Looking forward to that Montalcino, but will probably save it for last. Yeah, I've put on a few pounds in the last year, but it's not due to beer or anything...more like eating too much and not being active enough. Thankfully I don't have many clothes that no longer fit me, but I have started buying "extra large" lately instead of the usual "large". haha I'm ready for it, bring it on! Exploding my ass is always fun...Uh, that didn't come out right...
It's weird for me. I'm top-heavy. Not fat, not even close, but I'm a 42 broad suit cut on top of 28.5 inch legs. Basically I have the upper body of a linebacker walking around on the legs of a dwarf. My wife was convinced our scale was broken. Said there was no way I could have jumped from 185lbs to 215 because nothing looked appreciably larger on my frame. A bit around the waist maybe she said, but then I showed her the suit pants where the button and the button-hole came up about six inches short of each other. It's all beer and late night snacking. I eat fairly healthy until about midnight or so when I start hitting the chips or cheese and crackers and 8% ABV beers. Whatevs. More wine!
No matter what I do with my diet and exercise routine, if I drink my usual amount of alcohol there are 10 pounds that will just not go away, even if the rest of what I consume is Lean Cuisines and protein shakes.
Haha we're roughly the same weight then, I went from 190 to 225...then knew something was wrong, so changed diet (more veggies, less meat) and dropped ten pounds. I've since started eating a few unhealthy things, like candy and stuff, but still try and eat healthy meals at least. For my height and size, I should be about 195 or 200, but for all the effort I cannot drop fifteen pounds. I know exercise would do it, and we even have an elliptical upstairs, but that requires me getting my ass on it and using it, and therein lies the problem. I've heard that wine still puts on some weight, but I'm not exactly sure how bad it is. I know beer does for sure, more than any other spirits, they don't call it a "beer gut" for nothing. Either way, more wine sounds like an excellent idea, I'll drink to that.
Heh, it ain't the extra 10 lbs I'm worried about, it's the 25-30 I need to shed to be only 10 overweight again.
I'm very pleased with the Leaone - Salice 2010, and now that I've experienced a high tannin (yet pretty good) wine, I now understand the role that they play. It's literally pickling my mouth, completely different from a lot of others I've had up till now. Very dry aftertaste, but you seem refreshed at first with each sip. Mild aroma, in fact I could hardly smell it when I first opened it. Taste is very linear, and despite being the Riserva, it still seemed shallow, yet I still have to say this is good, my other half said the same after taking a sip of mine (she really can't drink much anymore, especially not wine). I'm hoping the other Salice is just as good, but we'll see. Maybe not tonight though...
I can't remember the last time I had a Negroamaro. The problem with the European wines is that they're all labeled/marketed by region, so unless you read the fine print you have no idea which varietal you're actually drinking. This philosophy is diametric to American wines, where the varietal is always prominently displayed. You know if it's Pinot Noir, or Cab or Chard or whatever. The Italians just label everything by region or vineyard. Huge difference in mindset between the ancient, primordial wines of Europe and the neophyte Americans that are Johnny-come-lately to the wine game.
That's what I noticed right off the bat. I actually asked someone who worked in the wine section, and he explained that Italian wines don't actually state if it's Cab or not. That store is awesome though, both times I've been in, they've had wine and beer tastings available. This time I decided to stop and try some, but is it bad that I didn't buy any of those wines I tasted? lol I feel bad, but I just wanted to try what they had, I was legit in my interest. Of course, I also knew I wouldn't buy any of those before I tried them, I was already set on Italian wines this week.
Fuck no. It ain't like handing out cocktail wieners at the grocery store. There's no favors here. If you want to pimp your "wine" be ready for rejection. It's the same with writing. You don't hand out sample chapters and expect people to buy them out of obligation.
Seeing as it is hotter than Satan's ballsack tonight, I'm making a lovely tuna niçoise salad (less the anchovies) and pairing it with a French rose. They were sampling it at the grocery store and it was yummy and only $8.99, so I had to pick it up. It's a 2016 Rose Ombre by Collines de la Mour:
The other Salice was also quite nice, drank a little at lunch, and now having some more while preparing dinner. Going to crack open the Montalcino later in the evening maybe, we'll see. I've been meaning to explore more Rose wines. I've yet to dive into any good whites yet either...I just can't help myself, I like the reds too much and talk myself out of anything else.
This gets my vote for the coolest bottle in recent memory. And the wine ain't bad either! It's not a Provencal Rose but a Lanquedoc, so it's a bit drier than your usual French Rose. The blend is Grenache, Syrah (the usual suspects), and Cinsault (which I'm unfamiliar with--more research needed there). But the bottle is the cat's ass! It has a glass stopper with a washer on it, which I've never seen before. It was $16 at the grocery store, which makes me think I can get it for $14 at the state liquor store and maybe $12 on sale.
Forgot to report on the Montalcino, it was excellent. Probably my favorite so far. @Homer Potvin That bottle does look pretty cool, and the price seems pretty amazing as well. I'll keep my eyes out. Was kinda interested in looking into Champagne, but I'm not really sure about it at all, I know even less about it that reds. Any good recommendations for a lower end bottle?
Dude, I'm useless when it comes to Champagne/sparkling. I've had all the good shit--the Dom, Cristal, Pierre Joilet, et al--but it's still not my thing. For one, you need to drink the whole bottle as soon as you open it or it turns to shit, so unless you have a few friends or want to get blotto, it's difficult to enjoy. My wife likes Prosecco so that's what we keep around the house if anything. She likes the La Marca Prosecco, which is on the dry side ($15?). Sparking wines usually go Brut-Dry-Extra Dry on the sweetness scale from low to high (you better look that one up, I'm a bit fuzzy on that) and I hate sweet, so I only go with something I know to be dry. Honestly, I don't understand Champagne at all. I get the ceremonial aspect, but as for sipping at home? No thanks. Champagne Fun Fact #1: "Champagne" HAS to come from the Champagne region of France. The Americans and Italians (prosecco) make the exact same shit (sparkling wine) but unless it's from the Champagne reason it cannot be called "Champagne." Champagne Fun Fact #2: The bubbles in sparkling wine come from yeast fermentation after it has been bottled and capped. This is the same method I and other homebrewers use when they make beer. The wine gets fermented with yeast in the barrel like all other wines, but once it's bottled they add a little more yeast and then cork it. Remember, yeast is a living organism that eats sugars and poops alcohol and CO2... so once the bottle is capped the CO2 cannot escape (as it does during primary fermentation) and viola... carbonation! Champagne Fun Fact #3: Champagne is usually made with the Chardonnay grape. So it's basically Chardonnay with bubbles! (Rose Champagne is made with Pinot Noir--and Dom Perignon Rose costs about $350 a bottle)
I know about little to nothing about wine. I don't necessarily like wine because every time someone tells me the wine they bought for this function is the best. It ends up tasting like I am drinking embalming fluid mixed with bath salts. But, I do find I like one certain type of wine. And its why I came into this thread. Plum Wine anyone?
Yeah, I had some once and liked it. The Japanese and Chinese make most of it, I believe. I think the one I had was at a sushi bar somewhere. Homebrewers make it too. You can ferment anything with sugar into booze. You might find yourself liking wine more later in life. You'd be shocked by at how much your alcohol palette changes over time. I've worked with wine since I was a kid but never really enjoyed it until my late 20s or so. Whiskey and beer appear to be timeless, though. I was instantly hooked on scotch and bourbon.
Well, drinking the whole bottle isn't so much an issue I have...but I kinda agree, it is more for the celebratory aspect maybe. However, I've been fascinated by Champagne, and sparkling wine in general, for a long time. There's something about the crispness of the bubbly that makes it seem so delicious. I'm certainly not paying over $20 for it though. I might experiment with some stuff and report back,
Go for the La Marca Prosecco then... or one of the dry Californians. Coppola makes a good one of those. He named it Sofia after his daughter, who was a bad actor who became a pretty good filmmaker. You had his Coppola Claret earlier. We used to call that "Godfather in a bottle" or "Apocalypse Meow" when we sold it at Trattoria Romana. Shit flew off the shelves. Never underestimate the power of name recognition.
I think I will like this "Apocalypse Meow", I just have a funny feeling. Cool, I will keep an eye out then. Really liked the Coppola Claret, I know that.
So I bought a bottle of Bay Bridge Pinot Grigio to make that mushroom dish again, and cracked it open just to see how bad a 3$ wine tastes...and wow, it's really bad... but it seems like it will go great in the sauce.
