Newbie Question-Hold Your Fire!

There are many folks in this NG who know French wines, and I'm not one of them. However, I do know that "Bordeaux" wines can be almost anything

- white or red. It depends on the subregion of Bordeaux where the wines are made. For example, the Medoc (Saint-Estephe, Margaux, Pauillac, Saint Julien) produces Cabernet Sauvignon based wines, whereas Pomerol produces Merlot-dominent wines. The only wine I recognize in the French wine department is Beaujolais!

Maybe not Cabs and Syrah/Shiraz, but if you need some good red-sauce pasta wines you might stop in the Italian section a pick up a bottle of Antinori Santa Christina Sangiovese.

I hope the friendly folks in this NG will provide some suggestions because I'd like to know also.

Dick

"Dick R." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@visi.com:

The fascination with Bordeaux is the variety of nuances available to the consumer. This is partly the product of tradition, but the quality aspects of the area are (for growing grapes) largely borne out by the product.

However, I would add, and this is only a personal opinion, that this 'mystique' only really holds for the mid-higher end of the wines. The lower end (including, but not limited to branded products from the region) are much more akin to the Australian / Californian products which are much derided here in this group. That is, they give a fairly uniform product which is made more for consitency than excellence. There are a few lower mid-range chateaux producing splendid wines for their money, but this doesn't seem to be a general blanket assumption one can make.

To come back to your quest for the heavy-bodied wines, I think you might be disppointed in the Bordeaux (but see my comments below). By all means try a few, but I think you will find most are approximately medium-bodied (compared to the big Australian shirazes at least).

That's Cristina (although it is listed as both in many places, for some reason). And it's not very heavy / unctious (if at all ...) In fact I would class it as light/medium bodied, bit too much acid. Versatile but light. (Try a Chianti Classico Riserva for a bit more weight)

However, in Italy, something with a bit more weight would be Brunello di Montalcino (try the Banfi wines for a reasonably-priced version). If you like good wines with a bit of body, try a bottle oa Amarone. So gloriously heavy you could stand a spoon up in it. Just right for those wintery stews.

If you must stick with the Syrah/Shiraz, stay in France but try the Rhone where you will get (IMHO) better value, and something a bit more like you have been used to. Chateauneuf-du-Pape (blends containing Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre - in fact up to 13 different grape varieties) might be the best to try (don't go for the cheapest, they tend to be rather thin). Possibly move to a Cote-Rotie if you want a bit more concentration.

Hi Larry;

While you're running back and forth twix France and California has it occurred to you to take a quiet stroll down the Rte 81 Niagara Wine Route right here in your own back yard? A ton of good wineries all around you here trying hard to make world class product. A hell of a place to learn the wine business..... I find it pretty interesting.

Hope this post isn't a repeat . Me thinks the first one got lost somewhere over the Atlantic ;-)

This line answered it all for me. Many peoples' opinions should/are well respected in this Ng- yours included.

Many thanks Ian,,

(Ok ....your's too Dick)

And you're right Chuck. My cart should hit the Ontario section one in a while.

Larry Stumpf, S. Ontario, Canada

I don't think Mr. Dale Williams has ever said this!

Sean

Salut/Hi Sean E. Slindee,

le/on Sun, 28 Sep 2003 03:31:02 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

I wasn't aware that I'd attributed it to him. What's your problem?

No problem. Just an observation. Dale is a wine tasting machine! I look forward to reading his many notes.

Sean

GUILTY!