Re: The Wine Megathread
Now that i'm drinking a glass of wine, i'll put some time into this thread. :)
Biggest standout lately- [B]All[/B] of the '12 Willamette Valley Pinots!! Outstanding vintage for the terroir. With cooler climate Oregon and Washington, it's key to check the vintage conditions as some years are tricky if there isn't enough sun during the growing season. 2012 was legendary. Snatch em up!
Every vineyard from Oregon's Evesham Wood is bangin from $30+
[IMG]http://www.whwc.com/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/WHWC-WHWC-Site/-/en_US/images/item/large/320732.jpg[/IMG]
Always great, Bethel Heights, all vineyards:
[IMG]http://ct-static.com/labels/190477.jpg[/IMG]
Same with Penner-Ash, who aside from Pinot also makes a stellar Syrah:
[IMG]http://www.northwest-wine.com/penner-ash-WV-gen-275p.jpg[/IMG]
Evesham Woods sister project, Haden Fig, really nice Oregon pinot in the $20s:
[IMG]http://ct-static.com/labels/335251.jpg[/IMG]
And now that summer is hear, keep an eye out for Haden Fig's Rosé from Pinot Gris
Great little sub $20 goto from Tuscany:
[IMG]http://sr1.wine-searcher.net/images/labels/49/21/10334921.jpg[/IMG]
While we're in Italy- love this Salice Salentino from Puglia in the bootheal, a freaking steal sub $15-
[IMG]http://www.nytwineclub.com/images/Default-Image/289x289/GW0021831.jpg[/IMG]
France:
All day long bargains in CDR. Look at the importers on the back of the bottle, namely Kacher and Weygant.
CDP's better and cheaper little neighbor? Gigondas:
Easily found on most wine shop shelves for a hair under $40 is a great example from the terroir that is great every year and smokes more expensive CDPs-
[IMG]http://hermite.fr/domaine-les-pallieres/images/gigondas-racines-pallieres.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://sr3.wine-searcher.net/images/labels/74/74/10217474t.jpg[/IMG]
Wine buying tip- if you don't know what you're looking at, flip the bottle around and check the importer. You can [I]always[/I] count on Peter Weygant, Robert Kacher, and Kermit Lynch, especially for French wines. For broader regions, check Neal Rosenthal for French, Spanish and Italian wines, Eric Solomon from European Cellars who has an incredible palate for Spanish wines, and Marc De Grazia for Italian gems.