This sounds like a plan.

so im allergic to sulfites... do i have a play with wine or am i just destined to be a beer and spirits man?

Any suggestions for a good $100 to $130 Champagne ?

its actually the histamines that cause the problems, but, regardless, there are wines that are sulfite free and check out some of your local places that have wines that are certified organic or bio-dynamic


lots, provide some links for places that you are near your or what state your in(this is key as some states can't be shipped to)

Thanks KDawg, I am in Austin Texas. I think the best source for wine here is probably a place called SPEC's.

http://specsliquors.com/

By the way, what do you guys think I should do if I am traveling on a flight with it?

@ Amoeba

I tried checking out that link but I couldnt find any Champagnes. If you quote a few Champagnes with prices which you have thought about trying I will be happy to help out regarding price/value ratio and whether its a typical aperetíf champagne or a champagne meant for food.



@ Everybody

So I REALLY need some help! I hope some of you american experts can come through for me!!!

This friday I am going to a new American steakhouse here in town. Me and my friend are looking to share a 72 ounce porterhouse which is pretty rare for danish restaurents .

Anyways they have a lot of american wine and I think it will be very fitting to drink some californian Zinfandel or Cabernet to a huge american steak. Problem is that I know jack and **** about US wine. All I know is that Napa valley is supposed to be hyped/good.

Here is the wine list. American wines are at page 7-8. The prices on the right is in danish kroner. Just divide by 5 and you have it in USD.

Any wines I just HAVE to try?

Or any wines which would be relatively god buys and good fits to a steak + fries + Bearnaise sauce?

http://www.mashsteak.dk/cms/filarkiv/Vinkort_MASH.pdf

Oh and price range is whatever

Oink,

You definitely want a full bodied red, probably a Napa Cabernet, although I often try to go South African, Australian, Chilean or Argentinian as you get better bang for the buck. I do not know any of these but I absolutely love a good Argentina Mailbag. I know a decent bit about wine, but not enough to regularly choose a bottle from a giant list (unless I see something I love). Typically I would ask the waiter/sommelier for a recommendation and describe what kind of wine I am looking for. If I were you I would ask for a recommendation from the Argentinian and Chilean wine. Would definitely recommend trying one of the Chilean Malbec's.

I was out to dinner last weekend and tried a great wine I had never had before and was wondering if anyone had any more info or recommendations.

I was at an Italian wine bar on a date and wanted to start dinner out with a red but something that was very fruit forward with a strong acidity to balance it out. I did not know their wine list at all so asked for a recommendation and was given a Frappato (varietal). Wine was extremely interesting and very good. Was supposed to be chilled and tasted basically like a more full bodies sauvignon blanc with more darker fruit flavors.

I would love to pick up a few bottle of this varietal as something similar as I do like a chilled fruit forward wine on occasion but prefer the body of a red for all but the hottest summer days. Does anyone have familiarity with this wine varietal or similar varietals from other countries? Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

oink, if you're gonna go cab, some of those prices aren't that bad for resturant prices. Obviously the wines will be VERY different then what you're used to.

The 02 Shafer HSS is one of the best HSS's ever made, and the price isn't that bad for a resturant price(seriously, that's about 100-150 over general retail here in the states), just be sure if you want to go with that, that you call ahead and request that it be decanted for a good 2-3 hours before you arrive

don't bother with silver joke, same with the paul hobbs. They're just over oaked to **** and don't have enough fruit to back up the ridiculous amount of oak that they see

the 05 Rudd Oakville and 06 Rudd Crossroads aren't that bad for the prices, but will have a fair amount of oak on them, so again, requesting that the bottle(s) be decanted is required

either of the 92 Dunns would be very interesting, with the Napa cab probably being a bit more accessible, but the Howell Mtn would be a real treat(again, this will need a decant as the howell mtn is one of the most backward wines in the world, but also one of the most thrilling expressions of 100% cabernet at the same time when you catch them right)

The 99 and 00 Ridge Monte Bellos should be starting to drink well(with the 00 drinking better at this time due to it being a lesser vintage). I'm actually going to be doing a monte bello vertical next tuesday, but those vintages aren't included, go figure. Monte Bello is more classic in style and comes off as a cali-bord hybrid. Both will need a decant, but not as much as the other wines

The Insignia is also a good price for a resturant for a high end cab/cab blend. It will certainly need a decant as well, but its drinking relatively well at this young point

don't bother with the Harlans. I've had both vintages, and while they are stunning in a sense, there is almost a feeling of them being too well made. THey just seem to lack a bit of soul for me

I'd feel utterly awful though if I didn't tell you to give the Cayuse's a go. Those bad boys are hard to get in America, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend those to you. Again, they'll need a decanting, but they are damn good

my personal order of preference for what to suggest:

1. 06 Cayuse En Chamberlin
1a. 06 Cayuse Callioux
2. 92 Dunn Howell Mtn
3. 02 Shafer HSS
4. 04 Insignia(this and the Shafer will present the a very different view of what you'd normally find in europe for american wines, and are classic modern california wines)
5. 00 or 99 RIdge Monte Bello

I really haven't drank that much champagne. the list at the store is too long to copy paste and unfortunately takes a few steps to get to but basically I think their selection is enough that I can find 99% of what people recommend.

I really have no preference between either a Rose or a blanc de blanc. I need it to be a brut and need it to be an official champagne.

I know it is overrated for the price, but isn't Dom like $120 a bottle.

send it to me via PM, I'll take a look and gladly help you out. I briefly took a look at the long list, but didn't have a real chance to go over the list. yea, the list was really long, but you can condense it so that there isn't all of the spaces

I guess at the price range I am going for ($100 to $160), I can go for one of the well known ones like a Dom or shell out a bit more for a Cristal but was just wondering if there are any lesser known Champagnes that you guys like as much.

For example, I read somewhere that the Charles Heidseck Millanaire is a good one but obviously I haven't tried any of these.

Again I havent seen the list and I am not up to date with US prices.

My personal feelings towards Dom P is to buy good vintages and save them for 20 years. Dont bother with a poor vintage and dont drink it young. Young Dom P is awful and grossly overrated

Cristal is sick overrated imo. In Denmark its about $300 a pop and roughly the same as Krug Vintage and Salon which are very different (powerfull wines). Cristal is a type Champagne comparable to Billecart-Salmon cuvee NF, Belle Epoque from Perrier Jouet and Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne. When it comes to that style of easy drinking, smooth champagne which drinks well young, Cristal is NO MATCH to Taittinger and the NF from Billecart Salmon. The Belle Epoque isnt in that class but its half price and about $110 here.

So if you want to buy Cristal but they also have a 1996 or 1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne its a no contest and a no brainer choice. Taittinger simply makes some of the finest champagnes.


The more powerfull stuff of which most see some oak before the second fermentation Id always go fro Krug. However all this needs loads of aging and/or its best to serve with food. I wouldnt even consider opening a Krug, Salon, Bollinger or Dom P if it isnt pre 1989. If you want powerfull champagnes Id look for the Krug Grande Cuvee (non vintage) which should be around $150, or the Jacques Sellosse Brut "Initial" also non vintage which should be around $100.

Just taking a final swing at Dom P: If you can get Sellosse "Initial" or Krug Grande Cuvee dont ever ever go for the Dom P. No contest - not close!


When it comes to Rosé champagnes its imo hard to find rly good ones at good prices. Things are imo the opposite of white champagne as Dom P, Cristal are among the finest out there but completely unpayable, both are +$500 here in Denmark.

Billecart Salmon makes the cuvee Elisabeth Salmon which is def very nice and the one most comparable to Cristal Rosé. It should be less than $200, but might exceed the $160 mark. Dont go for the Sellosse NV rosé, its the one champagne Sellosse makes which I dont enjoy and find terribly messy/unbalanced.

A rly good champagne where the quality/price ratio is sky high is the Billecart Salmon Non Vintage Rosé. It should be around $80-$90 over there. It drinks remarkably well!

Oh oh oh. The Belle epoque Rose is quite nice but like the billecart Salmon I mentioned its prolly just outside the $160 mark

Oh and in other news.

Thinly veiled brag: I just got offered and accepted a nice case of 4 bottles from Domaine Romanee Conti.

1 btl of 2002 Grands Echézeaux
1 btl of 2002 Romanee-St-Vivant
1 btl of 2002 La Tâche
1 btl of 2002 (drumroll plz) Romanee-Conti.


Should make for a nice evening

TYVM KDAWG. Exactly what I was looking for!!

No thoughts on Opus One?

my thoughts are that its an utter waste of money at the price that it goes for. The more I think about it, the more I think the Cayuse is the way to go, just such a unique experience, and quite frankly, they are like vino-heroin



.............and you utterly suck for getting your hands on those DRCs, ohhhhhh soooooooo jealous

Great post Kdawg.

I agree about Cayuse, we don't get much up here in Vancouver, but i've had the pleasure of having both of those. They are superb.

But, Oink, I think you should drink some Napa Cab with your 72 oz Porter. My favourite house on the list is Monte Bello, but, as Kdawg says, it's not typically California. All of Kdawgs rec's are great though. I would only add in the 1994 Spottswoode. Again, a little more restrained than some of the other choices, but a a great with some nice age on it.

Opus One is absurdly overrated, IMO (although the last couple of vintages have been pretty stellar)

For the most part, stay away from the Zinfandels on that list.

I'm coming over.

ty cancuk

The 1994 Spottswoode is a dobbeltmagnum. there is just the two of us so prolly too much .

But thanks for the input guys. I was suggested to drink Montebello form a guy I respect as well so I think I will end up trying that stuff. Maybe start with a bottle of Cayuse

Wow, very impressed with the knowledge in here. I drink a decent bit of wine and know enough to differentiate varietals and quality, but don't "know" wine well enough to make my own selections off of an extensive list (unless something I love is on there). Any recommendations on what to read and or explore to get more familiar with individual producers, regions, vintages in terms of quality.

Additionally, not trying to shamelessly bump here, but any recommendation based on the post below would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Oink, amongst the ones you've mentioned, the closest I have is a

1998 BILLECART SALMON BRUT BLANC DE BLANC $142

and a

1998 TAITTINGER COMPTE DE CHAMPAGNE BLANC DE BLANC $247




How are those vintages and are these overpriced?

out of the non vintages

the Krug Grande CUVEE is $172, is that too much?

normally I'd agree, but I noticed that it was at least a mag(I think a double mag), so that'd be some serious drinking to go with the steaks


yea, all the zins blow on the list. I'm not normally a fan of the varietal to begin with, and that list wouldn't really be much fun for anyone. If there was something like Carlisle on it(though, they barely get outside of california, more less the rest of america or europe) I'd fully say give it a go to have something that represents a very modern style of wine making(though be ready for a lot of heat and big jammy fruit)

go with the krug. The taittinger comtes de champagne has blown up in price in recent vintages, and that's too much to pay for the billecart-salmon IMO

Ok cool thanks. By the way, if I have to fly with it, how do you recommend I bring it onboard the plane?

This is kind of a gift to a friend of mine.