The Wine Bore Thread

[Jase]

	Quote:	Wollishofener
	"Schiiterberger Himmelsleiterli"

I had to laugh out loud when i read the name - in Australia I'm sure they'd pronounce that

shiter-burger

it tickled my "toilet humour" nerve

<back to the regular programming now>

(sorry Wolli for the slight off topic )

[Treverus]

	Quote:	Jase
	it tickled my "toilet humour" nerve

In that case you need to have some "Kröver Nacktarsch"...

[CarpeDiem]

On the topic of drinking wines from around where you are and the above-mentioned cellar visits, I think one of the best things about Switzerland, as far as wine is concerned, is its closeness to so many great wine producing regions so it's really easy to make weekend (preferrably extended weekend, why not a whole week ) trips to France, Germany, Italy, Austria and to visit the numerous wine producers on the spot.

And to prepare yourself for some pleasant and very drinkable surprises, especially when popping into the internationally less known regions. We had a superb time and quite a few drinks last October in Franciacorta, Italy (a wine region which also showcased itself in Zürich sometime afterwards but one I had not even heard of before) where they produce some excellent sparkling wine, using the champagne method while keeping the prices much lower than their French colleagues. So, just another suggestion for a great wine route, Strada del Vino in this case. And the whole thing only in Italian, simply because they have absolutely no worries in selling basically all of their production on the home market... so has to be discovered while your here!

This of course goes for Switzerland itself, as well! Looking forward to some exciting cellar tours also this season

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:	möpp
	To go with the Expovina mentioned earlier, the Züritipp (supplement to the Tages Anzeiger) on Thursday had a section on wine bars (the good, the bad and the ugly) in Zurich: http://www.zueritipp.ch/story/gastro...er-weinlokale/

The Weinschenke (Hirschen) has a unique ambiance and in summer has a kind of dépendance on the top of the building which is very nice

The Weisse Rose has some Red wines of sorts like Aîgle and Féchy which are very interesting, and not more expensive than their white sisters

[Sparrowgirl]

Sorry about the grapes, I got a bit thrilled while remembering when I started studying Agronomy (all those native and non native varieties were very important to all of us).
Anyway here is the best Portuguese red considered in 2009:«Scala Coeli» from Fundação Eugénio de Almeida. The name says it all and unfortunately I could not find anyone selling it here. If you know someone who visits Portugal ask for a bottle !



The same producer
http://www.cartuxa.pt/intro_ingles.html

has other wines sold in Switzerland:
http://www.cottinelli.ch/catalog/Rot...tugal/Alentejo

and should be as good as Scala.

Cheers!

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:	walterguariento
	I'll second that... Chateau Musar's Cabernet Franc is one the best red I've ever had...

I at an invitation evening of MEA in 1974 won a bottle of exactly that wine, and did not touch it until the civil war in Lebanon was over in the late 90ies, and it then was absolutely SUPER !

[crfesi]

I usually get some wines at Denner..prices are good. I like to try new ones all the time. Anyone have recommendations for wines under 20 francs to buy here?

[pamela16]

Didn't read all posts but enjoyed those I did so this might have been mentioned too: rose! (Yes, I know there is an accent on the e). Very chilled. A really nice, refreshing change from a white in a hot summer.

[greenmount]

Can anyone recommend a truly good Swiss wine? Which is the best?
I'm prejudiced and usually only buy Italian or Spanish wines (no offence for the French), but I'd like to try something new...be it red, white or rosé.

[MarieZug]

	Quote:	crfesi
	I usually get some wines at Denner..prices are good. I like to try new ones all the time. Anyone have recommendations for wines under 20 francs to buy here?

Spotted Peter Lehmann "Clancys" Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 for under chf 18 in Coop. Tried it last night - and it's good value.

For white, we got 18 bottles of Bremerton Verdelho 2008 from Movenpick wine. Very nice for under chf 16. Comparable to Cloudy Bay that's chf 37 a bottle. 6 bottles are already gone

The Coop wine tasting on the boats is on Zug lake today, and the weather is miserable - so get out and try some wine!

[crfesi]

Any link on the Coop Boat Wine tasting event? I looked for a website online, but couldn't find one. I am a bit far from Zug to go and just try and find it..any information would be helpful. Thanks for your recommendations!

[MarieZug]

	Quote:	crfesi
	Any link on the Coop Boat Wine tasting event? I looked for a website online, but couldn't find one. I am a bit far from Zug to go and just try and find it..any information would be helpful. Thanks for your recommendations!

It is on the lake at the closest mooring to the Zug train station. Called Zug SGZ‎ according to google maps, but named Bahnhofsteg. On the corner of Chamerstrasse and Vorstadt. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.021994&z=16

Coop info: http://weinwelt.coop.ch/weinwelt/weindegustationen.do 20% discount off all wine too.

If anyone wants to meet there later today - PM me.

[CarpeDiem]

	Quote:	crfesi
	I usually get some wines at Denner..prices are good. I like to try new ones all the time. Anyone have recommendations for wines under 20 francs to buy here?

When looking for bargain prices, I'd recommend Vino VinTana which in my opinion carries a much better selection than Denner as far as your daily table wines are concerned. And I would almost say that majority of their rates seem to be below 20 chf, in fact just last Saturday I spent a total of 55 chf for 9 bottles - nothing fancy, sure, but for some easily drinkable Italian Primitivo, Chilean Merlot and Austrian Riesling I thought it was more than a fair deal.

But for the really nice ones, you've got to trust Vintage and Vine

[PlantHead]

Original post updated with some wine terms.

[PlantHead]

I have just been having a discussion about whether a Red wine should be left to breathe before drinking.

I had always assumed that all red wine benefited from being left for a least an hour before it was drunk. However I have just read and been told that that is actually rubbish.
The amount of air that comes in contact with a wine from the neck of a bottle is so tiny that it will have no effect.
In fact the only wines that need to breathe are old Red wines (Bordeaux, Burgundy) or wines with "funny" smells or high tannin content (like very young wines). In many cases airing wine can actually be detremental to the taste.

If you do want to let a wine breathe pour it into a decanter. The swilling it gets as it pours into the decanter will aerate the wine and then it is ready to drink, no need to leave it standing.

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I have just been having a discussion about whether a Red wine should be left to breathe before drinking. I had always assumed that all red wine benefited from being left for a least an hour before it was drunk. However I have just read and been told that that is actually rubbish. The amount of air that comes in contact with a wine from the neck of a bottle is so tiny that it will have no effect. In fact the only wines that need to breathe are old Red wines (Bordeaux, Burgundy) or wines with "funny" smells or high tannin content (like very young wines). In many cases airing wine can actually be detremental to the taste. If you do want to let a wine breathe pour it into a decanter. The swilling it gets as it pours into the decanter will aerate the wine and then it is ready to drink, no need to leave it standing.

Old wines, but also wines in PET-bottles. I never took any of those bottles as it shuddered me. But recently I bought such a bottle. And read on the bottle that you best decant the wine and then from the carafé do it into your glass. The success is astonishing. Really good. But of course no having it stand around.

[MarieZug]

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I had always assumed that all red wine benefited from being left for a least an hour before it was drunk. However I have just read and been told that that is actually rubbish. The amount of air that comes in contact with a wine from the neck of a bottle is so tiny that it will have no effect. In fact the only wines that need to breathe are old Red wines (Bordeaux, Burgundy) or wines with "funny" smells or high tannin content (like very young wines). In many cases airing wine can actually be detremental to the taste.

Another reason to decant is to remove sediment by pouring through a filter into a decanter. We love heavy reds, and many get quite a bit of sediment.

[PlantHead]

Pittacum Aurea 2006 - Viñedos Y Bodegas Pittacum Winery - 40 CHF

Purchased online from www.divo.ch
Right, after a bit of head scratching I figured out that the grape is called Mencia and the appellation that the wine comes from is Bierzo near Leon.


Mencia is (so I read in my Oz Clarke book) a traditional, light, fruity red wine grape which used to be used for early drinking wines but has recently grown in popularity and a lot of Spanish wine growers are using it to make older higher quality wines, particularly in the Bierzo region of Spain.

It’s quite dark, almost ink red and to be honest it smells like wine. Some wine smells like fruit but this smelt like wine, maybe with a touch of fruit but basically I would say it didn’t smell smokey or toasty and therefore proved either my nose or the Wine Spectator to be a filthy liar.

We drank the wine over a cold dinner of cheese, bread, pickles and cold meats and it seemed to go well with the sweeter food. The first taste is superb, very rich and velvety but there is an after taste of dryness which caught slightly in my throat and left a slightly bitter taste, which is why I think the sweeter pickles suited the wine better. I have since tried it on it’s own after a hard day in the office and it certainly suffered for the want of another flavour to take away from it’s dryness. It’s still quite a young wine and a friend of mine, who certainly knows more about wine than myself, commented that it needed more time in the bottle. The Wine Spectator states that it is good to drink now through until 2020.

However even I can tell that it’s a great wine, maybe not perfectly suited to my taste but I certainly would buy it again, and have, four bottles are currently in the post heading my way. Just as an idea of its quality, we shared the bottle with five of our friends and four loved it, only my misses gave it the damning verdict of, “too dry and furry”.

[Treverus]

A budget recommendation:

2007 Primitivo di Manduria, silver price at the mundus vino 2009 fair... last week at Aldi Suisse for less than 10 CHFs and I find it very nice!

It is not in the regular portfolio, but one of the "action" items. I went to the Aldi next to Letzipark today and it was sold out, but maybe you can still grab a bottle at another branch.

[jako]

And one from me - The Chocolate Block. Had in South Africa last year. Fantastic!! I have just found a Swiss merchant, so now I need to get some stock. I think it is around CHF 45 - 50.

The wine is from http://www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za/