Wine talk
 

Do you like wine? What are some of your favorite varietals? Vintners? Regions? Pairings?

My favorite wine is from the cheapest label at Walmart - used to be Oak Leaf, now they call it Pinecroft. Less than $3 a bottle. I love the Moscato, slightly sweet white wine. The red wines are good too. Other people I have served it to enjoy it also.

I prefer red wine to white wine, although I enjoy a glass or 2 of champagne or Prosecco too as a celebratory drink.
Red wines I enjoy are Argentinian Malbec, South African Malbec, Rioja, French bordeaux, Chianti Classico, some Merlots.
I enjoy 2 glasses of wine each evening.
I would use a wine to cook with that is equally good to drink.

I find it so interesting to hear what wines you like over in England. I'm from the "wine country," in California and I'm completely over-exposed to CA wines and way under-exposed to other wines outside our region. However, I have traveled a lot and so I've had the opportunity to try wines from other countries.

I love red wines too. I went to Spain a couple of years ago and had some really good Riojas while I was there. I'd never pass up a good quality Chianti. My favorite red wine is a full bodied, juicy, Pinot Noir. It's the most popular grape grown in our area, the Anderson Valley.

I also love sparkling wines. We have a local vineyard, Roederer Estate, that produces the most beautiful, complex, "Champagne style" sparkling wines. They've won some prestigious awards lately, but still are not that expensive...yet. Look for their bottles in the stores.

My dau works for Navarro Vineyards and she brings over the half empty bottles after the tastings. We get to try all kinds of things that we wouldn't normally buy. They make a very unusual, Gewürztraminer that is light and crisp, not sweet at all. Their Pinots are also excellent.

I like Pinot Noir as well. I typically purchase the less expensive labels, not a fan of Robert Mondavi though. Someone gave me a bottle of Meiomi at Christmas that was really good.

I grew up and raised my family near Napa so I love California wines, reds mostly. Over the years the CA wine industry has grown with so many appellations beyond Napa so I have favorites from different areas. I still belong to several wine clubs and get shipments here in Maine. DH and I owned a specialty food store here in Maine for 10 years and we had monthly wine tastings which was a great way to introduce our customers to wines from all over the globe.

Tropit, I’ve been to Navarro and Anderson Brewing Co., I like beer too. LOL I bet it is great to taste different varietals that you normally might not buy.

I am glad that you can get a variety @tropit . We do see some Californian wines here, I do like a red Zinfandel, and I think that is a Californian grape, but not sure. I am always on the look out for a new one to try, but within a budget too, of course.
When I went walking in Andalucia a few years ago, the wine was delicious, we always enjoyed a 'Tinto', which I think is one part red wine and 2 parts fizzy drink (sprite, lemonade, or similar), at the end of a walk, it was so refreshing. However, it could equally have been the place, the time, the company, the country etc. Tried to recreate it back home with no success https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/wave.gif.

Wow! We were neighbors! Your store sounds wonderful! It's funny, a lot of people think that our area reminds them of Maine. It's probably because a lot of lumber jacks came here from Maine in the mid-1800s to make their riches in the redwood industry, so there are many buildings here that look like the typical, Maine vernacular, especially in Mendocino. Maine is definitely on my travel bucket list.

Anderson Brewing Co. is our family hang-out. We bring the dogs and lounge on the patio. We always go there to watch the world series games. It was recently sold and then the new owners had to close due to the pandemic. I hope it opens back up soon. We miss it.

I hope that your family was not affected by the wildfires in the Napa area.

I haven't tried Meiomi...I'll have to look for that.

I was first introduced to Pinot Noir in Santa Ynez. We lived there for 30 years. When we first moved there, there were not many vineyards there, but the Pinots put out by Babcock and Sanford really put that place on the map. (Then, the movie "Sideways" came out and all heck broke lose. We became completely inundated with wine tourists.) I haven't had any Sanford in a long time, but it is probably still very good. These are both very rich, full bodied and fruity.

Here, in the Anderson Valley, the best Pinot, IMHO, is from Penny Royal and possibly Navarro. (I'm not plugging for my dau, just my opinion.) Everyone has a different style of making this wine and some styles are thin and watery, which I personally don't like. These 2 are excellent and remind me of the SY wines.

I'm excited...I'm going to France in October, pandemic permitting, and I plan to spend a couple of days in Bordeaux. It will be our 40th wedding anniversary.