Are you a Wine Connoisseur?

[Mister Cairo]

I have never liked wine.

Heretic...

 

[Mister Cairo]

There was a time if I saw a bottle with a screw cap, I wondered if you had to pay extra for a paper bag to drink the bottle out of in the gutter.

Now I am almost annoyed if it comes with a cork.

 

[Turnip]

I like wine, reds better than whites, but I’m far from being a connoisseur.

About 50 years ago you could tell who’s got money or not in a Palatinate pub by the wine glass. The poor drank reds, the money drank whites.

Times have obviously changed.

 

[Tiki Tom]

It used to be that ladies preferred whites and men drank reds. Although I had a friend who claimed he only drank reds October through April and only drank whites May through September. And of course there is the whole food matching thing. But, if nothing else played into it, I’m sure I’d probably prefer red 80% of the time.

 

[Mister Cairo]

We continue to explore new wines, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, south America mainly, in addition to supporting Ontario's growing production.

Liquor store vintages section has a good offering that changes frequently.

 

[belfastboy]

We continue to explore new wines, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, south America mainly, in addition to supporting Ontario's growing production.

Liquor store vintages section has a good offering that changes frequently.

A connoisseur is not what I would call myself but we do love wine. One of the fun aspects of travel is discovering the wines of a region. We have toured the NAmerican wine regions and most of Europe's but have yet to make it to S America and think at this point not likely to get there. So my point of contact will have to be our local liquor store.

 

[Mister Cairo]

A world wine tour would be a lottery win trip to be sure!

 

[GHT]

I have never liked wine.

Not even a glass of bubbly? You don't know what you're missing.
Cognac is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac in France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cognac production falls under French appellation d'origine contrôlée designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. Among the specified grapes, Ugni blanc, known locally as Saint-Émilion, is most widely used. The brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais. Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wines barrel age, and most cognacs spend considerably longer "on the wood" than the minimum legal requirement.
So next time you are at a wedding or some similar function where the champagne flows, sneak a flask of cognac in and pour a mix of it into your glass of champers. Just don't blame me for the mother of all hangovers the next day.

 

[Harp]

Wine is not just wine. Wine is the whole experience that goes with it: it’s the perfectly matched dish; it’s the mellow blending of taste and scent and mood; its discovering a dusty label steeped in history; it’s a carafe of local table wine available on almost any budget; It’s romantic cafe’s with friends on a perfect summer evening; it’s ancient ruins and Renaissance architecture; it’s ceremoniously pulling out that long cork; it’s a winter meal by candlelight with that certain someone; its old friends and new friends; it’s travel and romantic adventures and new languages and exciting books and falling in love. It’s great music in front of a fireplace. It’s not about snobbery, or it shouldn’t be. Am I over-selling it? Not necessarily.

Once back in college, I spent a year living inside a student dorm, w/o a refrigerator. Stuck a bottle of
Greek red Domestica between the windows, and invited a girl to sample a glass or two. We were both
seated on my bed. Confess, I remarked to myself that Sylvia and I 'were on bed' if not actually 'in,'
dumb thought I fortunately kept to myself. The conversation had warmed to the point where a few
glasses of vino were just what was needed. And the bottle of Domestica was frozen solid.

 

[photo2u]

I am not. But love the thing. 40 years ago, I got a master lesson from a winemaker in Saint-Émilion. He advised me to drink what I LIKE. Price is not always an indicator of how you would appreciate the wine. Favorite wine is a well aired wine.

 

[belfastboy]

Our Covid activity has been working our way through and reviewing the box wine offerings of our local liquor store. We have settled on supporting Australian red as they offer great value and we figure they could use our support since China decided to boycott things Australian. We are doing our bit as they say.

 

[Turnip]

Some pretty nice Palatinate Riesling for football this week.