Wine & Cheese Thread

[amey01]

I too, have found a nice wine lately. Being from the land of the world's best wine (haha, sorry - had to throw that in, but quite seriously when comparing like-for-like, imported stuff is so much more expensive it rarely makes sense), I don't tend to drink a lot imported stuff, but this is a Pinotage from South Africa.

Pictured next to a "daily drinker" Sav Blanc from Marlbrough.....

 

[Bernard]

Bernard.....from where does this Sauvignon Blanc originate? Savvie is one of my favourite varieties. I particularly like those from Marlborough, and they are particularly nice on a hot summer night!

Adam, this one is from the Sancerre region of France.

I do like the ones from the Marlborough Valley (New Zealand, not Australia), particularly Oyster Bay, and one other whose name I always forget till I see it. I did, however, come across a horrible one from Kim Crawford.

 

[Bernard]

I too, have found a nice wine lately. Being from the land of the world's best wine (haha, sorry - had to throw that in, but quite ....

I can't afford the world's best, so I buy Australian !

You Aussies do make some fine reds. I particularly like the stuff from Rosemount Estates and Wolf Blass.

 

[asindc]

I too, have found a nice wine lately. Being from the land of the world's best wine (haha, sorry - had to throw that in, but quite seriously when comparing like-for-like, imported stuff is so much more expensive it rarely makes sense), I don't tend to drink a lot imported stuff, but this is a Pinotage from South Africa.

Pictured next to a "daily drinker" Sav Blanc from Marlbrough.....

I'm going to look for that Pinotage. Seems that it is difficult to find a good Pinotage here in the U.S., and I have gone to some very good stores in search of one. By the way, I do like the Shiraz from down under.

 

[amey01]

Adam, this one is from the Sancerre region of France.

I do like the ones from the Marlborough Valley (New Zealand, not Australia), particularly Oyster Bay, and one other whose name I always forget till I see it. I did, however, come across a horrible one from Kim Crawford.

So how does the Sancerre one compare to the Marlborough ones? I've had plenty of Aussie Sav Blancs too, but they're not a patch on Marlborough....I might try to hunt that one down though Bernard. French wines are not my speciality! [unless it has bubbles].

I too, like Oyster Bay, and also Stoneleigh and The Taniwah (to name a few of about 100!). I've had a few lovely Kim Crawfords too so I'm not sure which one you had! The good Montanas are also not too bad!

 

[amey01]

I can't afford the world's best, so I buy Australian !

You Aussies do make some fine reds. I particularly like the stuff from Rosemount Estates and Wolf Blass.

There's better than that!

 

[amey01]

I'm going to look for that Pinotage. Seems that it is difficult to find a good Pinotage here in the U.S., and I have gone to some very good stores in search of one. By the way, I do like the Shiraz from down under.

Let me know how you go finding it. I only came across it because we have South African friends and they source it from a South African foods shop. I haven't seen it in regular bottle shops. But yes - Pinotage is not a variety we have a lot of here either.

 

[Brad225]

My wife and I always look at Aussie/NZ first when we are when we are picking wine.
Cloudy Bay Chardonay and Sauvignon Blanc from NZ are always at the top of our list.

 

[amey01]

mmm - Cloudy Bay, another highly delicious, fresh, grassy Sauv Blanc from Marlborough!

 

[Bernard]

So how does the Sancerre one compare to the Marlborough ones? I've had plenty of Aussie Sav Blancs too, but they're not a patch on Marlborough....I might try to hunt that one down though Bernard. French wines are not my speciality! [unless it has bubbles].

Adam, Sancerre tends to be less fruity than the NZ Sauvignons.

BTW I do love French bubbly (the real thing), but can't afford it too often. My favourite is one of the cheapest - Pol Roger. I tried a bunch of the high-end ones (Dom Perignon, Cristal, Grande Dame, etc.) and was not impressed. The best I have had so far has been a Jacquart from a vintage year (can't remember which) for $75 (Champagnes here start at about $45).

I too, like Oyster Bay, and also Stoneleigh and The Taniwah (to name a few of about 100!). I've had a few lovely Kim Crawfords too so I'm not sure which one you had! The good Montanas are also not too bad!

Bingo! Stoneleigh is the one I can never remember.

 

[Bernard]

There's better than that!

Don't leave me hanging like that ! Give me names! We do get a decent range of Aussie wines here.

 

[amey01]

Don't leave me hanging like that ! Give me names! We do get a decent range of Aussie wines here.

See post #15 for a start!

The problem with export Aussie wines is the export market is dominated by the large ("plastic") vineyards and the little guys that make the great stuff are snuffed out of it. Bad boy tactics. Try to find something other than McGuigan, YellowTail, Jacobs Creek, Rosemount, Tyrells, Hardy's, Houghton et al. Their top-noch stuff is great, but unfortunately it's not the best value in the lower to middle range - it's just churned out, box moving sludge.

 

[amey01]

Don't leave me hanging like that ! Give me names! We do get a decent range of Aussie wines here.

......and if I am to continue, where do I start? Some of my personal faves are:

Elderton Cab Sav (Barossa Valley, South Australia)
Lashmar Cab Sav (Kangaroo Is)
Marjella Malleea Shiraz Merlot (Coonawarra, South Australia)
Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz (Hunter, NSW)
Chapel Hill "The Vicar" Shiraz (McLaren Vale)
Tempus Two Merlot (Hunter valley)

Favourite vineyards for daily drinking are Scarpantoni (South Australia), Fifth Leg (Margaret River, Western Australia), Brown Brothers (Victoria) and Vasse Felix (Margaret River also).

......and for a absolute stunner (on par with the Grange in Post #15), try Henschke "Hill of Grace" Shiraz from the Barossa Valley......

 

[amey01]

Adam, Sancerre tends to be less fruity than the NZ Sauvignons.

BTW I do love French bubbly (the real thing), but can't afford it too often. My favourite is one of the cheapest - Pol Roger. I tried a bunch of the high-end ones (Dom Perignon, Cristal, Grande Dame, etc.) and was not impressed. The best I have had so far has been a Jacquart from a vintage year (can't remember which) for $75 (Champagnes here start at about $45).
Bingo! Stoneleigh is the one I can never remember.

Less fruity sounds like a good thing because as much as I love Marlborough Savvies, my most common complaint is too much fruitiness......seeky seek I come.....

Yes - love the real thing too. The nicest I've had was a 1992 Krug. I've had a few great vintage Bollingers too, but for a more common drink I like Mumm and Veuve Cliquot (both in the order of $AUD70 here). I wasn't too fussed with Dom......

 

[User211]

Quite a few years ago (about 10) my brother-in-law got out a bottle of red - it was made during the war in France under German occupation, and had French and German writing on the label. Wish I could tell you more, though my brother-in-law probably could.

It did cost quite a bit, around £250 for the bottle, but we were concerned it would be undrinkable. Indeed, most of the cork had disintegrated into the wine. We strained it through some muslin, tried some, and smiled big time. Really seriously good. Considering it was probably destined for German consumption, maybe it's lucky we are still around...

 

[Bernard]

Time to add to this long-dormant thread:

I recently came across "Prestige de Bourgogne", a triple-cream cheese from France. Really tasty, and spreads like butter.

EDIT: Going through this thread I saw that I had already recommended this cheese. No matter, this thread needed to be resuscitated.

 

[tsv_1]

Man, this forum is just full of surprises (for newbies like me anyway).

OK... despite some of my off-color commentary across various posts, I'm actually not really much of a drinker (these days). However, there are a few beers and a few wines that I find remarkable. Here's one of my all-time fav wines (besides MD 20/20 ).

This to me is how a fine wine should taste. Perfectly balanced, full bodied, distinct fruity notes, not too sweet, not too dry - zero astringency. I could drink it by the metric-ton, a sip at a time of course.

Cheers (and I mean that literally)

 

[Bernard]

Mas Amiel -Maury Prestige 15 ans d'âge

Mas Amiel Prestige 15 ans d'âge.

Here's a wonderful red dessert wine from France that goes well with dark chocolate. It's more like port than wine. It's also very expensive - $41.50 here.

 

[User211]

Time for some beer.

Every three months or so, I order 20 bottles of this stuff: Oerbier

Why? Because I went on a 10 day brewery tour of Belgium about 20 years ago, and this was my favourite brewer.

It is a rich dark brown beer. And I think it tastes incredible. However, it is about 9%, but drinking it you wouldn't have a clue from the taste - and herein lies the problem.

Drink three and you'll know it the next day. Drink four and you'll feel pretty damned rough the next day. I mean pretty seriously so - to the extent you may not make it into work. The idea of drinking five - do NOT attempt it! I wonder whether it isn't more than 9% in practice, sometimes.

Anyway, I think all the best beers taste wise are strong ones. This proves that point. I drink it pretty cold.

Belgium arguably makes the best beer in the world. But boy is it strong stuff.

You may well be able to find it on the internet. If you like dark beers, get yourself 20. And order the glass too. Essential!

 

[tsv_1]

And order the glass too. Essential!

As with my self-justifyingly awesome audio expenditures, i PRIDE myself in having sampled a pretty wide variety of beer as well. This one however has escaped me. So I'll take your advice (to a degree) and see if I can locate it state-side. Thanks.

And yes... the tulip glass is really quite mandatory when savoring intense beers - especially high gravity varieties such as Oerbier as the narrowed upper diameter focuses all that estery goodness

The analogy being: The proper drinking vessel is required to reap full benefit of the best brewed libations - just as CLXs are required for proper transduction and optimal enjoyment of the musical signal

Prost!