Can someone recommend a good gift wine?
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| My personal favorite is a califorina....Ferrarri Carano..their Cabernet Savigon is like butter...their chardonay is very oaky though... |
| Mmmm, a GREAT chardonnay is from Cakebread Winery in California...it should fall into that price range... |
| Where can I get them from? Who sells good wine? |
| I'm a big fan of champagne, espcially for the holidays. You can't go wrong with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, which sells in the low 30s.
Where depends on the state. Take a look in the yellow pages for wine stores. I looked under Yahoo yellow pages for Ferndale and there was one store called Simply Wines, but you can't tell much from an internet listing. If you go to a wine store you'll have someone who can help you choose - if you tell them that you don't know much about wine they'll help you out. We don't have many wine stores here so we buy wine in supermarkets, which is OK if you know what you're looking for. |
| I can't stand the taste of wine, so even though there are a few people I know that wine would make a good gift for, i never buy it because I simply wuldn't have a clue what to buy. I've tried several and think they're all disgusting.
This is a good thread, might help me decide which ones would be worth buying. I've heard though people mention white wines, red wines, dry wines, sweet wines etc.... how would a person like myself know what's what? (other than the obvious of course, being color...lol) |
Hey Jill, come up to TC and we can do the wine tour  Madonna's father has a vineyard up here along with Good Harbor, Bowers Harbor, Chateau Grand Traverse...... You should have a proper tasting if you're buying a gift.
If you find one you want call me and I can probably get in Elk Rapids, they have a great shop here. I can bring it when I go home for Christmas. |
Quote: Where can I get them from? Who sells good wine?
I read that and thought, what the heck is she talking about? Then I realized that not every state is backwords enough to have State Stores. P.S. I want to go to Madonna's dad's winery! |
We can all go, there's a bus tour  |
Willowsprite wrote: I've heard though people mention white wines, red wines, dry wines, sweet wines etc.... how would a person like myself know what's what? (other than the obvious of course, being color...lol)
The most confusing part is that different countries follow different standards for labelling wine. The US and Australia label wine by the type of grape - Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier (whites) and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz (reds). France and Italy label wines by the region it's produced in. For example, Chianti is a red wine produced in the Chianti region of Italy from a combination of grapes, primarily Sangiovese. Chablis (real Chablis, not Ernest and Julio Chablis) comes from the Chablis region of France and is made with Chardonnay grapes. Whether a wine turns out red or white has to more to do with the winemaking process than the grape being red/white. Zinfandel is red wine made from red Zinfandel grapes. White Zinfandel is a blush (light pink) wine made from the same red Zinfandel grapes, the producers take the skins off to give the wine a lighter color and different flavor. The only way to tell what you'll like is to taste some! Most people start off with a lighter wine like a White Zinfandel or a sweeter wine like a Riesling. But for something really sweet you'd have to go with a dessert wine like the excellent Canadian Ice Wines or an Italian Moscato. Some of us spend entirely too much time drinking wine... Sue |
| LOL Sue....I forgot...we need to do the wine tasting dinner again...yummy! |
| You know what, Sue? I went to the Simply Wine Web site to look up the address and it's pretty much at the end of my street (the way I usually don't go so that's why I never noticed it!). I'm going to take everyone's suggestions with me and then stop by and see what they recommend. Thanks! |
| The key to buying a wine is making usre you get taste for your value. You want a $40 bottle to taste like a $40 bottle, and you want a $100 bottle to taste like a $100 bottle. The best buys are those that taste better than their cost.
On that note, I have recently had and recommend the following with the approximate prices (US Dollars) you should find them for, but they all taste better than their cost: Two Hands Gnarly Dudes 2003 Shiraz (Australian) - (don't let the name fool you, this one is a great tasting wine). $24.00 Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz 2004 (Australian) $27.00 Etude Carneros Pinot Noir 2002 (California) $36.00 Starfish Edna Valley Pinot Noir 2004 (California) $20.00 Stump Jump (probably can find a 2003 or 2004) This one is under $10.00 but is a Red Australian fun drink Check out your town and see if their is a liquor store with a decent wine selection. Pick the shopkeeper's brain. A person who really enjoys their wine will be willing to spend some time with you. Don't just buy somethng off of the endcap. For those that are in Pennsylvania, my past experience when I was there was that over years the State has built some really good wine stores within selective state run liquor stores. |
| Jill what did you end up buying????? |
| Nothing yet. I'm going to go on Saturday so I'll report back! |
El Gato wrote: The key to buying a wine is making sure you get taste for your value.
I agree with that, El Gato, with one condition - it has to be YOUR taste. Too many people feel like they have to drink wines that a re popular or well rated and that's bunk - drink what you enjoy, but do enough research to make sure you're not overpaying for the name or the marketing campaign. My price range is much lower than yours! We try to stay under $10-12 dollars a bottle for every day wine, and with sales at the supermarkets you can find some nice wines at that price. Currently we're liking Parker Station Pinot Noir, 7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel and Bogle Petite Syrah. We will go a bit higher for a few favorites but we save those for special occasions  |
| What Sue says is true. My husband loves the lighter and fruitier tasting wines, like the Beaujealais Nouveau, and while I think it is okay, I don't get all excited like he does when the new fall harvest arrives in stores. I like the more robust red wines...
And my price range is even lower! I tend to get the $7-9 bottles! (Usually they are $11 on sale for those prices!) |
| Ahhhhh... Beaujolais Nouveau.....
I still ermember one of the very first reviews I read about a Nouveau, it went something like: "This is not a wine to be sipped and sniffed. It is a wine to be quaffed." It was actually a positive review....! |
| This was a gift so I upped the ante! This girl's really cool to work with and she's always buying me little things to show appreciation for things that I do so I wanted to return the favor. I wound up going to Simply Wine, pleading ignorance and the guy working there hooked me up with a nice Pinot Noir. I think it's from 2002. That's all I know. The guy seemed a little disgusted with me for not liking wine. |
Quote: The guy seemed a little disgusted with me for not liking wine.
Stupid wine snob! 
There was a list today on msnbc.com that was talking about the 10 'best' wines, and most of them were fairly reasonable, if anyone else needs to give wine presents... |
| Anytime I get wine as a gift (not very often) I tend to buy the stuff I like, which is almost always a blush. I love a good blush- white zinfandels, white merlots (my current fave) Roses, yumm!!! I'm sure your friend will love the Pinot!!! (I had a pinot for dinner at a play a couple weeks ago, I can't remember whose it was, but it was tasty!)
Karen |
ButtersStotch wrote: The guy seemed a little disgusted with me for not liking wine.
Silly boy! He missed a fine opportunity to convert you. If I were him and knew you lived down the road I would have sat you down and sampled a few bottles until we found one that you liked and I knew you'd be coming back for more. Oops, can you tell I'm in sales |
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