Getting my camera this weekend

[tileman]

Happy Birthday Chad!

Thanks Pisces.
BTW, I'm a scorpio.(whatever that means)

[Silent Water]

How'd you know I'm a wine drinker?

Hi, Chad.
If you like full reds, then I'd suggest a beautiful little number by MASI called Campofiorin.  It is gorgeous and earthy and complex and has been my curent fave for about 3 years now.
I'm also kinda partial to Australian Shiraz; Wolfblass Eaglehawk is a nice curl-up-beside-the-fire-after-a-soak bottle of wine.

What kinds do you like?

Hope that you had a great birthday!  

[tileman]

How'd you know I'm a wine drinker?

Hi, Chad.
If you like full reds, then I'd suggest a beautiful little number by MASI called Campofiorin.  It is gorgeous and earthy and complex and has been my curent fave for about 3 years now.
I'm also kinda partial to Australian Shiraz; Wolfblass Eaglehawk is a nice curl-up-beside-the-fire-after-a-soak bottle of wine.

What kinds do you like?

Hope that you had a great birthday!  

Thanks for the B-Day wishes.
I'm partial to Cabrenet Sauvignons. Whatever is on sale is what I usually buy as I do not have enough wine tasting experience to tell much of a difference.
 
I like all reds however, except for the really sweet ones. Which I've been drinking alot of as of late because their my lady's   favorite.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look for one of those tonight when I go shopping.

[anne]

Ooooooooh, is this a WINE thread now?

Rosemont made a very nice shiraz for a few years, but it doesn't seem as smokey anymore. I love a good shiraz, or zin. Or Zin port, too. And being from CA I am about 1 .5 hrs away from either foothill or Napa/SOnoma tasting......

[tileman]

Ooooooooh, is this a WINE thread now?

Rosemont made a very nice shiraz for a few years, but it doesn't seem as smokey anymore. I love a good shiraz, or zin. Or Zin port, too. And being from CA I am about 1 .5 hrs away from either foothill or Napa/SOnoma tasting......

I was waiting for you to chime in.

[galen]

Since this is a tub forum, I think while in the tub, someone with more experience than I should recommend a good middle of the road, so to speak red wine. My wine experience amounts to which one has the coolest looking label or bottle. I know thats sad. I want something thats not  too sweet, and definitely not dry.  Help, you wine guru's.  I mean, its in the rule book that its ok to drink wine while in the tub isn't it?

[anne]

My experience is limited to CA foothill and Napa/Sonoma tasting, and I often frequent the smaller wineries that might not be distributed in stores everywhere. But here's a few ideas, and personal opinions

Unless a cab is really good, I find them a bit heavy and hard on the stomach. A good cab is a beautiful thing, but a bad cab can leave you thinking that all red wine is nasty.

BV, a big Napa winery, makes an acceptable cab. They are big enough that they have a couple of different "levels" and are definitely in stores, and I honestly cannot remember how much difference the higher price made, but you could find something for $12-25.

Peju Province makes a really nice bodied full cab. The 2001 was $38. But it was great. Not sure if they are in stores. They also have a nice syrah. Fruity but rich. $32 for the 2001

Viansa is getting to be a bigger winery, so their stuff might be in stores. 2001 Cab was $17. They make a number of other italian style wines that I just love. They have a fruity red called "Athena" which is a dolchetto. ($20) They have a spicy/almost rosy red called "La Nebbia" which is a Nebiolo. ($18) I cannot comment much on the details of those italian varieties. I just like them, and they are different than your average CA wine.

Topolos might be in specialty stores. They have a bunch of different zins. I LOVE zinfandel, so I'll be a little biased towards their stuff. Zins to me are full bodied yet avoid the tannin-y/harshness that a cheap cab can have. They can be spicy/fruity. I also think that the less expensive ones are still very good. The Topolos Zins are all about $10-13.

Coulson is a foothills winery (the foothills are known for zin) and they have 2 different zins: Clark Vineyard ($14) and Safari Vineyard ($16). I love that place.

As for whites......

I like dessert wines, especially those that are not too sugary. I like chardonnay or Sauv. Blanc with certain foods, but I have not done much white tasting.

Ironstone makes a wine called "Obsession." It is in stores, and is about $10. I love it because it has a tropical fruity essence without being too cloyingly sweet. Great alone on a hot day (in hot water!!!!!) or with spicy foods.

Coulson makes a muscat canelli that is similarly sweet but not overbearing. ($10)

Narrow Gate has a chardonnay and a viogner that are both really nice. I rarely buy whites when tasting, and I bought these. (About $22)  

Al of these prices were at wineries, and many of them were a few years ago, so "prices may vary"

[pg_rider]

Cabs are so 2004!  And don't even get me started on Merlots!!!  If you haven't been turned onto Pinot Noirs then I do believe you're missing out.  Love him or hate him, Mondavi makes a real nice one; 1998 or 99 vintage is the best if I recall.  Jeez, that's getting old... to think I can still remember buying my first bottle on a whim IN 1999!!!  

[galen]

Thanks Anne, and pg rider. I'm going to take your advice on the "La Nebbia" Doesn't hurt to try does it? 8-) I'll let you know what I think of it.

[anne]

Galen, glad to help! And PG rider, I'm with you....I think that after zins and syrahs, pinot are my favorite category. I could not think of any I'd had lately. Cabs and Merlots leave me feeling a bit robbed unless they are great.

For zins, add Clos du Val to the list I made before.

Speaking of great, sort of funny story.....one of my brothers, Danny is in the armed forces, so I dont see him much. Last Xmas he had a few days off, so he and my other brother (Joe) and I were shopping on Christmas eve day. Danny was very frank about the fact that he had not had time to shop, so he wanted us to pick gifts, and we were helping him find stuff for our parents. My whole family verges on alcoholism (or is it alcohol appreciation?) so we were in BevMo looking for some good scotch for my mother.  He asked me if I'd like a bottle of wine as a gift- who could say no?- so then the task was to pick one. He walked straight to the walk-in cooler- the good stuff. I followed, wanting to be sensitive to his pocketbook. We picked a cab from Silver Oak (known for their cabs) that was located amongst other $50-60 bottles. That was more money that I'd ever spent on wine before, but that was less expensive than most of what was in there. Since there was no obvious price posted for that one, I told him he could not buy it if it was more than $50. Danny and Joe went to check out while I was looking at other stuff- they just disappeared. Suddenly I heard a burst of laughter from Joe. Them being brothers, anything that "owns" the other is priceless. I guessed that Joe was laughing at Danny for the wine purchase, so I headed over that way to tell him to put it back. I was too late, and he couldn't be talked into returning it. With a very graceful smile Danny handed it too me and said "Merry Christmas." It is currently in my wine fridge with a sign that says "do not touch" in case of any party guests reaching for the wrong thing. Napa Valley Silver Oak Cab, $99. Christmas eve with my brothers, priceless.

[galen]

Good story Anne! Guess I'm going to have to see if I can find a Silver Oak. Over 50 is out of my league. :-/ I've got one bottle left out of a case I bought back in the 90's, Cab   Vin De Pays D'oc , 1999. I'm not crazy about it. Its French. I like going to wine tasting party's but haven't been for a while. The Hottub gives me a reason too. Don't you think?

[tileman]

Back to the topic at hand, my girlfriend  just called and my camera was delivered to her house. After a quick shower I'm out the door to get my new toy. STANDBY.

[galen]

Tileman, I really enjoy my camera. Its easy to just point and shoot. And they are so automatic now. Anyone can take a good picture. Remember your image size. If you set it on 1 or 2 meg, thats very large. For the tub forum you want it on probably the lowest setting.

[pg_rider]

...we were in BevMo looking for some good scotch for my mother.

Did anyone else laugh out loud at this like I just did?!?  Your mom must be the life of the party!  Never met a woman that drank scotch...

[pg_rider]

Oh, to get us back on topic....