Which Wine to drink?

[gobble]

Which Wine to buy/taste?

Continuing from here: http://www.hifivision.com/general-lounge/30513-cooked-penne-today-2.html#post426455


Guys
Please post rcommendations on which wine to buy along with your preferences or a description of its flavors, price and where you got it from if its not easily available here. Remember to describe vineyard and country of origin and year so we can identify it.

Also please remember to post which wines one should not buy - things you picked up on a whim but hated and regretted the money you spent on it.

Thanks
--G0bble

 

[gobble]

My taste in wines are cheap

I like Himachal Pradesh Fruit & flower Wines by Waterfall, Rhododendron in specific.

I've had several wines upto the range of $1600 at napa valley this year in california, but I still prefer our cheap Indian Waterfall brand Rhododendron flower wine over those

I saw them on my last trip to Himachal, but didnt have room in my backpack to carry any. And I dont see any marketed in Bangalore. Is it available on the web?

Have you tried Samara White? A friend of mine who is really passionate about wines suggested it, and I haven't found a better white. Plus, it is half the price of a Sula.

Will try that next.

Try the Chilean (and Argentinian) wines the next time. Fantastic value for money compared to the French and American wines. My favorites were a $14 Chilean Syrah and a $12 Argentinian Malbec (from the Mendoza region, I think)...

Ugh!!! I got a 2008 Carmenere Ventisquero from Colchagua valley, Chile recently - it tasted worse than Ayurvedic Kashayam. Bitter and sour <vomits>. Avoid this like plague!

Other wines not to buy -
Misterio MAlbec Oak aged Roble 2010 from Argentina
Black Tower Rivaner (no year) Germany
Mateus Rose wine Portugal - just a little sourish and too acidic for my tastes otherwise tolerable

I got another bottle yesterday - a Chateau De Fontenille, Grand Vin De Bordeaux 2008 with a sticker that it won a medal in Paris 2010 - so I bought it. Yet to uncork it ... maybe this sunday :licklips:

--G0bble

 

[moktan]

given the higher circles that we are moving in with this thread, i think 'drink' is an ultimate diss to wine...why don't you use the more classy 'imbibe'....

if you mean wine in a generic sense here is one from himalayan raspberries......

Hinwa Wines

 

[Kittu]

I got some california wine from canteen yesterday:licklips:.... 600/Rs only. Yet to open the bottle.

I am not a great explorer of wines , but occasionally I preferred Pinot noir and some napa valley wines during my stay in Phoren.

 

[captrajesh]

I got some california wine from canteen yesterday:licklips:

Not to rain on your party but on all bottles of liquor sold through CSD canteens would be written in bold "ONLY FOR CONSUMPTION OF DEFENCE PERSONNEL"

 

[Kittu]

With due respect!!!!! I will remove the sticker along with cork and say cheers.:licklips:


Back to topic : What other brands are available in Canteen?

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Gobble,

Merlots are the good starter wine to go with. Try different brands of a merlot and then move on to other types of wine. You're more likely to like a merlot than any other type which tend to be more 'distinctive' in their taste than a merlot which is more middle of the line enjoyable type. When Malvai was down I got a Sula Chenin Blanc for myself and quite like the sweet easygoing nature.

Regards

 

[gobble]

Not to rain on your party but on all bottles of liquor sold through CSD canteens would be written in bold "ONLY FOR CONSUMPTION OF DEFENCE PERSONNEL"

Now you have made his defence personal. That qualifies him Its prolly raining wine for him right now

given the higher circles that we are moving in with this thread, i think 'drink' is an ultimate diss to wine...why don't you use the more classy 'imbibe'....

if you mean wine in a generic sense here is one from himalayan raspberries......

Hinwa Wines

You are so right! I tried editing the thread title within minutes, but couldnt figure out how to ...

I dont think this is sold here ... alas

--G0bble

 

[gobble]

Hi Gobble,

Merlots are the good starter wine to go with. Try different brands of a merlot and then move on to other types of wine. You're more likely to like a merlot than any other type which tend to be more 'distinctive' in their taste than a merlot which is more middle of the line enjoyable type. When Malvai was down I got a Sula Chenin Blanc for myself and quite like the sweet easygoing nature.

Regards

Ok now save me some trouble of buying many bottles over months and spending my precious rupiah that could be used for buying ICs or tubes ...

Some recommendations for Merlot wines under 2K please? Anyone? :licklips:

During my earlier experiments I found that SQ had better and sparkling highs with Champagne but the low frequency bass sounded much more rounded with Bordeux and the mids sounded great with Merlot... Oops! Am I inventing a new vocabulary of wine appreciation?

--G0bble

 

[Spinekar]

Now you have made his defence personal. That qualifies him


--G0bble

Nice one :lol:

 

[captrajesh]

With due respect!!!!! I will remove the sticker along with cork and say cheers.:licklips:

Watch out for the hawks from Corps of Military Police.hyeah:

What other brands are available in Canteen?

Not sure about Bangalore but nothing except over priced Sula is available in Chennai.

 

[asliarun]

Note: I think Samara sells only in Maharashtra. You will probably not find it in Bangalore.

Nasik and Karnataka are the two main wine growing areas in India and there are often many less heralded wines to be discovered. Plus, in general, the local politicians (especially Pawar) have been heavily promoting local wineries and discouraging imports from other states (by imposing taxes).

The best wine experience is of course to actually drive down to the vineyard. People living in Bangalore and Pune/Mumbai area are lucky, you can drive down. Grover vineyards is right next to Bangalore and Sula is in Nasik. Both support/encourage people to pay them a visit.

The other thing I learnt from a friend of mine who is very passionate about wines is to aerate, decant, and slightly cool it before serving. While there are fancy implements for aereating etc, you can also simply pour the wine from the bottle from a height into another container (like how chai-wallahs do it), and cool it slightly in the fridge (for both reds and whites). Even reds generally taste best when served at about 15-18 degrees, and the only reason why people don't recommend chilling red wines is because most Western countries are far cooler than India.

I remember tasting an ordinary (not expensive and from a local winery) red wine at his house that completely changed character and flavor because it was properly aerated, decanted, cooled, and served in a big glass with a narrow mouth that allowed you to really smell the wine. It literally "opened" up the wine to use audio speak

 

[kendun]

I would recommend trying a Malbec or a Shiraz when you can. These tend to be my favourites and normally a glass leads to finishing the bottle

 

[ajay124]

Between 2004-2010 (my wine years) I must have spent over 50K on wines purchased within India. Most of them were bilge. Fit only for pouring down the kitchen sink. Which I did quite frequently after the first glass. India and China are probably the two biggest dumping grounds for cheap, bad and spoilt wine. Huge population. Recently rich. Wine virgins.

I would not want to pay more than 20% of the price being quoted by wine stores in Indian metros. Since these stores would be reluctant to give an 80% discount I have completely stopped buying wine from them. A 1 litre bottle of Islay single malt for 40-50$ (duty free shops) makes much better sense.

Which wine to drink in India? None at the moment

 

[gobble]

The other thing I learnt from a friend of mine who is very passionate about wines is to aerate, decant, and slightly cool it before serving. While there are fancy implements for aereating etc, you can also simply pour the wine from the bottle from a height into another container (like how chai-wallahs do it), and cool it slightly in the fridge (for both reds and whites). Even reds generally taste best when served at about 15-18 degrees, and the only reason why people don't recommend chilling red wines is because most Western countries are far cooler than India.

Right... Room temperature in Europe is almost like fridge temperature in India hyeah: I agree based on my wine chilling experiments - they always taste better slightly cool. However I make sure I let it stand a while after removing from the fridge and ensure that the the bottle sweats before I pour.

Between 2004-2010 (my wine years) I must have spent over 50K on wines purchased within India. Most of them were bilge. Fit only for pouring down the kitchen sink. Which I did quite frequently after the first glass. India and China are probably the two biggest dumping grounds for cheap, bad and spoilt wine. Huge population. Recently rich. Wine virgins.

wine to drink in India? None at the moment

That was the suspicion I was veering towards since many months when I made the original post and decided to try again. Simply because Beer gets boring weekend after weekend ... Not because I absolutely love wine Its nice when the flavor is nice, not sour or acidic or sugary or velvety.

--G0bble

 

[thatguy]

Post deleted.

 

[just4kix]

Whenever I visit California, I always make it a point to visit the Sattui winery @ St. Helena. The rose flavoured wines from there are particularly good. I would recommend 'Gamay Rouge' and Merlot.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Staxxx]

I went down to the local "Drops" and bought half bottles of every wine on the shelves....about six I think. I have yet to do a session to decide what will be my occasional treat.
On another note, I did bring a few bottles back and need to figure a good way to store them. Marquis de Riscal Riojas, a crate of Ch. Margaux's second wine etc. I think those wine fridges are just so expensive and take too few bottles. On the other hand I am worried a regular fridge is just too cold.... any ideas please?

 

[just4kix]

I often find that one gets excellent wines at Trader Joe's. The wines costing from $5 to $10 serve as excellent table wines for most occassions.

 

[Gijo George]

I think those wine fridges are just so expensive and take too few bottles. On the other hand I am worried a regular fridge is just too cold.... any ideas please?

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