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  • #16
    Re: Wine Info Exchange

    [quote=Expat Kamaaina;250415And what winery produces the Concha Y Toro that you like? I am not sure, but I think that Concha Y Toro is a wine type and not a producer.[/quote]

    I don't know, this is news to me. I'll ask my Mexican friend, Jesse, who owns a restaurant and considers himself a wine connoiseur.

    Are you located in Hawaii or where? You have way more experience than I. My father was in management with the Christian Brothers organization in Reedley, CA where they produced sweet wines and brandy. Their St. Helena operation produced dry wines and champagne. Eventually the CB decided to get out of wine making and sold their operations to Hublein. Today the brand is marketed under the BV name.
    Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

    People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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    • #17
      Re: Wine Info Exchange

      Years ago, I used to be more adventurous in my wine buying, but now days I just want a nice, drinkable, inexpensive wine to have with dinner. The wine I buy most often, my “house” wine, is Gabbiano, a simple chianti ($6-7). I also like Spanish wines (riojas, for one), very good bargains.

      And I also like Concha Y Toro, Matapule. I believe they’re a producer from Chile, though for some reason, I keep thinking they’re from Spain. Is that the wine with the little plastic bull tied to the neck of the bottle?

      I should try to be more adventurous in my wine buying and get to Tamura’s. It seems that everyone agrees that’s the best wine store on Oʻahu. But everytime I try to go there, I get intimidated by that nasty looking parking lot.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Wine Info Exchange

        Originally posted by tutusue View Post
        I often take a bottle of wine to a dinner party. I try not to make "A" with my choices!
        Tutu, I don't mean to be patronizing. If you already know this, fakamolemole.

        Wine Spectator (WS) has a rating system that is pretty reliable. I don't always agree with them, but they are a reference better than nothing. Often, Costco will put the WS rating on the display sign. Pick something that is 87 or higher. I have found some great values at under $10 with a rating of 90 or 91 at Costco. But be VERY careful. Costco can be tricky! Sometimes they will rate the wine at say a 2004 vintage when they are actually selling a 2005 vintage. It may not be the same quality at all. So pay attentiion.
        Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

        People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Wine Info Exchange

          Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
          And I also like Concha Y Toro, Matapule. I believe they’re a producer from Chile, though for some reason, I keep thinking they’re from Spain.
          No it is a Chilean producer.

          Is that the wine with the little plastic bull tied to the neck of the bottle?
          Never seen that! Oeiaue!
          Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

          People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Wine Info Exchange

            Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
            Years ago, I used to be more adventurous in my wine buying, but now days I just want a nice, drinkable, inexpensive wine to have with dinner. The wine I buy most often, my “house” wine, is Gabbiano, a simple chianti ($6-7). I also like Spanish wines (riojas, for one), very good bargains.

            And I also like Concha Y Toro, Matapule. I believe they’re a producer from Chile, though for some reason, I keep thinking they’re from Spain. Is that the wine with the little plastic bull tied to the neck of the bottle?

            I should try to be more adventurous in my wine buying and get to Tamura’s. It seems that everyone agrees that’s the best wine store on Oʻahu. But everytime I try to go there, I get intimidated by that nasty looking parking lot.
            ==================================================
            You will then like the Las Rocas Garnacha from Spain. Make sure you can find the 2006 or 2007 vintage, these cost around $10 per bottle and are rated at 91 points and are very good. There is also a 2005 vintage of this same wine with an additional adjective descriptor "Vinas Viejas" (which means old vines, I think) which is also very good and rated also at 91 points but is a little more expensive at around $18.00 per bottle.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Wine Info Exchange

              Originally posted by matapule View Post
              Tutu, I don't mean to be patronizing. If you already know this, fakamolemole.

              Wine Spectator (WS) has a rating system that is pretty reliable. I don't always agree with them, but they are a reference better than nothing. Often, Costco will put the WS rating on the display sign. Pick something that is 87 or higher. I have found some great values at under $10 with a rating of 90 or 91 at Costco. But be VERY careful. Costco can be tricky! Sometimes they will rate the wine at say a 2004 vintage when they are actually selling a 2005 vintage. It may not be the same quality at all. So pay attentiion.
              ================================================== ==
              Wow! Never have seen this at the Calif or AZ Costco's.......do they change the label or what? How do they do this?

              I also agree this Costco has great pricing. Most of their wines are middle of the road, but once in a while they will have some high end stuff that is priced great! I have bought $230 bottles of 2004 Sassacaia there for only $180, and I have also bought some 2004 Berringer Cab Special Reserve that normally is at $110 for only $78.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Wine Info Exchange

                Originally posted by matapule View Post
                I don't know, this is news to me. I'll ask my Mexican friend, Jesse, who owns a restaurant and considers himself a wine connoiseur.

                Are you located in Hawaii or where? You have way more experience than I. My father was in management with the Christian Brothers organization in Reedley, CA where they produced sweet wines and brandy. Their St. Helena operation produced dry wines and champagne. Eventually the CB decided to get out of wine making and sold their operations to Hublein. Today the brand is marketed under the BV name.
                ================================================== =
                Like my posting name, I am an Expat Kamaaina, now living in Arizona. Have lived in Seattle, San Fran, Dallas, Connecticut, and now in the Phoenix area. My business travels and dinners taught me to drink wine at dinner and develop a taste for it. And since the business dinners were paid for by our companies or clients, we had the opportunity to have a lot of very good and expensive wines. Now that I am retired, and have saved and invested my monies, I can now afford to splurge a little and I now buy some higher end wines to enjoy and keep. But as you know, high-end restaurant wine pricing is at least 2-3 and sometimes 4 times what you can buy the wine for at retail. So a retail wine priced at $120 will go anywhere for $250 to $500 at a high end restaurant. But my experience level is no where near the level of the wine connoissuers and experts. Due to the heat here, I have only two 72 bottle wine fridges/coolers, so my inventory is limited. Like I said, I buy maybe 4-6 bottles of high-end wine and drink one to try and if I like it, I keep it for sharing with friends, associates, and my son (who is somewhat of a wine connoissuer) later. I look for and find economical $10-20 wines and buy those by the case lot to save money and use for every day drinking.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Wine Info Exchange

                  Originally posted by Expat Kamaaina View Post
                  I have only two 72 bottle wine fridges/coolers, so my inventory is limited. .
                  And there is the difference between the real deal and matapule. I have one 6 bottle cooler!
                  Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                  People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Wine Info Exchange

                    Originally posted by matapule View Post
                    And there is the difference between the real deal and matapule. I have one 6 bottle cooler!
                    Then there's me. I have a cardboard box out in the garage filled with wine bottles from the last trip to the store. If it needs to be colder, I add ice to the glass
                    What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. – Christopher Hitchens

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Wine Info Exchange

                      Okay so what do you do? A waiter has just uncorked a bottle of wine you selected at a restaurant. He/she gives you the cork. What do you do with it?

                      Some smell it, some roll it in their fingers. I was told by a master sommelier to roll it and test it for it's dryness. A dry cork doesn't seal the bottle well.

                      Once I joked and popped it in my mouth and told the waiter, excellent year. his eyes looked like I was at Roy's in Hawaii Kai. I'll bet he never saw that one coming!
                      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Wine Info Exchange

                        Originally posted by Sharilyn View Post
                        The last couple of bottles we tried were pretty good -- Penfolds Cabernet Savignon and Shiraz Cabernet, from Australia. They were decent budget wines, about $6 or $7 from Longs.
                        I'm a big fan of Southeastern Australian reds, mostly because they seem to have a more flavorful taste compared to the other regions. I like anything from the $5.50 bottle of Yellow Tail to a $40 bottle of Greg Norman. Yellow Tails and Little Penguins are my "fallback" wines; I know what they taste like and I like them, and when they're on sale for under $7, I'll buy a case.

                        The Penfolds brand is also very delicious, although I haven't been able to keep up with the Bin numbers. Their reds go very well with a medium steak.

                        Lately, what's been catching me by surprise are the screw-top wines. I hear rumors of shortages of cork (or fake cork), and the companies find it more cost effective to make screw tops. But just because there's a cap instead of a cork doesn't mean the wines are less delicious. A hard to find brand that I took interest in is the Phillips Marquis brand, first found at the Amuse wine bar, and then at Roy's.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Wine Info Exchange

                          Originally posted by Expat Kamaaina View Post
                          ================================================== ==
                          Wow! Never have seen this at the Calif or AZ Costco's.......do they change the label or what? How do they do this?.
                          They do it all the time at the Palm Desert and La Quinta Costcos just down Hwy 10 from you. They have a sign above each bin describing the wine (ala WS), the vintage, and sometimes the rating (sometimes the sign says "not rated"). The sign might say that it is a 90 for a 2004 vintage, but what they are selling in the bin is a 2005 label. But sometimes they get it right too. Buyer beware. We've picked up some unbelievable bargains there by careful shopping. We're on a strict budget, so $50 wine is pretty much out for us.

                          Costcos are divided into districts and the district manager has some leeway in what the stores in his district stock and how it is displayed to suit the local culture. That's why you can buy macadamia nuts in the Honolulu Costco but ne'er in sight in the Cabo Costco. However, we have found certain staples that are the same in every Costco around the world.
                          Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                          People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Wine Info Exchange

                            Originally posted by matapule View Post
                            They do it all the time at the Palm Desert and La Quinta Costcos just down Hwy 10 from you. They have a sign above each bin describing the wine (ala WS), the vintage, and sometimes the rating (sometimes the sign says "not rated"). The sign might say that it is a 90 for a 2004 vintage, but what they are selling in the bin is a 2005 label. But sometimes they get it right too. Buyer beware. We've picked up some unbelievable bargains there by careful shopping. We're on a strict budget, so $50 wine is pretty much out for us.

                            Costcos are divided into districts and the district manager has some leeway in what the stores in his district stock and how it is displayed to suit the local culture. That's why you can buy macadamia nuts in the Honolulu Costco but ne'er in sight in the Cabo Costco. However, we have found certain staples that are the same in every Costco around the world.
                            Like Kirkland batteries.
                            Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Wine Info Exchange

                              Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                              He/she gives you the cork. What do you do with it?
                              Hah hah ha ha ha! Oh Craig, Oh Craig, the devil is tempting me mightily!
                              Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                              People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Wine Info Exchange

                                Originally posted by matapule View Post
                                Hah hah ha ha ha! Oh Craig, Oh Craig, the devil is tempting me mightily!
                                make sure you remove the corkscrew before attemting such devilish acts.
                                Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                                Comment

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