wine forums?
 

So both my roommate and I are both heavily getting into wine (hopefully the slope isn't as slippery as this one or i'm in BIGGGG trouble). Anyways anyone know of any good wine forums? I'm looking and after being a part of this forum i'm noticing i am pretty picky.

If it doesn't have a introduce yourself/welcome thread i feel as though it won't be nearly as homey as this place.

Anyone got any suggestions?

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I don't have any suggestions but I can safely say that the slope is just as slippery and just as expensive... even more so in many cases (hehe, get it?)

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:r:r this isn't good.. i shouldn't be laughing but praying.

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I do enjoy wine, and I enjoy cigars. But I would think you would be drinking wine way less than smoking a cigar. I have a Chateau LaFite 2006 rothchild that I'm saving.

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Completely kidding. I do not have one. It would be sweet though.

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Finished off the cases of Boone's Farm and Cold Duck already? Or are you still working on them?

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Can't say there is a forum that would be "similar" to cigar one. Parker just made his forum a private one for subscribers only since he had a revolt a little while ago and there was a large discontent with his arrogance and "lack of palate", many consumers and posters on his board said enough is enough. A number of people migrated, same as how CA happened 2 years ago, and formed anther board, but its that same small crowd that is convinced they know more about how to make wine than winemakers do.

What made Parker board relevant in late '90s is participation by a large group of winemakers. About 4 years ago that all changed (both due to Parker's arrogant and very erroneous views on wine and consumers' beating up on winemakers on subjects consumers had little comprehension of) and most winemakers stopped posting. The new board lacks that winemaker participation as well and it often devolves into political flame wars (mostly one way) making it even less attractive for ITB people.

There are wine threads on this board, have you taken a look at those?

What do you mean by "getting into wine" and how far are you along? As already pointed out above, wine slope is way steeper and deeper than cigars, I can assure you of that. As opposed to cigars, some wines are only available via mailing lists or through small allocations to retail outlets, which in turn dole them out to their best customers (read: those who spend the most)

Best advice I can give you if you are still inclined to proceed on your journey is to seek out a local tasting group, or rather as many as you can find. Taste with them, see which group is more to your liking (schedule, regions/varietals covered, cost, experience, etc.) and then figure out if someone with good wine knowledge/experience is willing to take you under his/her wing and assist you in your palate development. Buy a set of good wine glasses, no need to go overboard, but a set of Burgundy (Pinot) and Bordeaux (Cab/Merlot) glasses should cover the gamut for you. Storage is not as essential as many claim, as long as you do not "cook" your wine (over 70F on consistent basis) you should be fine for short to mid term storage (up to 4-5 years). Cooler temps are better for longer term.

Not sure what else to add, if you have more questions fire away, I'll see what I can do.

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STill got quite a few Bartles and James left too :D

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Sweet.

Want to do a mixed trade for some Wild Irish Rose, Cisco and a few Zimas?

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I find myself drinking wine or scotch/whisky more than I smoke cigars. :2

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Throw in a couple Smirnoff Ice, and you got yourself a deal! :tu

Scotch/ whisky is different to me. You don't need to kill the bottle. Wine the second day sucks. It just costs more per sitting.

To each their own though. I don't like to spend a lot of money on alcohol.

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What have you been drinking?

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white zin :p

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Don't knock it, probably 40% of Beringer's business.

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Probably. They sell the sh*t out of Kia's too.

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White Zin is what saved CA wine.

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I can do a 4-pack of the green Tilt, will that work?

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Saved it from what? :confused:

Its no where near the sales volume of Chard, Merlot and Cab in the grand scheme of things.

Re: wine forums?
 

It's 8% right now in sales volume and has been big when wine wasn't as big. Perhaps "saved" isn't the best word, but CA wine industry would not be anywhere like it is without White Zin.

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cigarmonkel could be drinking La Tache & Mouton for all we know.

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White Zin saved Trinchero empire, or rather, set it on its way. All by making a huge mistake while making Zinfandel one day and ending up with a sea of blush Zin. Some quick thinking on marketing level said, "Voila, we can market this as WHITE Zinfandel", the rest is history.

Zin has never been a market leader in any form, even if you include white zin sales (which are HUGE, true), mainstream varietals have ruled the roost forever with Chard still number 1. And yes, Merlot at number 2 and increasing sales year to year.

Re: wine forums?
 

Forgot to add that it is eye opening to me just how many people are surprised when I start pouring a bottle of Zinfandel and they go: "Why is this wine RED?" When I tell them its a red grape they think I am joking...

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been drinking almost anything i can get my hands on. Sadly MI has a stupid shipping law for wines and we don't get a whole lot. But since i'm so new to it i'm still "in the weeds" trying to figure out what exactly i like and what i don't. So far i'm a whore for anything made by BV. When i went wine tasting out in cali during my vacation my mother and I went out to BV to do a tasting and they are the ones who i blame for getting me hooked on red wines.

Re: wine forums?
 

best place to start is winespectator.com. cellartracker.com is a good site as well.

Good luck!!! This slip is just as hard as cigars. Both very expensive habits but sooooooo fun.

Re: wine forums?
 

i am NOT drinking any f*cking merlot!
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Re: wine forums?
 

Let me ask you if you understood the point of the movie? Sadly, about 1% of the people got it, all serious wine geeks.

So, what was it?

Re: wine forums?
 

loaded question there. You need to make it more specific. From which point of view do you want me to give my perspective? In reference to the main character self medicating trying to forget the ex? Or some overlying tone of now is the perfect time? or something as simple as thomas hayden church can still rock the screen? i don.t think you can just say "the point of the movie is" without making it relative to something. but i'll tell you one thing. That 61 chevel was drank exactly how it should've been.
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Re: wine forums?
 

if you just want to look at the main character, he does know his wine but user it as a crutch to deal with his midlife crisis instead of enjoyment of a well made product as most other characters in the movie do. It's a complete contradiction to what the wine hobby is all about. i don.t believe he is a wine connosieur, but an alcoholic who prefers to drink wine.
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Re: wine forums?
 

that being said, I.m very drunk off a frei brothers chard that - as fate would have it - I.m drinking by myself since the girlfriend fell asleep shortly after opening.
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Re: wine forums?
 

+1 more wine for you!

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I.m not complaining! Though a hang over thread may be in order tomorrow.
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Re: wine forums?
 

:r i'm lucky, my hangovers consist of nothing more then the brain dead. a bad one is a little sick to the stomach and a head ache but nothing more.

Knock on wood.

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Irony/Sarcasm/Self denial Point:

Mies most prized possession, a bottle of Cheval Blanc is not even made from Pinot Noir, its made in Bordeaux (Pinot is not even grown there). Worse yet, Cheval Blanc is made from 2 different grapes, Cabernet Franc and yes, MERLOT.

Not mocking nor picking on anyone, the movie script should/could have been better done to at least explain this to movie goers. As is, almost no one got the real point save for remembering the "I won't drink no fffing Merlot!" catch phrase.

The movie has done great harm to Pinot Noir producers AND consumers when all of a sudden wineries who looked down at Pinot Noir (think Napa wineries and their "Pinot is crap" mantra for decades) and then jumped in making very expensive and sub-par Pinot only because it caught traction in the market place. Quality, in general, went down while prices went up and these days you really need to know what you're buying (Pinot wise) as opposed to having almost no bad Pinot Noir wines on retail shelves prior to when the movie came out. Oh well...

Re: wine forums?
 

I've always been a cab guy myself. Good to know about the goof in the plotline.although i most seriously doubt that was the point of the movie.
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Re: wine forums?
 

Oh, forgot to add that in regard to the post above saying "... main character knows wine...", the ending obviously says otherwise (and hopefully my comment above explains that).

Drinking a $600 bottle out of a paper cup from under the table WAS classic, though...

Re: wine forums?
 

OK, then, what was?

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People with interesting hobbies can still be miserable self absorbed know it all pricks.

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Just as CA has turned out a ton of cheap Merlot, they have made many excellent ones too. Stags Leap is 1st brand I think of that has great Merlot in general. Merlot as you mentioned is a base grape in BDX. I am fan of Cab Franc too! Not so many are fans of straight Cab Franc wines; leave them for me!

Many of the joke in Sideways probably escaped 90% of the movie goers.

Re: wine forums?
 

Take off the skirt and start drinking Port! :tu


First investment should be in nice proper wine glasses, a decanter, a few yards of cheese cloth.

World of wine is so huge, it's hard to make a suggestion, but tackling wine country by country, region by region will keep continuity at least.

Re: wine forums?
 

If you take off your pants and throw in Tequila it's a partay.

I occasionally drink Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, but I don't make a habit out of it since I have no wine buddy and that means that whenever I buy a bottle, it probably will be finished by one person in one sitting.

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Well, I think it centered around the main character's midlife crisis. It just happened to be set in wine country. I certainly didn't watch it to be educated on wine.

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:r

Now what exactly is the proper wine glass? My head spins when it comes cab, merlot, port, etc glasses....I currently use something very very close in shape to these (but spent less than half as much):
http://www.wineenthusiast.com/riedel...-glass-(1).asp
Prices are out of control for glassware and I can't justify it for the amount of knowledge and the amount of wine I've had.


Every freaking liquid has an ideal glass....once I started enjoying beers (not shotgunning haha) I was shocked by how many different beer glasses are out there.

Re: wine forums?
 

+9000


As to the question on good wine glasses I use Riedel's Vitis series. Not too expensive but still great quality wine glasses. I am definitely not into wine like some of our other brothers with entire bedrooms filled with wine racks and coolers but I do enjoy a good bottle from time to time. For me, the right drink (whether it be Vodka, Wine or soda) totally enhances a great cigar experience.

A good set of glasses though will go far :tu

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I drink Mezcal, right from the bottle... :banger

The hard alcohol drinking is a different animal than wine drinking. Just as beer drinking is different. All have their own mind set and pomp & circumstance.

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another good point... i haven't tried but i can't picture pairing a wine with a cigar an easy task like a cigar and a single malt.

Re: wine forums?
 

Anyone know what the proper glass is for my vintage bottle of Ripple?

Re: wine forums?
 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

But not the clear one or the one with the natural nipple. Everyone know that this one preserves the subtle flavors better. Well, everyone who knows as much about ripple as me!

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I couldn't get your link to load, but if it is the Riedel Somm. BDX glass, you are fine for all red wine. Pinot Noir/Burgundy glasses are rounder bowls, but the BDX glass works.

Port glass looks like:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tc-photos/17...ndard/1715.jpg

Do you have a decanter and cheesecloth?

Re: wine forums?
 

definitely thought that was something else at first glance.. not used to seeing baby products. :r:r

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Burgundy, Champagne, Madeira, Sherry, and Port would be my picks for cigars.

The wines picked are the traditional cigar paired wines. Most are highly acidic to clean the mouth and/or have a non-competing flavor profile.

I would not get too fussy on pairing a certain wine to a certain cigar. Use your initial gut instinct and smoke what you like and drink what you got!