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The Vineyard
Night Hides Not:
--- Quote from: sinkspur on July 25, 2016, 05:40:18 pm ---Well, this is great. I am a wine afficionado and have been for my entire adult life (48 years). From Blue Nun, to Riunite, from cheap Gallos to Mateus, I graduated to Germans and sweet California whites.
I was bowled over when I first tasted a French St. Estephe quite by accident at a dinner. How rich! I could almost chew it!
Still like whites, but, having visited California, and France and Italy and sampled light Pinots and big heavy Tuscans, I'm mostly a red wine fan now. Nothing like a Cabernet from the Stags Leap area of California with a steak!
My wife and I have been into Pinot Noirs lately, and have settled on Oregon as producing some of the best domestically. Drilling down even further, the whole cluster Pinots, such as this one:
are really our favorites. The entire cluster of grapes, including the stems, are thrown into fermentation. This produces a richer, deeper, smoother wine and also, interestingly enough, reduces the alcohol content which improves the overall flavor (and you can drink more!
I hope to come here often. We drink a little wine every day, and love to try new ones.
If you want a Pinot that tastes nearly like a Zin, try Meomi. Price is anywhere from $15-20, but it is so good.
As a treat for a special occasion, for you Zinfandel lovers look for wines from The Prisoner Winery:
https://www.theprisonerwinecompany.com/index.cfm?
We've tried the Prisoner (pricey at around $45) and Saldo ($26 ). Both are some of the best wine we've ever tasted. The legs on the glass after swirling are many, so the alcohol content is high. But I can only afford one bottle, so that's OK.
As with cigars, a good wine is any wine you like.
--- End quote ---
Keep bringing it sinkspur, great stuff!
I was born in Oregon City, a stone's throw from the Willamette, although I am now a naturalized Texan.
While doing research for future installments, I spent an hour on Southern Oregon and the AVAs down there. I was ready to hop in my car and drive there! We barely scratched the surface during our last visit to Roseburg, Oregon two years ago. There's roughly two dozen wineries there, and we visited five over a two day period.
I'm also planning to take a couple of days off in the next couple weeks, to make a solo trip down to the Hill Country. My son will be in Band Camp then, and my wife had her vacation last month with her family in Orlando. I don't do that trip anymore, too much drama whenever she and a few of her sisters are in the same zip code.
Feel free to pass on any ideas on winery reviews. I'm looking for unique categories, i.e. best family friendly winery, best adults only winery, etc. I'll be upfront in saying that my reviews will only be positive. We all know how difficult it is to grow grapes and make wine, and I remember my experience from living on the Mosel, where 2/3 of the grapes are grown on slopes of 60 degrees or more.
sinkspur:
I can attest that Becker Vineyards makes a really good Cabernet-Syrah. Here are two must-visit wineries:
http://www.winespectator.com/wct/region/id/texas-hill-country-wineries
Becker's on this list too; don't know anything about any of the others
http://www.austinrelocationguide.com/5-Hill-Country-Wineries-to-Visit/
My favorite Texas winery is Llano Estacado, but it's in the Cap Rock area in Lubbock
https://www.llanowine.com/
For a pure party wine, for guests, I've gotten lots of compliments on St. Genevieve's Chardonnay and Cabernet:
http://www.stegenwines.com/wines/ste_genevieve.html
Night Hides Not:
--- Quote from: sinkspur on July 26, 2016, 02:00:16 pm ---I can attest that Becker Vineyards makes a really good Cabernet-Syrah. Here are two must-visit wineries:
http://www.winespectator.com/wct/region/id/texas-hill-country-wineries
Becker's on this list too; don't know anything about any of the others
http://www.austinrelocationguide.com/5-Hill-Country-Wineries-to-Visit/
My favorite Texas winery is Llano Estacado, but it's in the Cap Rock area in Lubbock
https://www.llanowine.com/
For a pure party wine, for guests, I've gotten lots of compliments on St. Genevieve's Chardonnay and Cabernet:
http://www.stegenwines.com/wines/ste_genevieve.html
--- End quote ---
We stopped at Llano Estacado about six weeks ago. GPS Warning: it's about two miles east of where the GPS said it was...weird. From now on, every trip we make to El Paso (in-laws) will include a detour to Llano and/or Bingham Family Vineyards. The latter has a relationship with Lost Oak Winery in Burleson, they make their whites from Bingham's grapes. It's way too hot in North Texas for anything but the hardiest red wine grapes.
During our visit, they had three wines on sale for $6 a bottle. I bought a gewürztraminer and a rose, plus a bottle of their 2014 Riesling...spent $21.
Lost Oak is one of the most family friendly wineries you could ever find. We really enjoy the movie nights they have during the summer, where they show old favorites such as Finding Nemo, Lion King, etc. I've been a member a bit over two years.
Thanks for the links, it will help narrow my itinerary.
BTW, I'm putting together a list of locations to visit. Not a bucket list, though...I'm really not into that.
Grand Junction, CO: two dozen wineries, several with views of the Colorado River.
Davis Mountain, TX: way out in the boondocks/off the beaten path.
Moab, UT: the views HAVE to be spectacular.
Southern Oregon: dozens of wineries, smack dab between Napa and the Willamette Valley.
Roseburg: an hour north of Medford, we've been to several.
Naturally, there are many places in CA and WA to see. I do remember a couple of small, family vineyards on the route to Yosemite. We stopped at one and had a nice relaxing visit on the way to Yosemite.
To be continued...
Night Hides Not:
My daughter and I discovered a really nice wine for everyday sipping. At Lost Oak, they call it Rosa Blanca, and I picked up a bottle of Grenache Rose at Llano Estacado. A very pleasant wine that's not too sweet nor too dry.
The bottle I picked up at Llano was in their bargain bin for $6...before their military discount. With our member discount at Lost Oak, I think we paid about $11 for the Rosa Blanca.
I still prefer Riesling, but my inventory has spiked a bit over the past few weeks. My 8 bottle cooler is full, and there's another case in the wine rack. It's about 50/50 whites and reds.
mountaineer:
We attended a "BYOB" dinner with some old friends a few months ago. We took a pinot noir and a sauvignon blanc. They offered their favorite Riesling and explained how someone had given them several bottles, this was their last one and they hadn't been able to find it anywhere. Glad to say I've found it for them at a Pennsylvania state wine and spirits store (the "premium selection" one in Pittsburgh that has a fairly large, high quality wine selection). It's a Mosel Riesling - Weingut St. Urbans-Hof. A little sweet for my taste and a little more than I generally spend, but it feels good to be able to repay them just a little for their kindness. ^-^
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