. The Coravin is a cool little gizmo where you push a needle through the cork and inject nitrogen into the bottle to be able to pour a glass without introducing any oxygen into the bottle. This allows the bottle to be put back into storage for some time without degradation. In theory it’s not supposed to affect the seal at all, but that’s debatable. I’ve had wine that’s been Coravin’d up to 2 months later and it’s been fine.
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would you recommend a Coravin for a casual wine drinker? My wife enjoys a glass of wine a couple of nights a week and the wine we buy is decent - $15-25 bottles - but not anything super fancy. It seems like it might be perfect for her, other than the price.
 
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