FED UP!

Why don't you just keep on importing. We would not want your bigotry to cause you to puke on us.

Ernie,

I'll try a different aproach with you.

Europe is cool temperature climate for grape growing. The wines of cool climates tend toward acidic. Now southern California is a warm climate and the grapes have a higher sugar content and are less acid.

If you are determined to find a California wine that mimics Europe than search out a northern California producer where the climate more closely resembles the European growing conditions and the resultant wine has a higher acid content.

Try a Washington State wine. I do not know North California and Washington State Labels, however stay tuned. I am sure others could tell you.

You could try a New York wine from the Finger Lakes Region. This is a cool climate growing area closer to the European conditions as well.

Having said all this. One should learn to enjoy and celebrate the diferences. It is not a good and bad thing! It is an appreciation of how the grapes and resultant wines differ based on regional conditions.

Bob Patrick, Ontario, Canada

Hogwash,

Price always matters to everybody.

You ever pay a Million Dollars a bottle?

No? Then price does matter, doesn't it. Or if price doesn't have a lot of meaning - buy your own winery and dazzle us with your skills and taste.

Plus, if you were there for 36 years why did you come here to retire? You're go>

Do you have facts to back up that statement? I'd have speculated that the average IQ is and has been going down for at least a hundred years.

Your question is basically unanswerable unless you tell us what kinds of European wines you like. That being said, it's rare to find CA wines that completely emulate their European counterparts, largely because of the hotter growing season, but some do come close. Off the top of my head, hear are some "look-a-likes":

Bordeaux: Phelps Insignia, Dominus Burgundy (red&white): Gary Farrell, Kistler, Au Bon Climat Rhone Valley: Tablas Creek, Domaine de la Terre Rouge Alsace: Navarro

AFAIC, there are no CA deadringers for the wines of Germany or Italy, but there are a few wineries who try. Also, FWIW, you're more likely to find Burgudian wines from Oregon than from CA.

Mark Lipton

in article qtQnd.104$ snipped-for-privacy@fe39.usenetserver.com, Ernie at snipped-for-privacy@home.net wrote on 11/20/04 3:31 PM:

Assuming, for the moment anyway, that you are serious and not just a picking a fight here........ it might also be helpful if you could name some of the 'highly recommended' wines that made you want to puke. That might put things in better perspective.

"SJP" skrev i melding news:njUnd.365166$wV.73326@attbi_s54...

Exactly what he says..., and you proved it! Anders

Gotta agree with you Mark, from top to bottom.

The first question is difficult to deal with since there is no indication of what ol' Ernie is seeking. Is it Bordeaux, Burgs, Beaujolais, CdP, or maybe Barolo, Barberesco, Chianti Classico, or Montepulcianos, or conceivably something like Mosel, Rhein, or Alsace, or maybe Rioja, etc. etc--I do ramble on.

If we narrowed to red or white as a start, we could be more helpful. But then we might want to ask what Ern has found so disappointing to this point. Does he like Aussie and NZ offerings, or are they equally worthless?

Personally (YMMV) I like New World wines a bit more because:

That being said, I've found that I can usually find some pretty worthwhile wines if I pick from Russian River Valley, Carneros, Williamette, Paso Robles, and relate the locale to the desired varietal, e.g. PN from RRV, etc.

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled"

Precisely, we've reached a point where half the people are below average in intelligence!

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled"

Hah. I finally figured out that he was referring to the sum. Normally if I were assigning an IQ score to a group of people it'd be an average and not a sum. The statement would more accurately reflect the thought as, "The sum IQ of the world is static, only the population keeps increasing."

..But when I sip of their highly recommended California

Gladly. Would a ticket (one way) back to Europe be of any interest ?

BMc

Why would you expect California wine not to be different?

I drink Italian wine exclusively.

Hey, you're really starting to sound like a broken record and you're giving Columbus a bad name with this kind of behaviour. By now, everybody knows that you like inexpensive Italian wines and you detest tastings. SO GIVE IT A REST! Bi!!

Hey Ernie, You've been living in Europe for, at least, half your life? After all this time you might need to become acclimated to some of the wines available in the USA. Please keep an open mind and let your palate be your guide. We do have some very good wines here!

Cheers, Dick R.

I like expensive Italian wines too. Participation in 'tastings' is indicative of a complete lack of knowledge about the PURPOSE of wine. I never participate in 'tastings', as I consider such to be a complete waste of valuable time and of the wine.

So you've never tasted a wine before you've bought it? You've never been to the wine bar at Gentiles? Bi!!

DONT FEED THE TROLL

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

Your right Mike!

You can often tell those real posters from the "fishin" and "trollin" kind when they don't ever show up again in the thread.

All the best,

Larry Southern Ontario

Bob; From Ontario and yet, not a word about the cool climate growing conditions in the Niagara Peninsula!

Shame..... ;>))