Wine Recommendations

[45Doll 5,877]

Hey Maksim check out that 2014 Rodney I listed. It's a surprise.

[Maksim 1,504]

4 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

If I'm spending $300 on a bottle of fermented fruit, I'm expecting something "bow chicka bow wow" to happen.  I'll be giving these bottles to family and that's just gross.  For god sake, we aren't in Kentucky.

Let's keep the limit to 30, where a kiss on the cheek is all that's gonna happen.

HAHA, I'm a Jew... (really I am)... I don't have it in me to spend more than $40 on a bottle of wine.  The bottles were at a dinner I attended with a business colleague.  HE is a wine snob and I would love to look at his cellar.  Interestingly, while the B20 bottle was amazing... the other two bottles, while you can tell they were decent wines... would by no means say they are 10x better.

 

2 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

Hey Maksim check out that 2014 Rodney I listed. It's a surprise.

Will do... 

[dgstinner 11]

19 Crimes is pretty good.

[Maksim 1,504]

Just now, dgstinner said:

19 Crimes is pretty good.

What I found interesting about the wine is actually the bottles... use the 19 Crimes augmented reality app.  Never had the wine. 

 

[Rob0115 1,105]

100% tasty Sonoma cab aged in French oak—20 bucks and drinks great   

 

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/kenwood+jack+london+vineyard+cabernet+sauvignon/-/usa/usd

 

[Handyman 5,682]

15 hours ago, 45Doll said:

I did a lot of 'winning' with those in my 20's. But the absolute worst was the hangover from 2+ bottles of Andre's Cold Duck.

Wow, I almost forgot cold duck. Someone gifted me a bottle once. I couldn't drink it because it tasted like Hoppes #9. 

I re-gifted it to the dorm drunk and even he couldn't choke it down. And he could metabolize pain thinner.

16 hours ago, 45Doll said:

Hey, you forgot

 

Oh god, now I think I have a headache.

Boone's is good, but Night Train is still king.

Whooooo whoooo. Now departing on track 1, one way ticket to nowhere. All aboard!

[AVB-AMG 530]

5 hours ago, Handyman said:

@AVB-AMG's wine cellar looks like this:

 

5 hours ago, 45Doll said:

Hey, you forgot

 

Oh god, now I think I have a headache.

 

4 hours ago, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:

Not fake wine. Pairs well with Russian dressing...

 

@Handyman, @45Doll & @WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot:

Thanks to the three of you for giving me a good laugh this evening....!
My wife and I drink wine with our dinner on Friday nights and weekends, or when traveling or celebrating a special occasion....   (So just about all the time....)  
I think  that Maksim and others have provided the OP enough good advice for him to figure out what to get.

But I will admit that like you all, back in my teens in high school, going out on a Friday or Saturday night with friends drinking beer and some of the too sweet, but easy to drink wines pictured above, including Boone's Farm and Cold Duck and had the expected awful, head-pounding hangover the next day.  Of course, we drank whatever we could get our hands on and too excess, with the inevitable consequences.

In the 2000's, on our trips down to NC we would often stay in the area in and around Charlottesville, VA.  On several occasions we went to the tasting room at the Kluge Vineyard and enjoyed their red, white and sparkling wines.  They ultimately had to sell the vineyards and winery and Donald Trump bought it and of course named it after himself.  Unfortunately, the quality of the subsequent wines has deteriorated.... (why am I not surprised?)

If I was out on a date for dinner and wanted to try to impress my date, I would order either of the two wines below, that always seemed to be on the wine list back in the 1970's.  Both cost around $12 - $15 at that time, and I think they are not much more today:

AVB-AMG

[Sniper 6,372]

21 minutes ago, AVB-AMG said:

But I will admit that like you all, back in my teens in high school, going out on a Friday or Saturday night with friends drinking beer and some of the too sweet, but easy to drink wines pictured above, including Boone's Farm and Cold Duck and had the expected awful, head-pounding hangover the next day.  Of course, we drank whatever we could get our hands on and too excess, with the inevitable consequences.

Gee thanks.. you had to bring that up. I remember a night with Boone's Farm. Just thinking about it again makes me want to puke. Haven't been able to drink wine since.

 

[JohnnyB 4,325]

5 hours ago, 45Doll said:

I did a lot of 'winning' with those in my 20's. But the absolute worst was the hangover from 2+ bottles of Andre's Cold Duck.

I think that's what explains my adult fascination with quantum mechanics. All the smart cells were killed off. You know, like the slow caribou in the herd.

Oh God! You made me remember Christmas eve 1976......those 2 bottles of Andre Cold Duck at less than $3 per bottle that I drank made me leave a red trail in the snow all the way home from my then girlfriend's house back to mine! I had a hard time explaining my condition to my father, who was a Philadelphia Cop, why his 17 year old son was drunk as a skunk! Must have been the Christmas spirit, he let me slide and never brought it up again!

[Smokin .50 1,907]

7 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

IIRC, we have several wine aficionados here.  I need some good tips  for moderately priced wines in the $20 to $30 range.  I buy two cases every year for gift baskets, nothing terribly fancy but it's like, my thing.  I'm not a wine drinker so I really have no clue as to what's good or not.  Red, white, whatever, as long as it's a decent wine.  Go.....

I'd be glad to help you select some vino for gifts at Costco's Edison store.  Call it a lunch meeting.  Choke down a hot dog for $1.50, then swing the cart along the wine isles for a bit.  Lots of selection and some really great values too.  The Woodbridge Wegmans has their own liquor store, just 10 minutes from Costco.  YUGE selection, and organized by both country & grape.

They both usually have Vueve Clicquot yellow label for around $45 a bottle.  Beats the crap outta Moet IMHO.  Profile close to Dom but a 1/4 of the price.  I'd rather gets 2 Vueve Clicquot's & save half the $ I'd spend on a single bottle of Dom.

Find out if your giftees like red or white, sweet or dry.  Just don't be the Dude that pulls up to a $800K house with boxed wine & you'll be OK, lol!

Rosey

[Scorpio64 5,153]

6 hours ago, Smokin .50 said:

Find out if your giftees like red or white, sweet or dry.

I would imagine, over the years, my giftees found out if they liked red or white or whatever. :D  It's just as much a surprise for me as it is for them.

7 hours ago, Smokin .50 said:

don't be the Dude that pulls up to a $800K house with boxed wine

Bite your tongue!  I'd never do that.  I always get two boxes!  Don't want them to think I'm cheap.

Rosey, I may take you up on the offer.  I have to see what my local stores have first.  Bottle King in Middletown usually has a good selection and very reasonable prices.  I also have a supermarket sized Spirits in Red Bank too.

[Heronimo42 9]

two good reds I've had in the past week.  $15 range- Iconic Sidekick Cabernet and Bogle Phantom (red blend).  Both fantastic for the price.  

[Howard 538]

13 hours ago, Maksim said:

If you have a Costco membership you can pick up some decent exclusive wines there too.  My sister inlaw buys most of her wine there.

Personally I am not a fan of mediocre wines... particularly when gifted. lol.  The one exception is when there is a meaning behind the bottle... ie a bottle of Jamaican rum (on vacation there), etc.  This is why particularly as gifts, local vineyard wines are interesting.

When we moved here, our neighbor brought us a bottle of Catawba wine from a winery just 2 miles from our development, Franklin Hill Vineyards.  Even if the wine was horrible... would still be a great gift.  

Get a mediocre bottle of French, or Napa vine... just eh.... should of just given me a gift card. =)

I'm with you on Costco, they have amazing prices on wines - at least in Florida.  I find many wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc there that are two to five dollars cheaper than I can find anywhere else.

[Scorpio64 5,153]

13 hours ago, Maksim said:

If you want a really nice gift... find this...

Kalashikov Vodka.

Actually, that's not a bad gift idea for one of my friends.  Last year, gave him this, he's a vodka guy.  It was supposed to be a lark, but he said it was really good.

[Zeke 5,504]

Head a little south. Do a tasting at a local NJ winery. Purchase what you like there.

 

[Scorpio64 5,153]

1 minute ago, Zeke said:

Head a little south. Do a tasting at a local NJ winery. Purchase what you like there.

I know what bad wine tastes like, but can't really say I know what good wine tastes like.  Not enough experience drinking the stuff to make any determination.

[Zeke 5,504]

Just now, Scorpio64 said:

I know what bad wine tastes like, but can't really say I know what good wine tastes like.  Not enough experience drinking the stuff to make any determination.

As a gift it’s supposed to be what you like.

[45Doll 5,877]

Heronimo mentioned Bogle Phantom, so I'll add this.

Bogle is our go-to daily drinker brand. Well, not each and every day, but when we're eating something that doesn't call for $10+.

The Wine Library in Florham Park has the absolute best prices on Bogle anywhere. I buy it there by the case; they must buy it by the truckload! Phantom, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay are all palatable.Their Sauvignon Blanc is not bad either. I don't buy their Cab anymore simply because I have more than enough 'better' cabs in the cellar. And if we're having a Cab it's usually some above average dinner. But Bogle Cab is fine too.

And Scorpio: a wine tastes good when you go 'Yeah'. It tastes great when you go 'Whoa!'. That's all you need to know. It's not when someone says "Well I get notes of granite, peat moss and pencil eraser'.

My wife and I review reds with words like thin, dry, warm, smooth, etc. We're simple folk.

[Maksim 1,504]

14 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

Heronimo mentioned Bogle Phantom, so I'll add this.

Bogle is our go-to daily drinker brand. Well, not each and every day, but when we're eating something that doesn't call for $10+.

The Wine Library in Florham Park has the absolute best prices on Bogle anywhere. I buy it there by the case; they must buy it by the truckload! Phantom, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay are all palatable.Their Sauvignon Blanc is not bad either. I don't buy their Cab anymore simply because I have more than enough 'better' cabs in the cellar. And if we're having a Cab it's usually some above average dinner. But Bogle Cab is fine too.

And Scorpio: a wine tastes good when you go 'Yeah'. It tastes great when you go 'Whoa!'. That's all you need to know. It's not when someone says "Well I get notes of granite, peat moss and pencil eraser'.

My wife and I review reds with words like thin, dry, warm, smooth, etc. We're simple folk.

Peat moss and granite?  Wow, must be drinking some expensive Canadian wines. I generally taste gravel and hints of herbacide. =P

Will have to take a look at Bogle. 

For the price issue, this is why I like New World type wines... excluding Napa.  Just seems like Napa at this point is so popular that mediocre wines are just jacked up in price.

Have not had too much luck with South American wines yet... but some of the more interesting ones I had recently were Israeli wines from the Golan Heights region.  Very good "terroire" and some of the Cabs were really quite good. 

Beyond that, generally tough to go wrong with a German Reisling, and for a long time what was the typical dinner wine. 

[45Doll 5,877]

5 hours ago, Maksim said:

Beyond that, generally tough to go wrong with a German Reisling, and for a long time what was the typical dinner wine. 

We do like Riesling, as long as it's trocken.

By the way for those un- initiated to Champagne: Veuve Clicquot = The Widow (Clicquot)

[AVB-AMG 530]

On 12/15/2018 at 9:29 AM, 45Doll said:

The Wine Library in Florham Park has the absolute best prices on Bogle anywhere. I buy it there by the case; they must buy it by the truckload!

@45Doll
If you are in fact referring to the retail store called Wine Library, it is located on Morris Avenue in Springfield, NJ. They have a very good selection of wine and is our "go to" wine store for special wines.  Are you thinking of a different wine store in Florham Park?
https://winelibrary.com/

Now, other than Costco, I have found that the 14-story chain of Bottle King liquor stores in NJ usually have the best prices on most readily available wine and beer and hard liquor.  https://www.bottleking.com/

On 12/15/2018 at 3:08 PM, 45Doll said:

By the way for those un- initiated to Champagne: Veuve Clicquot = The Widow (Clicquot)

Back in 2014, my wife and I toured the Champagne region of France, (specifically Reims and Epernay) and visited the Champagne Houses of Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.  

For those who may be interested, here is some history that we learned on our tour:
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born in 1777, married Francois-Marie Clicquot in 1798 who had a small wine-making business.  Unfortunately, he died prematurely in 1804 which made Barbe-Nicole Clicquot a widow at age 27.  She was a very strong woman who had a good business sense.  With the assistance of her chief Cellar man, she is credited with perfecting the art of remuage (riddling), to clarify the champagne.  This is where the champagne bottles are placed in racks at a downward angle towards the cork. The bottles are then rotated a quarter-turn every day for 6-8 weeks to allow the sediment (lees) to settle in the neck of the bottle.  At the end of this period, the sediment was removed and a mixture of still wine and sugar added

Madam Clicquot was a sly businesswoman.  In 1812, the Russian tsar placed an embargo on French bottled wine.  She decided to pack champagne bottles into coffee barrels and sent them to Russia.  Next, in 1814, she had her company charter a neutral Dutch ship to convey 10,550 bottles to Königsberg, (now called Kaliningrad, Russia), a major port for the Russian market on the Baltic sea, followed by an additional 12,780 bottles a couple of weeks later.  She was subsequently awarded the role of being the sole supplier to the Russian royal court that cemented her success. When Madame Clicquot died in 1866, their sales had reached 750,000 bottles a year. Even back then, her peers recognized her formidable contributions, and referred to her as the Grande Dame of Champagne. 

The tour was fascinating, including descending down about 80-90 ft. below grade into the the maze-like tunnels carved out of the limestone where the ambient air temperature is a constant 55 deg. F., the ideal constant temperature for most wines.  Here are some photos from that tour and subsequent tasting afterwards, ( I would love to have that VC refrigerator.....):

AVB-AMG

[Scorpio64 5,153]

1 minute ago, AVB-AMG said:

 Bottle King liquor stores in NJ usually have the best prices on most readily available wine and beer and hard liquor. 

Best prices, and selection too. 

[AVB-AMG 530]

On 12/15/2018 at 12:16 AM, JohnnyB said:

Oh God! You made me remember Christmas eve 1976......those 2 bottles of Andre Cold Duck at less than $3 per bottle that I drank made me leave a red trail in the snow all the way home from my then girlfriend's house back to mine! I had a hard time explaining my condition to my father, who was a Philadelphia Cop, why his 17 year old son was drunk as a skunk! Must have been the Christmas spirit, he let me slide and never brought it up again!

@JohnnyB:

Ha.... I think many of us had similar experiences in our youth in high school as we experimented and learned just what our tolerance level was for alcohol.  Around the same time as your memorable experience, I had a similar experience.  I was at a party of a classmate at her parents house and all of us were drinking in excess.  That included Cold Duck, Boone's Farm, beer, etc...  I at least had enough presence of mind, even in my intoxicated state, to realize that I was in no condition to drive my parent's VW Bug back home.  I gave the car keys to a good friend of mine who was "almost' sober so that he could drive us both home.  I vaguely remember rolling down the passenger side window and expelling that evenings liquor and other contents of my stomach out of my mouth as we were driving in the cool night air.  The next morning, my father entered my bedroom, opened the window shades and presented me with a pail of soapy water and told me that my immediate first job that morning would be to go outside in my hungover state and completely wash and clean the VW Bug since I had created quite the artistic mural on the exterior passenger side.  Then of course, I was grounded for a couple of weeks.  Ah, the lessons of our youth....

AVB-AMG

[Maksim 1,504]

Really interesting... Picked up a few bottles at bottle king yesterday when I visited Dad in jersey.  Ran the vivino app on a few bottles I was unfamiliar with and surprisingly.... the super duper member special prices at Bottle King.... were just the average prices on Vivino app.

Interestingly, seems like the prices for wine here in Pa are cheaper than Jersey, particularly common bottles like Yellow Tail, etc.

Picked up 2 bottles of fairly common to us red, Dornfelder, about $8 per bottle.

 

[Scorpio64 5,153]

2 minutes ago, Maksim said:

Interestingly, seems like the prices for wine here in Pa are cheaper than Jersey, particularly common bottles like Yellow Tail, etc.

NJ excise taxes that don't show up on the receipt.