The Official Wine Thread

[Omega Male]

Paso goodness. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo and Zinfandel. Epoch are reliable and still fairly fairly priced.

 

[wojt]

Hey guys I will be visiting California in April can you recommend some easily available Californian wines? Like @Colonel Mustard said, they are sometimes hard to obtain overseas. Plus what’s better way to get to know the region than to buy local wines I’d buy most in 15-25$ range and some in 25-50$.

So if you guys have any suggestions I will be super grateful, don’t wanna miss any must-tries

 

[usctrojans31]

I am getting more and more into Walla Walla wines. Looking to try new ones. What are people's favorites?

 

[Piobaire]

<3 Epic and Jordan. She's great and we still treasure the time her and her crew gave us when we visited a couple years ago. Top to bottom tour of the winery then off to the vineyards where we spent a few hour sin rhinos touring them and then a catered lunch under a majestic oak tree at the top of the hill where the owners have a place. Incredible day.

 

[Piobaire]

Hey guys I will be visiting California in April can you recommend some easily available Californian wines? Like @Colonel Mustard said, they are sometimes hard to obtain overseas. Plus what’s better way to get to know the region than to buy local wines I’d buy most in 15-25$ range and some in 25-50$.

So if you guys have any suggestions I will be super grateful, don’t wanna miss any must-tries

Are you talking about easily available in CA? What part of CA will you be in?

 

[wojt]

Are you talking about easily available in CA? What part of CA will you be in?

Yes, I don’t know yet we will be driving around. We will probably start with San Francisco area.

 

[Piobaire]

Well, you'll be in wine heaven. Just pick a grape varietal you like and let price be the guide to quality. Price isn't always a guide to quality in Europe but it is a pretty solid proxy in California.

 

[Omega Male]

You can use the K&L web site for research -- it's very comprehensive and you can sort by price band -- and then just go to their store in the city to pick up.

I would recommend good zinfandel as a distinctively CA experience that's also quite well priced. Look for Ridge or Turley or Day (which is the former winemaker at Turley.)

 

[Omega Male]

<3 Epic and Jordan. She's great and we still treasure the time her and her crew gave us when we visited a couple years ago. Top to bottom tour of the winery then off to the vineyards where we spent a few hour sin rhinos touring them and then a catered lunch under a majestic oak tree at the top of the hill where the owners have a place. Incredible day.

Isn't it a bit early to be drunk?

 

[Piobaire]

Hmm, had these on mah phone. The Pedarewski Vineyard was once owned by a guy named...Pedarewski. Apparently he was a world level concert pianist but had arthritis or something. There's a sulfur hotspring on the property and that bathtub he'd soak in out in the open is still there. Pretty cool.

 

[Omega Male]

Philistine.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Piobaire]

Man, life has been too busy to get back to Paso since Feb 2016. It's killing me as it's going the Napa way now. The place we always stayed at, Hotel Cheval, just got voted So Cal's best inn or something. We have been there three times now, two times over Xmas, and once in February. Sitting out in that courtyard in front of the open wood fire place...sipping wine you just bought and eating popcorn I would run across the street to the theatre to get...heaven.

 

[Piobaire]

Well, Wojt, I think you have your marching orders here. You need to visit your fellow countryman's legacy.

 

[Omega Male]

When you go back, go to Somm's Kitchen for dinner. Ian is insane (in the good sense) and knows every winemaker in the area, if not the damn world it seems like.

About Us

sommskitchen.com

(* I particularly love that he manages to spell sommelier three different wrong ways on his web site. )

 

[Piobaire]

I know it's not but that pic looks almost exactly like the interior of the attached wine bar at the Hotel Cheval.