Now THAT's a wine.

Cranius wrote:*Any red wine will benefit from being opened and left next to the stove while you cook. The warmth will get rid the malodorous gases that build up in the air in neck of the bottle after its corked.

I've heard some very convincing arguments relating to the 'breathing' of wine that suggest that allowing a bottled wine to breath in it's bottle is pointless since 'breathing' requires a significant surface area of wine to be allowed contact with air.

According to these people, one must decant the wine; if one is disinclined to do so then simply allow the wine to sit in your glass for a few minutes prior to gulping it like a thirsty bear.

I dunno.

Champion Rabbit wrote:...

According to these people, one must decant the wine; if one is disinclined to do so then simply allow the wine to sit in your glass for a few minutes prior to gulping it like a thirsty bear.

I dunno.

I heard this one too. A friend of the family's have a vineyard and he always pours the Reds into a decanter before drinking. I'm too lazy and usually drink it straight from the bottle...

Gramsci wrote:I'm too lazy and usually drink it straight from the bottle...

5 litre cartons of 'Red Table Wine' not good enough for you eh?

Fecking snob.

Champion Rabbit wrote:

Gramsci wrote:I'm too lazy and usually drink it straight from the bottle...

5 litre cartons of 'Red Table Wine' not good enough for you eh?

Fecking snob.

Chateau a la Cardboard is my tipple of choice!

Speaking of... www.chateau.co.nz

Even the cheapest French reds are better than most new world wines*. Just look out for the AOC approval under the vineyard name on the label. As for whites, I'd say Italian all the way(particulary Pinot Grigio, Orvieto or Scilican Grillo).

Okay - We all know that French wines are the benchmark for all good wines. But Italian whites? you've got to be kidding! Pinot Grigo is what young girls drink because "it doesn't taste too much of wine"... and Grillo? next time I want something soft & sweet I'll give it a go again.

B_M_L wrote: Pinot Grigo is what young girls drink because "it doesn't taste too much of wine"....

My wife is from Friuli where they make Pinot Grigo, lucky Uncle Guido isn't reading this... let's just say your knee caps are safe... for now.

Champion Rabbit wrote:Did you know that wine from the USA often has water added to it in order to weaken it's potency?

Apparently this is not allowed elsewhere.

Interesting I thought.

do you want to go ahead and quote your source? or did you hear some bum on the bus say it.
I will defend california as a region for wine.
for the record, a winemaker like Robert Mondavi will put his finest grapes in a brand new french oak barrel. when the wine (usually opus one) is bottled they reuse the barrel for the reserve wines. this process continues down the line until the white zinfandel (otherwise known here as an embalming agent for old cunts) and other swill gets the broken barrel pieces.
My grandmother has told me stories of being a poor girl in Sicily and having to drink wine made by adding water to the grape/stem mash (known as Must) to make "wine" for the poor. California isn't inventing these techniques.
many famous french winemakers have chosen California to grow and operate from. the most noteworthy is probably George DeLatour. He came to America and loved the climate and taught many local winemakers the tricks of the trade.
I believe it was Stag's Leap that snuck their wine into a French wine competition. I think it happened in the 70s, when french wine ruled the land. It was a blindfolded tasting and it won hands down. That was one of the monumental feats that put California/usa on the wine map.
I may be a wine snob, and I love me some white Burgundy or Bordeaux, but California is a legitimate wine region.
try Stag's leap, Jordan, BV, Bonny Doon, etc

oh, and opening a bottle of wine to "let it breathe" is not hurting anything. It is not as good as pouring it into glasses or a decanter but better than nothing.
that why you swirl in your glass also. people make fun of me for swirling because I look "fancy" or something. Fuck you. I swirl because I hate you.
but, really, decanters are good. if you are like most and don't have one, pour it in glasses 20 minutes before you drink.