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Wine thread - what are you enjoying?
- Thread starter GD Fan
- Start date
They'll be excellent in about 8-10 years.
I think that wines do best when they're from climatically marginal areas. But of course that also means that they'll be less consistent year to year (which can be thought of as an advantage).
In this region (Finger Lakes), growers have to be very selective about sites, use very different training and pruning methods than, say, California, and concentrate on varieties (e.g., Saperavi, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Blaufrankisch...) that are less susceptible to cold weather damage. Even with that, it's a challenge! One example is 2021 where everyone had difficulty with ripening and the wines are bony and lighter weight. By contrast, 2020 had been warm and the wines were incredibly rich and generous. 2022 was a very short vintage (quantity-wise), and hail took out a lot of the crop, so the concentrations were excellent. 2023 was also short, moderate heat, and also produced a lot of very concentrated wines; the 2023 Forge Riesling from Wagner Caywood vineyard may be the densest (and finest) Riesling I've ever tasted. 2024 was warm, sunny, and early, so is shaping up to be almost a repeat of the legendary 2020s. And so on and so on.
Ci sono stato a settembre, fantastico, ho bevuto un Pinot Nero davvero molto interessante.
Ho visto i vigneti dei vini di ghiaccio, vini eleganti e mai stucchevoli, io che sono abituato ai vini passiti di Pantelleria, super strutturati e abbastanza dolci.
Il Cabernet non mi ha fatto impazzire, diciamo che era bevibile.
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Niagara Peninsula makes excellent wines indeed. But Niagara Escarpment is nearby but a different region and a different country. I just did a pre-bottling tasting of an appassimento from the latter which was a very impressive surprise. Nonetheless, Cabernet Franc seems to be their strongest entry, but there are excellent Pinot Noir and Rieslings also being grown there.
If you make it back here, please let me take you on a tour of Finger Lakes.
Eric Natural
Active Member
Planning my primarily traditional Thanksgiving meal for tomorrow with both a red & a white. The red is easy - popping a Pinot Noir from the Limari valley, Chile - the signature "Amelia" single vineyard from Concha e Toro '18. The white; thinking either a fresh little Gruner Veltliner or a modest Chablis. What do you think with the standard roast turkey, stuffing, mashers, etc . . . ? Last year was a fruity Cab Franc and dry Riesling that just killed with the meal.
Happy Thxgiving people !
Happy Thxgiving people !
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,029
For those circumstances my white pick is always champagne. It pairs well with almost everything, it's thought of as festive, and most people rarely enjoy it for some strange reason. My personal taste is for low dosage champagne.
Prices are way up, of course, but there are still decent values to be found amongst lesser-discovered growers.
For us, the lineup is likely to be Girard-Bonnet A Mi-Chemin (thank you Andrea at Essential!) and a 2000 vintage Les Forts. The latter is perhaps a bit much for the day but there's a reason for it, not least curiosity.
Let us know what you pick. Enjoy the holiday!
My lesser-discovered grower was Cedric Bouchard (first visited him with @jan.didden and Morgan Jones, had a wonderful day with him in his cellars), but unfortunately, that didn't last.
I'm the only wine drinker tomorrow, so I'll be forced to stick with a single wine. Still undecided, I want to drink something American because of the holiday. The main course is a ragout over polenta, so it may end up being a local Cab Franc (the 2016 Weis Barrel Reserve needs checking on...) or possibly a 2019 Standing Stone Saperavi (still too young but soooooo good).
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,031
The great values have definitely mostly vanished, Bouchard amongst them. But Beaufort is staking claim as the local Leoville Barton equivalent.My lesser-discovered grower was Cedric Bouchard (first visited him with @jan.didden and Morgan Jones, had a wonderful day with him in his cellars), but unfortunately, that didn't last.
I'm the only wine drinker tomorrow, so I'll be forced to stick with a single wine. Still undecided, I want to drink something American because of the holiday. The main course is a ragout over polenta, so it may end up being a local Cab Franc (the 2016 Weis Barrel Reserve needs checking on...) or possibly a 2019 Standing Stone Saperavi (still too young but soooooo good).
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I'd go with a richer Chardonnay than the Chablis - Mersault or Chassagne Montrachet would be terrific. Maybe a fuller style Alsace Pinot Gris also - it would be on the sweeter side though.
I wanted to ask a question to all of you US citizens, but what value does Thanksgiving have for you? I, being Italian, cannot understand it. I often see it in American films but I cannot understand its value.
Then why always and only stuffed turkey, is there a particular reason? Are there other customs and gastronomic recipes?
I would like to know more.
Then why always and only stuffed turkey, is there a particular reason? Are there other customs and gastronomic recipes?
I would like to know more.
It is traditionally an occasion for family gatherings. Because of the size of our country and people's mobility, it's often one of the only times during the year that we can all get together. There's a lot of real and imagined history around it, but it's an established tradition and ritual here related to gratitude for the harvest, an acknowledgment of the importance of American Indians, and for our ancestors coming here. The turkey is symbolic because it is a very American bird; it was almost chosen as our national symbol.
The gastronomy associated often focuses on American-origin ingredients like turkey, corn (maize), cranberries, sweet potatoes, and green beans (haricot). If it were a summer holiday, we'd have tomatoes as well.
It's snowing like crazy right now, which reminds me of your last visit.Why I'm thankful when this day is over.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,038
Well the 2000 Les Forts de Latour was excellent but we agreed roughly five years ago would have been a more propitious time for it. I'll be considering my remaining 2000 vintages accordingly.
Tom C
Major Contributor
Hopefully, the quality of this photo is good enough. We felt this is drinking pretty well right now.
Eric Natural
Active Member
I took this kind recco which keeps that Latour Fourchaume '18 in cellar for another occasion !
We kept the American theme rolling with a robust & tangy '22 Mer Soleil 30th Anniversary Chardonnay. The Amelia Pinot Noir was just spectacular and I offer a hearty recco if you cats find a bottle somewhere. I took a position and have another 18btl. to cellar.
