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Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

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Ken Schechet

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Ken Schechet » Fri Dec 08, 2017 3:52 pm

Like Bob Parsons: zinfandel and shiraz. Zin I still love and always have a few bottles around, but rarely buy it because what's available where I live are mostly just the insipid branded wines. Shiraz because the marketplace changed in the direction of the heavier Barossa style.


I agree with Jenise completely, and for the same reasons.

I'm surprised at how many people are giving up on the Southern Rhone. I still love those wines. Gigondas is still a great buy, and believe it or not, there is a Kirkland branded Gigondas at Costco that's a steal for the $15 they're charging.
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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Jim Grow » Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:20 pm

I think the Kirkland brand is Costco's own brand.
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David M. Bueker

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by David M. Bueker » Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:29 pm

Jim Grow wrote:I think the Kirkland brand is Costco's own brand.


That was Ken's point. Someone else makes the wine, and they slap "Kirkland" on it.

Regarding Southern Rhônes, I would rather give $25 to Steve Edmunds, for his bends, than $4 to a vigneron I don't know, plus $6 to a wholesaler I don't know or like, plus $5 to a shop. Yeah, I spent more, but I directly supported a guy I really like.
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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Ted Richards » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:56 pm

Tim York wrote:Any wines which need 10-15 before they start being really enjoyable. That rules out GC and 1erC Bordeaux and Burgundy, best Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, Barolo.........except in "weak" vintages. But this is mainly a function of age, mine.


I hear, ya! I stopped buying reds, except for ready-to-drink Valpolicella, about 10 years ago. I stopped buying vintage port 20 years ago, and will probably never drink the 1994s anywhere near their peak (but the 1970s and 1977s are drinking beautifully now, especially Taylor's).
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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Paul Winalski » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:21 pm

CA Zinfandel. Nearly every producer has the alcohol level too high for my taste. One exception is Chateau Montelena.

-Paul W.
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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Jason Hagen » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:31 pm

Paul Winalski wrote:CA Zinfandel. Nearly every producer has the alcohol level too high for my taste. One exception is Chateau Montelena.

-Paul W.


I stopped buying in the late 90s. But once I tasted one of Fred Scherrer's zins, I jumped on that list. On futures they are still under $30 and probably the best Zins in the state. They are the only Zins I buy these days.

Jason
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Brian K Miller

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Brian K Miller » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:26 pm

Paul Winalski wrote:CA Zinfandel. Nearly every producer has the alcohol level too high for my taste. One exception is Chateau Montelena.

-Paul W.


I would have suggested Broc Cellars, but their vineyard source burned this year. :cry:

Try to find a Dashe Cellars, though. Relatively restrained with more on the black pepper than the cough syrup side of things.
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Ted Richards

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Ted Richards » Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:11 am

David M. Bueker wrote:Now that I have access to Dirler-Cade I have upped my Alsace consumption again. Love the wines, but man are they hard to find.


I had a wonderful experience at Dirler-Cadé this summer: We had booked a visit for Saturday afternoon - they said it was in their harvest season, but they could accommodate us then. Unfortunately, the person who was supposed to meet us with the key to our apartment in Colmar at noon didn't show up until 5pm, so we had to reschedule until Monday morning.

Sunday night, a part for my CPAP machine gave up the ghost and after chasing around Colmar for a replacement Monday morning, we finally arrived at DIrler-Cadé at 11:45, even though they closed for lunch at noon (or so we thought). It turned out that their hours had changed to close at 11:45 and we arrived too late. However, Mme Dirler saw us arrive, and once we explained why we were late, agreed to let us taste 2 or 3 wines, even though it was her lunch hour [in the middle of harvest, remember].

Forty-five minutes later, after she'd poured us 17 wines, including 12 grands crus (one an SGN) and one from 1998 that she'd opened for a visiting wine writer, showed us the soil from each of her vineyards, and discussed with us the difficulties of exporting wine to Ontario's alcohol monopoly (we're from Toronto), we left, happily clutching several of her bottles and very impressed with our reception.

This is a "must visit" winery if you're in Alsace. Just make sure you reserve a time first.
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Ken Schechet

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Ken Schechet » Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:41 am

David M. Bueker wrote:
Jim Grow wrote:I think the Kirkland brand is Costco's own brand.


That was Ken's point. Someone else makes the wine, and they slap "Kirkland" on it.

Regarding Southern Rhônes, I would rather give $25 to Steve Edmunds, for his bends, than $4 to a vigneron I don't know, plus $6 to a wholesaler I don't know or like, plus $5 to a shop. Yeah, I spent more, but I directly supported a guy I really like.


Somebody tell me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that Kirkland/Costco's business model is to buy out distressed product that is usually very good quality, of course at a low price. (It seems that they have someone who knows what they're doing finding these properties.) The winery at least gets something for their product and Costco sells the wine at a bargain relative to quality. I think Total Wine does basically the same thing with their Winery Direct line. I don't think it's a bad thing to buy these wines. You're getting a good price and some winery may still have a shot at staying in business. I've found some surprisingly good Kirkland branded wines.

I also, of course, mostly like to buy from wineries that I know and want to support.
Ken
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Peter May

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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by Peter May » Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:14 pm

Gosh

Hard to recall, so many years. I started with Blue Nun, Dienhart Green Label and othet German Liebfraumilches and Mateus Rose and its decades since I've bought those. Tavel Rose and a Gaillac white, again decades since I've had them..

I remember buying a couple of cases of Christian Brothers Zinfandel when they first appeared in the UK but not seen them for many years now. :D

So many wines, so few days
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Re: Wine you used to love but now never buy/drink

by JC (NC) » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:13 pm

I rarely buy Australian red wine now. I would like to buy some Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon or Irvine Merlot but those are not found in local shops and may lack a U.S. importer currently. I no longer want the blockbuster-type Aussies.

My regular wine-drinking started in Germany with Riesling Spatlese and Auslese for the most part. I still drink some but probably reach for a dry Riesling more often and drink far more red wine than white wine.

I'm still working my way through some Merry Edwards Pinot Noir and Biale Zinfandels but don't plan to buy many in the future. I do still buy Ridge Geyserville and Lytton Springs and Scherrer Zinfandel. I would probably buy some Joseph Swan Zinfandel if it were more available. (I may have a chance to purchase some bottles in person in January.)
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