Red Wine...

[spun_cookie]

Gent's there are some very good WA wines. You just need to look around. I had to go there for a trip and hip the South East wine region and found some good ports, a couple decent reds and a wonderful late harvest that was about 31% residual sugar...

There are good wines from just about every state if you hit the wineries...

[Vange]

Bordeaux typically will state the % of the 5 grapes allowable on the back label.
Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, and Malbec. Most are cab sauv or merlot heavy with the rest rounded it out. Excellent wine though!

[Cornman]

I don't have specific recommendations, but I'd suggest you cast a wide net. I really like a lot of 'old vine zinfandels' from California and lesser nebbiolos from Italy for instance - quite a few available for under $15 and very different from the usual domestic cabernets. OK, so I also love domestic cabernets. It's just that it is a big world out there. i read somewhere that there were about 6000 different recent vintage wines available for sale in the US at any given time, and that was about 10 years ago.

Asking here is a good way to get suggestions, I see. But you might also try finding a good retailer, even if you buy most of your bottles at Cosco. I've had some good luck with McCarthy and Schiering. A little highfalutin but they have a nice newletter, weekend tastings (which I never have time to go to) and a carefully selected range of less well known wines of good value. (They also have a bunch way, way out of my price range, $30, $60, $90 +++). Having someone preselect who's taste you know is very helpful as there is a great deal of mediocre wine out there.

You might also get a book like Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine. It is a nice 'coffee table' book, but actually packed with information, but not too academic. Nice to browse through the appropriate section over a novel glass wine.

And finally, if you have family connections to Long Shadows, you are really off to a good start!

[mier]

A reason that you get halfsour wines can be that the demand of certain wines is so huge,the French state " allows" the farmer to use more grapes of his and other estates what makes the wine of a lesser quality.If the bottles are filled by a bottler instead of the chateau you also have a chance they have messed with it.It sounds suspicious,i know but recently they`ve arrested managers of a a French and a Belgian fillingcompany for doing so.They used a lesser quality wine and blended it with a aoc Bordeaux wine.It is all a matter of good trust and quality but some people go for the cash destroing a good name,pity but it happens.Gary i think you should try wines from Burgundy made of the pinot noir grapes if you want to avoid tannins the younger versions or look on the other side of the border and try a Spatburgunder from Rheinhessen Germany,same variety but rounder and less tannins.Also red wines from Austria or the Elzas/Alsace i think you would appreciate for that reason.If you like to discover other winecountries look at www.dewijnhoek.nl i found a goal to fill up my summervacation staying in my own country .
For me the zinfandelvariety is an overrated grape i`ve tried lots of CA zinfandels and also the wines made from it in the country of origin and all of them have something in the taste i don`t appriciate,unfortunately drinking Californian zinfandels is the big hype here,giving the other varieties no chance,but it will pass making way for better wines in the future.
Eric.

[melting]

Why's the little purple grape bowing down the the Netherlands?

Chris

[Sijan]

I'm a big fan of wine as well - red, white, sparkling, dessert, you name it.

Something I would strongly recommend for those first getting into wine is to check out Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine. It is a great resource when you are learning about the different types of wine, etc. It gives you the essential info you need about each type of wine, but doesn't get bogged down in too many details. Has lots of purchasing tips, drinking tips, food pairing tips, and other good advice. 108 very short chapters, each usually just a few pages long - very easy to pick it up, read about one particular wine, and set it back down.

I have picked up a copy of this book for several friends as they've started to get interested in wine and they have universally found it to be very helpful.

If you're looking for more in-depth coverage of wine, I would recommend Karen MacNeil's The Wine Bible. It is also easy to read, but is more detailed and comprehensive. Too much info for a beginner, probably, but useful if you want to find out more about a particular region.

[Sijan]

Washington's Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle (they are owned by the same company) make a lot of good - often very good - wines, and extremely good prices.

The 2005 Bordeauxs appear to be good across all price ranges. I've had some pretty impressive 2005s in the $10-20 range. Actually, 2005 was very good for Burgundy and the Rhone as well.

A good Cotes du Rhone value you can find at Costco is the E. Guigal

[T47]

Thanks for the book recommendations, I will keep my eye out for those.
Like I said earlier, I am kind of sticking to WA wines for the time being just to try and get some kind of tasting memory down. My wife does not drink much besides sweet cocktails, so I find myself limited on what I am willing to open.
I have had many of the Columbia Crest bottles except for their Horse Heaven Hills line...I need to look for some of those to try.
I know I am lucky with my Long Shadows connection, it allows me to have access to some bottles I probably would not want to spend the money on otherwise.
I get most of my wine at our local QFC, which seems to have a very nice selection for about the same price as Costco (on what I have been buying anyway). I have been meaning to stop into Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle. It is close to where I work, and from there web site, they seem to have a nice selection...and tastings! I will have to find a time I am not working to go in for a little hands on education.
My booze money is a little limited...the recent Vintage 17 and WTAS purchase has put a crimp in my funds! I have a b-day coming up and have a bottle of rum (Zaya 12) on my list. I have wanted a bottle of Guatemalan rum for some time now (for sentimental reasons) so it looks like that's my next bottle.
It's nice that I enjoy the $10 bottles of red wine enough...I can slip them in the grocery cart almost unnoticed!
As always your all a wealth of information, thanks.

[mier]

[quote=melting;110865]Why's the little purple grape bowing down the the Netherlands?

Cos they have good wines!!!
Eric.

[Vange]

I must agree that Washington does make some great wines. I have been REALLY enjoying the wines from Owen Roe recently. The Yakima Red is a excellent wine. Smells of a fireplace and some cedar and drinks like silk with some fruit.