In vino, veritas

[cchoukal]

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Just dove-tailing off of a very brief tangent in another thread, and out of a desire to have something less depressing to post about, anyone into wine here? Cool finds, deep cellars, rare bottles?

I'm sitting on maybe 350 bottles in a temp-controlled, insulated room in the basement. No show-piece, by a long shot, but functional for the long haul. Mostly cab blends (french and CA), southern rhone, and spanish, with a good chunk of deep-coastal CA pinot.

What are people into these days?

 

[2buckchuck]

I could drink these all day if it wouldn’t kill me

 

[amyl]

I love wine but don’t have the set up you do…. We go to Napa every other year it seems for some family function or ? We were just there for my brothers 50th. While there we did the scissors tasting at Orin swift - highly recommended different experience (his rose sparkling - handle with care- is out of this world and only available there or through the club. Also had some new Pinot noirs he had - L’usine - loved it.
We did the “winemaker for a day” at Raymond and can’t recommend it- cool concept to blend your own with a personal label and blend name but poorly executed by Raymond.
Hit some off the beaten path Sonoma wineries - Croix (loved everything, great experience and wine) and DuMol - great wine and nice time.
Typically I go for smooth reds - Pinot noir, blends, there’s a paulliac I love- chateau pedesclaux - or dry crisp whites - Sancerre, Albariño… and I love champs/sparkling -American - Orin swift mentioned above or schramsburg, cremant d’alsace, champagne, corpinnat

 

[GassYous]

I'm into champagne these days
Really like rare, perrior jouet, veuve cliquot and dom perignon

 

[sevoflurane]

Been digging ports after dinner.

 

[cchoukal]

I'm into champagne these days
Really like rare, perrior jouet, veuve cliquot and dom perignon

I've really come around on champagne the last year or two. I like the small-market grower stuff, although the house blend at Laurent-Perrier and Bollinger are pretty complex and interesting.

For Sevo, how are you picking a good port? I've got a few Madeira and Sauternes in the basement, but don't now anything about port. Teach me!

 

[sevoflurane]

I've really come around on champagne the last year or two. I like the small-market grower stuff, although the house blend at Laurent-Perrier and Bollinger are pretty complex and interesting.

For Sevo, how are you picking a good port? I've got a few Madeira and Sauternes in the basement, but don't now anything about port. Teach me!

Wife usually has a list of good wine and ports. I’m definitely not an expert, but have grown to appreciate it.
Either we make a mental note when out to dinner or I’ll hassle someone that looks like they know what they are talking about at Total Wine.
If everything else fails, I consult google🤣.

 

[sevoflurane]

Polished this guy off this week.
$20
I’m sure there are better, but this one had some deep sweet notes.

 

[cchoukal]

I think the only one I've tried was a 1998 vintage port I bought from a winery in Napa the first year I lived out here, 2009. I opened it when a good friend moved, maybe 2-3 years ago. I couldn't believe everything that was going on. Sweet, but still with some red fruit and good acidity. When they get it right, these can be magical.

 

[Ashers]

I used to like it, and I've been been to vineyards for tours in Tuscany, but i get migraines from any alcohol. 😔 I do cook with it -- desserts, main courses. So I have a wide ranging selection of wine for someone who doesn't drink. 😃

 

[Drwine]

My handle should make the answer obvious. I was a precocious wine drinker. I celebrated getting accepted to medical school by opening a bottle of 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and opening a 1966 DRC Richebourg for graduation. I have around 3000 bottles, and I am actively trying not to buy wine and drink the cellar down. I am always willing to share with colleagues. For those above who want to learn more about Port, I can endorse Roy Hersh's "For the Love of Port" and his tours. The oldest Port I have consumed with Roy was 1815.

 

[GassYous]

My handle should make the answer obvious. I was a precocious wine drinker. I celebrated getting accepted to medical school by opening a bottle of 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and opening a 1966 DRC Richebourg for graduation. I have around 3000 bottles, and I am actively trying not to buy wine and drink the cellar down. I am always willing to share with colleagues. For those above who want to learn more about Port, I can endorse Roy Hersh's "For the Love of Port" and his tours. The oldest Port I have consumed with Roy was 1815.

Did not realize that your name is actually relevant to your interests
I just looked up those bottles and they're like $2-4000. Most expensive bottle I've ever had was $1000.

 

[PainDrain]

1966 DRC Richebourg

Did not realize that your name is actually relevant to your interests
I just looked up those bottles and they're like $2-4000. Most expensive bottle I've ever had was $1000.

Were you wealthy before medicine?

 

[ambiturner]

Did not realize that your name is actually relevant to your interests
I just looked up those bottles and they're like $2-4000. Most expensive bottle I've ever had was $1000.

High-end wine prices have greatly exceeded inflation in the past 20-30 years. My impression drwine is late career so he may have picked those bottles up for just a couple hundred dollars in the 80s-90s. Or maybe he was born on park avenue.

 

[cittykat]

My handle should make the answer obvious. I was a precocious wine drinker. I celebrated getting accepted to medical school by opening a bottle of 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and opening a 1966 DRC Richebourg for graduation. I have around 3000 bottles, and I am actively trying not to buy wine and drink the cellar down. I am always willing to share with colleagues. For those above who want to learn more about Port, I can endorse Roy Hersh's "For the Love of Port" and his tours. The oldest Port I have consumed with Roy was 1815.

When your wine cellar is worth more than a boat or some homes.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

View attachment 417558I could drink these all day if it wouldn’t kill me

Try their Honey Tripel

 

[eyeeye_captain]

Not expensive, but the most memorable alcoholic beverage I ever tried was at a brewery in Denver. Me and the college buddies were up for the GABF a few years back, and being the heathens we were/are, we went out after the festival.

I love dark, heavy beers almost as much as I love trying new/strange food. They had an oyster stout on tap - great, up my alley. Only it was a Rocky Mountain oyster stout, made with real bull balls.

I’ll spare you the multitude of childish jokes that elicited, but it was quite tasty on top of the novelty.

 

[Drwine]

High-end wine prices have greatly exceeded inflation in the past 20-30 years. My impression drwine is late career so he may have picked those bottles up for just a couple hundred dollars in the 80s-90s. Or maybe he was born on park avenue.

I grew up in WV, and my parents weren't wealthy. The family business didn't become really successful until after I graduated from medical school in 1982. I had a budget my parents gave me for higher education, and I wisely listened to good advice and went to WVU for both my undergraduate and medical school, which left me with some spending money. Back then, CA cabs were around $10, first-growth Bordeaux wines could be purchased for $20, Yquem for $30, and DRC for $100. I could drive to Washington, DC, to visit friends in school there and come back with a trunk full of wine for less than $1000. When people started making stupid money on Wall St., and everyone wanted the top wine and spirits as status symbols, prices skyrocketed to meet demand. Easier access to information also helped drive demand.

 

[Drwine]

When your wine cellar is worth more than a boat or some homes.

Definite thread drift, but looking at the acceleration of the high-end watch prices hand in hand with wine prices, it is difficult today to grasp that I bought a stainless steel Patek Philippe with one of my earlier moonlighting checks, and I could tongue-in-cheek poke fun at surgeons wearing a Rolex. Even if I made enough to buy a replacement with a lucrative locums gig, the waiting list is prohibitive.
Of course, I have made purchases that were, in retrospect, a waste of money, so I didn't always strike gold.

 

[ambiturner]

I grew up in WV, and my parents weren't wealthy. The family business didn't become really successful until after I graduated from medical school in 1982. I had a budget my parents gave me for higher education, and I wisely listened to good advice and went to WVU for both my undergraduate and medical school, which left me with some spending money. Back then, CA cabs were around $10, first-growth Bordeaux wines could be purchased for $20, Yquem for $30, and DRC for $100. I could drive to Washington, DC, to visit friends in school there and come back with a trunk full of wine for less than $1000. When people started making stupid money on Wall St., and everyone wanted the top wine and spirits as status symbols, prices skyrocketed to meet demand. Easier access to information also helped drive demand.

Chinese demand made it even crazier. Never seen more high end wine than in Hong Kong. Though supposedly that may be changing?

 

[cittykat]

Chinese demand made it even crazier. Never seen more high end wine than in Hong Kong. Though supposedly that may be changing?

Shanghai and Beijing too. They buy (and gift) by the case.