thanks to member JimK (for letting me borrow your logo)

[Jim Lampe]

...recently i've been enjoying more wine.

Vino. Vin. Wino. Wein. Viini. Du Vin. вино.
however you pronounce it, where ever you drink it, it's wine. and it's good.
I do prefer reds over whites and dry over sweet.

of course, i do not see it replacing beer as my favourite beverage...

 

[ChuckO]

I do prefer reds over whites and dry over sweet

Me too. A year so so back I discovered Sauvignon Blanc (a non-sweet white wine) and I'd guess you might too. My favorite is Woodbridge (a Robert Mondavi label) it's about $5 a bottle and you save a buck if you buy it in the magnum bottle (double bottle)

 

[JimK]

Very nice, Jim. I used to be a beer guy, but have definitely switched to 'the other side' in recent years. So much so, that I now make my own wine - though I still buy plenty as well. Still very much enjoy a cold one. But wine just doesn't fill me up the way beer does. Here's my other 'logo' - I have this emblazoned on my corks and even got a stencil made of it and put it on my barrels.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Barb and I are wine fans, both of us prefer reds over whites.
When we lived in California I helped a friend that owed a vineyard and winery in Temecula called Santa Margarita. It was a small winery about 20 acres and he did reds, he tried making some whites but it was best used as fuel injector cleaner.
His reds were outstanding and he had a following all along the west coast. He didn't ship but people would come from as far away as Washington state to buy his wine.
He only produced about 500 cases a year and sold out within two weeks of the bottling.
I helped him with the harvest by driving the tractor the pulled the condoles that the pickers would fill and taking them up to the crusher. It was three days of 12-16 hours to get the grapes picked at just the right time.
My payment was a case of his cabernet sauvignon, truly an excellent wine and we worth all the hard work.

 

[Jim Lampe]

Jim, Sounds like you're "really in it"... do you make your wine available to the public?

a few years ago (2002 or 2003) we visited the Lake Tahoe area, Incline Village, to be precise...
had drinks and dinner at Hyatt's Lone Eagle Grille.

During dinner, it was suggested to try this certain bottle of Sirah... if I remember correctly, it was a limited harvest and only so many cases were available.
It sounded alright to us, so we did enjoy this bottle.
Now, I do forget the vintage, however, I will never forget the winery. Elyse Winery in Napa Valley.

Upon returning home, for some reason, this particular bottle of wine stay with me... so i tried purchasing more on-line.
And with luck, I did. They had so few left that I was limited to two bottles.

Sure, it was probably the moment, the atmosphere, dinner or the experience but the wine I will never forget.

So, any of you on the western side of these United States, if you want to try a nice wine, (I can not speak for all their bottles) look for Elyse.
And if you're ever at Tahoe's north shore, swing by the Hyatt's Lone Eagle Grille. It's a very special place for us.

 

[JimK]

Jim,

I've heard of Elyse, but haven't tried any of their wines. May have to change that. It sounds like that one really made an impression on you.

I'm not a licensed winery, so I can't sell to the public. Although, as members of the public; family, friends, etc often get a bottle as a gift, etc.

 

[J Hasselberger]

The Texas Hill Country AVA is the 2nd largest wine region in the US (after Napa) and produces some quite good wine. Unfortunately, very little is sold outside of Texas, due to limited supply and arcane distribution laws. Wine and barbecue go well together. In fact, The Salt Lick is surrounded by vineyards and there is a tasting room adjacent to the restaurant. Syrah and Mourvedre grow well in this area, as well as Tempranillo and a number of hot weather whites. Outside of Texas you might find some Becker Vineyard wines. Their single-vineyard Cabernets are good with barbecue as well as their Prairie Rotie syrah blend.

Good wine tastes like the place that it's grown and Texas wines pair up nicely with the local cuisine. If you get down this way, you should give them a try. Warning: many of the better ones are pricey.

Jeff