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mostly wine stuff

pete

not peace but 2 Beers!
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Mothers day celebration, we don't buy this range other than we visited winery back in 98, joined their club before they gained a good amount of respect.

In basement for some time

20200510_181408.jpg
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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This bottle must have oxidized because it lost its taste and color but didn't turn to vinegar.
IMG_20200510_141508.jpg
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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This bottle must have oxidized because it lost its taste and color but didn't turn to vinegar.

Not exactly a glowing review. How's your storage?
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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Did it cook through? Kind of a weird flavor and mouthfeel like unsalted chicken soup?
Weird flavor and mouth feel yes not so much unsalted chicken soup, kind of over done juice.
 

pete

not peace but 2 Beers!
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Maybe the wine shop displayed the bottle in the store window and the sun coming through the glass cooked it.

If your regular shop, should replace. I don't do this often less it's a bit pricier bottle.
 

Uncle-A

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If your regular shop, should replace. I don't do this often less it's a bit pricier bottle.
It is not my regular shop and it was a pricey bottle so it did get returned. A refund was made with no problem so I will use that business again. I guess that they will return it to the supplier and get a credit for the bottle.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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So, not my normal thing. California to start with. No region specified, let alone vineyard site. "Made in Oakland". In other words, zero to recommend it, based strictly on the label.

Opened this almost a week ago and finished it last night. Kept under rubber vacuum stopper, fwiw. Definitely decent wine when first opened - varietally convincing, if a bit too candied for my taste. Weird thing is, it just got better and better as the week went on. Like some of the really good zins I remember from the 70s and 80s, it increasingly resembled a good sangiovese, structurally. Lots of fine tannins, relatively high acid, fruit that is ripe in a brisk, lip-smacky way rather than broad and luxurious like a Bordeaux. Alcohol very well integrated. All legs of the tripod super sound and equal.

Anyway, very impressive. Restored a little of my faith in California's ability to produce kind of affordable bottles.

In writing this post, it ocurred to me to Google the wine. Turns out it's 9% Teroldego!
It fits.

Maybe @skibob knows these people.

20200516_133956.jpg
 
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mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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So, not my normal thing. California to start with. No region specified, let alone vineyard site. "Made in Oakland". In other words, zero to recommend it, based strictly on the label.

Opened this almost a week ago and finished it last night. Kept under rubber vacuum stopper, fwiw. Definitely decent wine when first opened - varietally convincing, if a bit too candied for my taste. Weird thing is, it just got better and better as the week went on. Like some of the really good zins I remember from the 70s and 80s, it increasingly resembled a good sangiovese, structurally. Lots of fine tannins, relatively high acid, fruit that is ripe in a brisk, lip-smacky way rather than broad and luxurious like a Bordeaux. Alcohol very well integrated. All legs of the tripod super sound and equal.

Anyway, very impressive. Restored a little of my faith in California's ability to produce kind of affordable bottles.

In writing this post, it ocurred to me to Google the wine. Turns out it's 9% Teroldego!
It fits.

Maybe @skibob knows these people.

View attachment 102836
We've been to the Dashe tasting room! It's part of the cluster of alchohol businesses (wine, beer, distileries) on the old air base on the Oakland waterfront. Nice view of San Francisco from many of them, too. Fun place.
 

skibob

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So, not my normal thing. California to start with. No region specified, let alone vineyard site. "Made in Oakland". In other words, zero to recommend it, based strictly on the label.

Opened this almost a week ago and finished it last night. Kept under rubber vacuum stopper, fwiw. Definitely decent wine when first opened - varietally convincing, if a bit too candied for my taste. Weird thing is, it just got better and better as the week went on. Like some of the really good zins I remember from the 70s and 80s, it increasingly resembled a good sangiovese, structurally. Lots of fine tannins, relatively high acid, fruit that is ripe in a brisk, lip-smacky way rather than broad and luxurious like a Bordeaux. Alcohol very well integrated. All legs of the tripod super sound and equal.

Anyway, very impressive. Restored a little of my faith in California's ability to produce kind of affordable bottles.

In writing this post, it ocurred to me to Google the wine. Turns out it's 9% Teroldego!
It fits.

Maybe @skibob knows these people.

View attachment 102836
Don't know them personally. But a good reputation. I believe Kent Rosenblum was a consultant or something early on. There are a cluster of serious small wineries in a couple of different places around Oakland. It takes about as long to truck grapes from Napa to Oakland as it does from Napa to Healdsburg, just as a reference point.

THere is a debate around here about whether "Zin is more of a Bordeaux variety, or a Burgundy variety". Metaphorically of course. I've always been firmly on the Burgundy side, but these days most are made like Bordeaux. But I quite like invoking Sangiovese. Probably a better comparison. I like good Zinfandel, but the kind I like are few and far between.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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It takes about as long to truck grapes from Napa to Oakland as it does from Napa to Healdsburg, just as a reference point.

Great observation.
 

Paul Lutes

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The whole idea of decanting/breathing always seemed a little too much for my inexperienced palate, until I stumbled on a bottle of this https://radiocoteau.com/wines/lemorel-sonoma-coast/
First opening was nothing special, so it sat for 2+ days and I almost tossed it thinking it could only have slid downhill. Fortunately I took a small sip instead and was shocked at how much it had improved (pretty sure this is mostly on me - anyone knowing what's what would have known what was coming from the first tasting). It continued to improve over the next 2-3 days (I was experimenting now to see how it evolved over time).
Since then, I've always considered such wines a special treat, especially since the vast majority do exactly the opposite, but have wondered if it would be better to simply let them age more in the bottle.
 

skibob

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The whole idea of decanting/breathing always seemed a little too much for my inexperienced palate, until I stumbled on a bottle of this https://radiocoteau.com/wines/lemorel-sonoma-coast/
First opening was nothing special, so it sat for 2+ days and I almost tossed it thinking it could only have slid downhill. Fortunately I took a small sip instead and was shocked at how much it had improved (pretty sure this is mostly on me - anyone knowing what's what would have known what was coming from the first tasting). It continued to improve over the next 2-3 days (I was experimenting now to see how it evolved over time).
Since then, I've always considered such wines a special treat, especially since the vast majority do exactly the opposite, but have wondered if it would be better to simply let them age more in the bottle.
Somebody who knows wine might have suspected it needed some air, but they wouldn't have known what the potential was at that point. There is a simple device called a vinturri that mixes the wine with air as you pour it into your glass. It seems gimmicky, but it really isn't. Its simpler than decanting and allows you to a/b without having to commit the whole wine. Some older wines can just fall apart quickly with oxygen, so its good to know beforehand.

Leaving a bottle open is slightly different than hyper-aerating (different rates of reaction produce subtly different results). But not radically so.
 

cantunamunch

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Leaving a bottle open is slightly different than hyper-aerating (different rates of reaction produce subtly different results). But not radically so.

And does the scale of that difference change with altitude and relative humidity? This forum needs to know. ;)
 
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mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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There is a simple device called a vinturri that mixes the wine with air as you pour it into your glass.
The wine store where we tasted every Saturday loves that thing. I think they over-do it, killing too much of the "bigness" in the bigger wines.
 

skibob

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And does the scale of that difference change with altitude and relative humidity? This forum needs to know. ;)
LOL. Theoretically, there is less oxygen at higher altitude. Surely makes a measurable difference. Whether it makes a difference you can taste, I will have to test. Who wants to fund that study? :cool:
 

skibob

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The wine store where we tasted every Saturday loves that thing. I think they over-do it, killing too much of the "bigness" in the bigger wines.
Its technically a little dishonest to use it in tasting. A well known wine rep trick is to pop the cork (to let in oxygen) and then shake the bottle up vigorously. When a wine presents reductive (sulfur aroma) or "tight" (just not showing its stuff) this will help. It won't make a bad wine good, but it doesn't really show the wine the way it is drinking right NOW.

A better use of the vinturri would be to show you with and without. IMHO.
 

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