Ping: Any of you who know Wine

[Coffee Warlord]

Friend of mine's housewarming/birthday party tonight. Said friend is a big wine guy, so I was gonna pick him up a bottle.

Now. I know my beer. I don't know shit about wine. So...suggestions of a good bottle of red? Prolly looking in the $20-40 range on price.

[cartman]

In that price range, if you want to get something that is really good, that probably no one else will get him, look for a bottle of Amarone. It is an Italian red. One of the wineries to look for is Masi.

[WSUCougar]

That's out of my typical price range so I'm not a good source, but my suggestion would be to go to a wine store and tell the guy exactly what you posted. People that run wine stores love to help people in your circumstance - they are passionate about wine and will surely have some goodies to offer you.

[JeeberD]

http://www.cooking.ru/pics/tmpl1/riserv.gif

Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico is one of my absolute favorites and should run in the $25-30 range. cartman's choice of an Amarone is good, but those are usually on the pricier side...

[MrBigglesworth]

I like giving Fat Bastard (hxxp://www.fatbastardwine.com) as gifts, because it makes me giggle when I say it. You're probably looking for something more refined though...

[terpkristin]

Actually, Fat Bastard wines are pretty darn good for their relatively inexpensive price.

My mom and I agree that they're pretty good, and she's a bona fide connesseuir of wine.

CW, do you know what TYPES of wine your friend prefers?

/tk

[st.cronin]

No matter what you pick out, somebody will think it a gauche choice.

[MrBigglesworth]

Actually, Fat Bastard wines are pretty darn good for their relatively inexpensive price.

My mom and I agree that they're pretty good, and she's a bona fide connesseuir of wine.
Agreed, you can get a big bottle around here for $20, and shiraz especially is great. It hits the trifecta of good gift qualities: funny, cheap, and tasty!

If the guy is really into wine, he may have a favorite type, so that should influence your decision. For instance I love shiraz and chianti, but don't care much for most merlots.

[MacroGuru]

I have actually just found a very cost effective Reisling that is probably the best wine I have ever had. It is from Columbia Winery, and is the Cellarmasters Reisling. It is one of wine Spectators top wines. It has a 98 rating, and very fruity, you can definately taste the pear, and a little of the apricot in the wine.

As for Red, bordering close to the $20 range around here is Torres - Sangre de Torro. I just bought about 5 of them as they went on sale below the $13 mark here, and then another one of my favorites is Marques de Caceres 2000, it is a Rioja, and is one of the smoother reds I have drank in a long time.

Edit: BTW....my prices might be off a little on the reds, it's been awhile other than the Toro....

[MacroGuru]

Agreed, you can get a big bottle around here for $20, and shiraz especially is great. It hits the trifecta of good gift qualities: funny, cheap, and tasty!

If the guy is really into wine, he may have a favorite type, so that should influence your decision. For instance I love shiraz and chianti, but don't care much for most merlots.
Shiraz are my all time favorites, followed by the Rioja's then the cabs, I am not much of a zin or merlot fan.

[JeeberD]

Shiraz and Chianti are my two favorites...

[SirFozzie]

Damn, I must be too geeky for words..

when I saw the topic, my first thought was "I didn't know Coffee Warlord ran Linux" :D

[terpkristin]

Damn, I must be too geeky for words..

when I saw the topic, my first thought was "I didn't know Coffee Warlord ran Linux" :DWell, it makes you geekier than me, but I understood the reference, so I'm not far behind you. ;)

On topic of wines, I've never had them, but I've heard OK things about the Yellow Tail wines (from Australia).

/tk

[Raven Hawk]

Find some help at http://www.wine.com

A decent resource for wine with some descriptions.

[Grammaticus]

Cardinal Zin is a good red. It's made by the Bonny Doone wine company and most wine clubs will recommend it.

[Coffee Warlord]

Damn, I must be too geeky for words..

when I saw the topic, my first thought was "I didn't know Coffee Warlord ran Linux" :D

Heh, I was actually thinking "I bet someone thinks this is about linux" when I posted that. :)

(Yes, I run a whole helluva lot of linux machines, have for years.)

[Tasan]

Damn, I must be too geeky for words..

when I saw the topic, my first thought was "I didn't know Coffee Warlord ran Linux" :DI too came in here expecting a discussion on Windows emulation in a Linux environment. And all I got was a silly expensive drunk discussion.

[Tasan]

Dola

And as for wine, I've never been much of a fan, except for when I made a company trip to the Napa Valley area, and discovered this during a drunking wine tasting adventure

http://www.vsattui.com/show/xmlsite/xml-standard.xml/xsl-vintage.xsl/start_id-lnogjfbbhhiakbffafeclfndmmmhmhkpgjapgjak

This stuff is awesome desert wine, and the people that make it were the coolest of all the wineries in the area. Very laid back, and did try to force all the typical wine tasting rules down your throat. They just let you try whatever you wanted, however you wanted. And that listed above was my favorite by far. I love a good desert wine and I'm not sure you'll find better.

[Desnudo]

I can recommend some great Washington State red wines in that price range, although I don't know if you'll be able to find them in the Chicago area. They represent excellent value for the price: L'Ecole #41, McCrea, Yakima Cellars, and Andrew Will. My personal favorite Oregon Pinot Noir is WillaKenzie, although there are plenty other excellent ones as well.

The easiest way out is to find a decent wine shop, tell them your price range and let them take care of you.

[Desnudo]

No matter what you pick out, somebody will think it a gauche choice.

How bourgeois

[Airhog]

I know that WINE can be tough to get running on a linux box, and quite a bit of stuff won't work on it

[WrongWay]

For a special celebration I reccomend a bottle of Chateau Latour 1997 from Bordeaux.

For a Family type of celebration try Braida Moscato d'Asti. Very fruity and low in Alcohol.


If this person is truly a wine whore go with the 1997 Chateau Latour.

[Desnudo]

Uh yeah, did you look at his price range?

[WrongWay]

Oops, forget the 1997 Latour.


The d'asti should run you under $20.00 though, but probably will not make a series wine drinker happy.


And, please for the love of god do not go with a local wine. There is nothing more that I hate than someone showing up with a local wine that is only a few years old that taste like total crap.


EDIT: Also, have you thought about a Port? (10+ yrs old, NO LESS)

[astrosfan64]

Friend of mine's housewarming/birthday party tonight. Said friend is a big wine guy, so I was gonna pick him up a bottle.

Now. I know my beer. I don't know shit about wine. So...suggestions of a good bottle of red? Prolly looking in the $20-40 range on price.

LOL i'm such a dork, when you said WINE i thought you meant the emmulator.

[flere-imsaho]

The staff at Binny's (http://www.binnys.com/) are generally pretty good and can probably help you out as well. There should be one near you. Plus, their prices are good.

[Coffee Warlord]

There's actually a brand spanking new wine shop right across the road from me. Went there, dude was extremely nice and helpful.

Wound up getting an Acacia pinot. I seem to remember he's a fan of the pinots, so we'll see how this goes over.

[ISiddiqui]

You know I quite like Rex Goliath Pinot Noir... and it has a 47 lb rooster in front of it ;).

[Karlifornia]

I like a good sangiovese with subtle oak and berry textures. Actually, I may not like that. I don't know.

[Desnudo]

There's actually a brand spanking new wine shop right across the road from me. Went there, dude was extremely nice and helpful.

Wound up getting an Acacia pinot. I seem to remember he's a fan of the pinots, so we'll see how this goes over.

Not a bad choice, it's pretty good.

[sterlingice]

Cecil: I have the '82 Chateau Latour and a rather indifferent Rausan-Segle.
Bob: I've been in prison, Cecil. I'll be happy just as long it doesn't taste like orange drink fermented under a radiator.
Cecil: That would be the Latour, then.

SI

[stevew]

LOL i'm such a dork, when you said WINE i thought you meant the emmulator.


Wine Is Not an Emulator.

[sterlingice]

I hate those recursive Linux acronyms (WINE, PINE, GNU, etc) that have themselves in their name. It just seems silly to me.

SI

[Icy]

I have actually just found a very cost effective Reisling that is probably the best wine I have ever had. It is from Columbia Winery, and is the Cellarmasters Reisling. It is one of wine Spectators top wines. It has a 98 rating, and very fruity, you can definately taste the pear, and a little of the apricot in the wine.

As for Red, bordering close to the $20 range around here is Torres - Sangre de Torro. I just bought about 5 of them as they went on sale below the $13 mark here, and then another one of my favorites is Marques de Caceres 2000, it is a Rioja, and is one of the smoother reds I have drank in a long time.

Edit: BTW....my prices might be off a little on the reds, it's been awhile other than the Toro....

You have really good taste for wines. I love both Sangre de Toro (Rivera del Duero) and Marques de Caceres (Rioja). The funny thing is that even being expensive Spanish wines, the cost in a Spanish supermarket is around $7 per bottle. Wine is cheap in Spain but of course we are one of the main producers. For example i buy every week a few bottles of "Señorio de los llanos" that is an awesome wine from my region "La Mancha"). The price is $5 in the supermarket and it's one of the best wines in Spain.

If you want a Spanish wine, be sure that it is from these regions, Rivera del Duero, Rioja or La Mancha. The rest of the regions (even Italy) buy our wines to mix with theirs and rebrand them.

[Buzzbee]

I feel like I'm watching the movie "Sideways" again, except Thomas Hayden Church isn't banging Sandra Oh.

Anyone posting a recommendation in this thread who hasn't seen it should check it out. It is a pretty good movie.