Update on my wine adventure. I picked up a bottle of Mark West at Kroger Friday night. It was on sale for $11.99. Killed the entire bottle that night and really enjoyed it.... Went out with some friends Saturday and ordered a glass of it from the bar. Enjoyed it again. So much that I had 2 more after that. This may be my new go-to wine, so thanks Joe Joe. I'll try No Worries suggestions next.
The wife and I usually do not eat out at nice restaurants (you know the ones with table clothes and a separate wine list ). But when we do, we usually spring for a bottle of wine. What the heck, right? Anyway we aren't big spenders or wine connoisseurs, so we usually order a "budget" red with the waiter's recommendation. That is the origin of my recommendations: Erath and Meiomi.
"Budget red." I'll have to remember that trick. The place we were at had 3 Pinot Noir's listed and Mark West was one of them (in the middle price-wise). One glass was $10. The bottle I bought as Kroger was $12. LOL... I only drink dry red wine because it's the only alcohol I'm allowed on my new healthy diet. I've lost 40 pounds this year, so I'm sticking to it. My wife hates wine and loves beer, so when we go out, she gets a big frosty mug of beer and I get a glass of wine. Of course, when the waiter comes back, he instinctively puts the beer in front of me and the wine in front of her.... No, that's not emasculating at all...
Wine is incredibly marked up at restaurants. I forgot this fact on a first date many years ago. Waiter was listing wine recommendations and he spoke one that was about $30 at Specs that I liked. Went with it without asking the price...$120. Consequently, I've gone to drinking wines (Texas ones lately) mostly at home when I cook steak. On a side note, if anyone likes green apples and wine, there is a winery in Bastrop that makes a wine with a green apple flavor. Tasting room is just a few blocks off of 71 in the main square for Bastrop.
Read that the 2nd cheapest bottle on the menu usually has the highest markup. Never looked into enough to confirm but makes sense since a lot of people don't want to order the cheapest one. Any Malbec drinkers out there? Usually switching out between that and Cabs at the house.
My Texas wine of choice right now is Becker Claret which is a Red Blend with Malbec and Cab as the top 2 contributors. Best of both worlds.
Thanks. Will have to check that out. Had a few really bad blends so haven't tried any in a while. Can't remember which one turned me off, Apothic possibly.
We drink pinot's frequently at our house - typically in the $10 - $20 price range. Good values can be found in the Argentinian pinots. We really like Rutina (about $18 at Specs) and Indomita (about $13 at Specs - if you like the pinot try the cab as well). Will try Joe Joe's and No Worries recommendations - thanks.
I went to the new Total Wine store on San Felipe and picked up a couple of bottles mentioned in this thread. I got Juan Gil ($12.49), Erath Pinot ($12.19), and Sledgehammer ($8.97). http://www.totalwine.com/
Had an amazing red blend (mostly cab) called El Desafio de Jonata last night from the Santa Ynez valley. 2006. I'd recommend it. $120ish Went quite well with my t-bone steak.
I havne't had that particular Jonata wine, but I've had other wines from them. They are usually pretty good. I'll be heading to the Santa Ynez valley again in April. I can't wait.
This is cool: Space Wine! Twelve bottles of Petrus 2000 returned safely from their adventure via a SpaceX ‘Dragon’ cargo ship in January, before being flown to Bordeaux for analysis. Their voyage was part of a research project led by start-up Space Cargo Unlimited and also involving the University of Bordeaux’s wine institute, the ISVV. The identity of the bottles has been a closely guarded secret, but Space Cargo Unlimited confirmed today (24 March) that it chose Petrus 2000 for the mission. An initial tasting hosted by the ISVV in March saw 12 tasters get 30ml samples of the space and earth wines. ‘The earth wine was exactly how you would expect it to taste,’ said Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, Jane Anson, who attended the tasting and has reported in detail on the tasting for Decanter Premium. She said the ‘space wine’ sample was delicious but was perhaps two to three years more evolved. ‘There were more floral aromatics [and] the tannins were a bit softer and more evolved,’ she said, but added, ‘I just tasted one bottle [from the space station], so I can’t guarantee there isn’t bottle variation.’ Professor Philippe Darriet, of the ISVV’s oenology research unit, said in a summary of the tasting, ‘Unanimously, the two wines were considered to be great wines, which means that despite the 14-month stay on the international space station, the “space wine” was very well evaluated sensorially.’ He said the panel identified some differences in smell and taste, as well as colour, but that these varied according to each taster’s ‘sensitivity’. Samples of the wines were due to undergo chemical analysis in addition to tastings, to allow researchers to explore variations in their make-up. Darriet said the team hoped to publish findings in an international scientific journal. Space Cargo Unlimited was keen to highlight that it didn’t involve Château Petrus in its choice of which wine to send into orbit. A spokesperson told Decanter that the wines were purchased from a Bordeaux broker. A bottle of Petrus 2000 had a global average retail price (excluding taxes) of £4,688 ($6,488), according to Wine-Searcher at the time of writing. Space Cargo said it chose the Pomerol estate’s 2000 vintage based on ‘oenological criteria’, including the need for a structured wine dominated by one grape variety – Merlot in this case. Alongside wine, 320 vine canes – 160 each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot – also enjoyed a 14-month stay in space as part of the project. ‘We’ll do a whole genome sequencing of the plants, to provide a clear view of all the DNA changes that could have happened on the stay on the ISS,’ Space Cargo Unlimited’s cofounder and CEO, Nicolas Gaume, told Decanter.com in January. He described the absence of gravity, or the presence of microgravity, as the ‘ultimate stress’ and said researchers on the project were interested in how the plants may have adapted to new conditions. The experiments are part of the firm’s ‘Mission Wise’ programme, which seeks to contribute to understanding of sustainable agriculture. https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/petrus-wine-space-research-project-455239/
