Red Wine Newbie

"Jake" wrote in news:1129731725.920521.3260 @o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

Keep watch on the group there are several wines in this category a week (though some are pricier) remember that Bordeaux is a blended wine (usually) with either Cab. S or Merlot dominant.

You might want to try Los Vascos from Chile at about $10US a bottle it is a very nice wine.

Also, I have some general questions. If I do find a wine that I

Depends on the size of the bulk, in general keep it in a cool dark spot in the house and you are good for a few months. If you want longer you need to look into how cool etc. and you open a pandora's box that can be seen from a google of this newsgroup looking for storage.

What do you do with a bottle once you open it? I have been

For one or two days, that should work nicely without too much degradation of the wine.

So... you're saying several months at room temp. How long if it is cooled to 55 degrees? Still open to suggestions.

There is no set rule. Cabs generally age longer than Merlots, though exceptions abound. Many wines are made for near-term drinking and don't improve with age for long. Others, such as the famed 1st growths of Bordeaux, can improve with age for 25-50 years in a good vintage. Usually, wines in the $10-20 price range are made for drinking in the near term, though, but again there are plenty of exceptions. If you're buying multiple bottles of a wine, try opening one up every 6 months or so and gauging for yourself whether it's getting better or worse with time. When you've convinced yourself that it's on a downslope to senility, drink up!!

HTH Mark Lipton

Try the simi cab. I've never had a bad year.

Jose

I'd be wary of claiming 50 years of improvement for a 1st growth Bordeaux. Certainly many of these need some time to "come together" in the bottle, say

Good point, Anders. I was just trying to give the range of possibility. However, anyone who tried drinking a '61 Latour after 5-10 years probably lost several layers of epithelium from their cheeks and tongue. For those who don't speak German, Anders's proverb in English would be "Some love the mother, others the daughter" or something close to that, a very apt proverb for wine appreciation ;-)

Mark Lipton

You can't get closer than that! :-) Of course, I know that you know about aging and appreciation - that was intended for the newbies! We have been there too, haven't we? Anders

The problem with recommendations is that they reflect the taste of those giving the recommendations, not yours. Instead of relying on others, what I recommend is that you attend as many organized wine tastings as possible. That will give you the opportunity to taste many wines, of as many different styles as possible. In that way, you can find what *you* like.

It depends entirely on the wine, and on the vintage. On the one extreme are wines like Beaujolais Nouveau, which start going downlhill in a month or so. At the other extreme are wines like first growth Bordeaux, which, in a good vintage, can last (and improve) for many years.

Also the conditions under which the wine is stored greatly affect how long it lasts.

Drink it, of course! ;-)

If you have leftover wine, storing it in the refrigerator will retard its deteriorating. But of course before drinking the rest, take a red out of the refrigerator early enough for it to return to room temperature.

How long you can keep an open bottle depends on many things, but in most cases a day, or even two, is not too harmful. Few wines will last much longer than that without significantly noticeable deterioration.

Since my wife and I normally finish a bottle between us, what to do with the remains of an opened bottle is seldom a problem here.

I find that five or ten seconds in the microwave does a fine job of taking the chill off. I do it in a separate glass, and then pour it into my good wine glass.

Jose

Covery Run & Hogue cab or merlot from Washington are great deals under $10. So are the BV Century Cellars selections, from CA. Try also some Falesco reds, from Italy, also under $10. Sebastiani and Louis M. Martini are also very good in that $15 range.

The number one thing to remember if your just getting into red wine(or any wine for that matter) is to try everything...Taste, taste, taste and don't pigeon hole yourself into a specific category until you try many different things. My tastes constantly change and evolve, and I'm always finding things that I didn't know existed before. Wine is fun and there is so many different kinds and styles you can never get bored!

So far, you like Cabs and Merlots, that's good. One word of advice, don't pigeon-hole yourself when it comes to reds, keep tasting. I remember years ago that when I thought Cab Sauv was the end-all be-all because I had not tasted enough. Then I discovered a huge world including Chianti Classico Riserva, Grenache/Garnacha, Aussie Shiraz, Primitivo, and some luscious blends like Marquis Phillips Sarah's Blend. And don't forget the Bordeaux reds, those are usually Cab/Merlot blends - except of course ... Petrus which is 100% merlot :)