I’m becoming a wine snob, I think..
That is to say, that I think that drinking wine makes me a snob. In high school I was anti-alcohol, in college, I was a non-drinker who binged rarely, in my early 20’s I loved beer, by 25, I liked making mixed drinks..
But in the last two years, I have grown to appreciate the tastes and textures of wines, and I feel a little fru-fru about it. I mean, holding thaing that little glass stem, savoring a piece of dark chocolate or cheese.. its not exactly beer and pizza.
Now, I have a myriad of wines in my house – from 2 boxes of Corbet Canyon, to a nice oregon Pinot Noir and a good 20 dollar bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. The boxes and the 1.75 liter bottles I keep to have with dinner, an accent to the food, but like the breadsticks, really, not part of the real dining experience. The bottles, especially the good ones, are for right before I go to sleep – with the dark chocolate or a shortbread cookie – or if company is coming over – these are meant to be tasted, and I love it.
I like pinot noir because I saw Sideways, and I learned to appreciate it. I know its cheesy, but its true. It starts with one flavor, and like Willy Wonka gum, it changes while in your mouth, and changes again after the swallow – its wonderfully complex when its good.
I also like Sauvignon blanc for the same reasons when I want a cold white wine. I will have Cabernet or Chardonnay with food, because I dont want tastes overwhelmingly complex in those cases.
Now, I make a point to have no more than a glass a night, except with company, and then its no more than 3 or sometimes 4, and I take a break 2 nights a week, subbing in herbal teas. So its not the alcohol.. besides there are easier ways to get drunk.
No, its just fun to have this tasty entertainment and a shared experience with people you like. and if its snobby or not too masculine, so be it.. its still fun.
That all being said.. I would love good ideas for tasty wines (include prices).. here are some of mine..
BOX – It will neve rbe very good, but Corbet Canyon is better than franzia.
1.5 Liter inexpensive Bottles – Stay away from Gallo, try the Sutter Home, it will be pretty good for the price
Inexpensive Regular Bottles – Meridian makes a nice Pinot, Turning leaf makes a nice Cabernet. And my new discovery, Yellow Tail, I haven’t had a bad one yet.
Finally, I found hat Oregon Pinot Noirs are generally better than Californias.. I don’t know why.
Okay, any takers?
(Christy, do you like pie?)
Vineyards
What you should do is go to some local vineyards and do a few taste testings. You still live in MD?? I can’t remember. If you do, there is a wonderful vineyard in Leesburg, VA called Breaux. They have a wonderful semi sweet wine and some really good dry. A friend of mine used to work there. That is how I know about it. There is also Linganore Vineyards in New Market that I have heard is really good. My neighbor likes their red wine. There is another one one 15 going towards Leesburg from Frederick, I believe it is Tarara. I have not heard if anyone has tired there wine. Just an idea
EXCELLENT!
I’ll have to try that…
BTW, who is this?
Having problems over here.
Having problems over here. This is Andrea. Matt’s sister in law. I logged in twice and it says I am logged in but it won’t show my name…..
Wiiiiiiiiine
The best thing about wine is that you can be a wine snob without breaking the bank. There are tons of good wines out there for less than 10 bucks a bottle.
All of my current favorite wines are Australian — Yellow Tail, Rosemount, Jacob’s Creek. Rosemount’s Shiraz is excellent (at $7-8), and Rosemount and Yellow Tail both make fantastic mixes – Shiraz/Grenache or Cabernet/Merlot. I haven’t been disappointed with anything I’ve gotten from those wineries.
I’m not a big fan of white wine, but on occasion I do like a good Riesling, and it’s pretty easy to find those cheap as well.
The longer I’ve drank wine, the more I’ve moved away from California wines, and towards more exotic wines — Australian, Chilean, French, and Spanish. I find foreign wines to be fuller, more robust. Nothing better than a good thick red wine on a Friday night. Yum!
— Ben
Lots of Local Vineyards….
I live up in Harpers Ferry (about 30 or so minutes outside of frederick). When making my way into work (headed into Northern VA) I pass by about 6 or so vineyards. There are lots of different wines to be had. One of the one of the types that I have begun to appreciate as a desert wine are Reisling. A Reisling is a white wine like a Chardonnay, only it has a more fruity taste to it. I would love to meet you guys on a weekend to go for a tour of a couple vineyards and do some wine tasting if you are up to it.
Something that i have started to do, is collect wines from the areas that i am traveling to. When i went to Hawaii, they had a couple vineyards on Oahu and i picked up a couple different wines from there. When i went to Germany a few months ago, i picked up a nice German Reisling (my favorite). Collecting wines and Liquor from locations that I visit is something that i would like to continue to do. I have found a nice 75 bottle wine cooler that i want to install in the basement once i complete finishing the basement.
Acclamazioni!
Jon
GREAT IDEA..
Totally, local vineyards would be awesome..
Do we have to do the spitting thing?
Hot chicks
I thought as long as you weren’t in frot of a hot chick that you didn’t have any trouble spitting the wine out?
—
Matthew P. Barnson
don’t think so
I am not real familiar with the etiquette around wine tasting. The couple times that i have done it, I have not spit, it ends up being tasting a bunch of partially filled glasses of wine…. heh.. I will have to look into when the tours are around here. The Fall might be a good time to get together so you all can enjoy the leaves changing too (we are kind of removed from the city, but have great views).
JB
Views…
I second this. Until you’ve sat on Jon’s back deck, enjoying a nice drink and good company while watching the sun set on the surrounding Civil War battlefield hillsides, with the fireflies come out amongst the ancient trees left standing for the development, you’ve hardly lived.
Awful poetic about that, I guess… Jon’s house was a serious motivator for me to want to move back East before. Until we got the sticker shock of current housing prices in his area. Oy Gevalt! It’s beautiful, but not THAT beautiful.
—
Matthew P. Barnson
{Sigh…}
It was cheaper when we moved out here about 3 or so years ago. We would not be able to afford our house these days at the current prices.
Yes the area that we live in is beautiful. I love it out here. It is a bit seperated from the world, but it is that very same seperation that keeps me here.
I am serious about getting together this fall. I will have to work on getting a day put together.
JB
Nay, you don’t have to spit.
Nay, you don’t have to spit. They give you a glass and they will tell you about the different wines and will ask your preference. They give you a sample and you taste it. They have crackers to eat in between each samples. You can sample all of them if you want. If you like one of the wines, you can purchse a glass of it and maybe some cheese and bread and sit outside and enjoy. If you REALLY like it, you can buy a bottle of it.