The Berry Family Cellars

[gridlore]

Actually the wine rack over the sink. But "Cellars" has a better ring to it.

kshandra and I have made a point of picking up a bottle or two of wine on our shopping trips. We now have a rather nice collection.

• Red Bicyclette - French Rosé (2006) Everyone needs at least one French wine, n'est-ce pas?


• Yellow Tail - Shiraz/Grenache (2007) We love Yellow Tail's Shiraz, and Kiri seems to want to try a lot of blends.


• Herding Cats - Cherin Blanc/Chardonnay (2007) Kirsten decided we had to have a bottle of this. South Africa has a good reputation for white wines, so I'm looking forward to trying this one. (I can't seem to locate a website for these folks.)


• The Little Penguin - Chardonnay (2007) baka49er's Christmas gift to us. We'll probably crack this one in summer with a light dinner.


• Rosemount - Shiraz/Cabernet (2005) Yeah, we like Australian wines.


• Santa Ema - Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (2005) Yes, a stinking Merlot. But a Chilean one!


• Estancia - Pinot Noir (2006) Call me trendy, but Pinot Noirs are the hot wines of the moment, and this was highly rated. And hey, a domestic wine! From Monterey County. I'd prefer a Santa Cruz mountains vintage, but there are waiting lists for those.

Kirsten wants to add a Port or another dessert wine. We have three slots left in the rack.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[murphymom.livejournal.com]

A California cellar without a Paul Masson wine is no cellar at all.

[kshandra]

But it's no fun without being able to go on the tour anymore....

[murphymom.livejournal.com]

True - especially now that you wouldn't be asked not to imbibe...

[john-appel.livejournal.com]

Doug - I'm no wine expert, but the NPR station here in Baltimore has a twice-weekly segment done by a couple of local wine authorities. There's a list of the wines they cover this quarter on the station website, here: http://www.wypr.org/Cellar_Notes.html

They were really raving about the Gelfland wines last week; might be something you can snag in your area. Might be some other suggestions for you in this list.

[kshandra]

Well, it took some digging, and you can't link directly to the Herding Cats page, but this is their parent distributor's site.

[johno.livejournal.com]

You two might want to think about attending vintacon.

Try this guy

[capplor.livejournal.com]

http://www.amarcowines.com/

He used to have a shop near my office, but it isn't there anymore. I used to walk in once a year, tell him "I know nothing, but my sister in Texas knows a lot. I need a good local wine for a present." He might have gone entirely online.

[claire.livejournal.com]

If you like Australian wines and dessert wines, i recommend http://www.debortoli.com.au/our-wines/brand/noble-one.html if you can find it anywhere.

[christophine.livejournal.com]

Port is what I drink those rare times I drink. Which port is best for you depends on whether you prefer a sweeter one or one with more tannin. The tawny ports are usually heavy in tannin, and I am not a big fan of tannin. I know very little about tawny ports, except a good ten-year-old or more tawny is excellent over some vanilla ice cream.

My preference tends to be either founder's or ruby ports. Founders are about midway between the tannin-y tawnies and the sweet rubies. Ruby, on the other hand, is the sweetest of the ports, and the deeper red it is, the better the flavor.

My personal recommendations are a ten-year-old Taylor Fladgate port (either ruby or tawny, they're both good), or Warre ruby oporto. Fladgate is English, and while the younger ones aren't bad, they are best around 10 years old. I can usually find it in the liquor section of Cost Plus Imports. Warre is good young, improves with age, and is something I can usually find in the wine section of Trader Joe's. I periodically try new ports as I find them, and if there are any I particularly like and you and/or Kiri are interested in it, I can pass along the names of any that impress me.

Speaking of port, now I want some and I'm out. I sacrificed the last of my Warre ruby for the good of a meal I was cooking (it was worth it, the sauce was spectacular.) Off to Bakersfield tomorrow to go port hunting!

get thee to Trader Joes

[redc1c4.livejournal.com]

5353 Almaden Expy #J-38 San Jose, CA

the staff should be able to point you where you want to go, wine wise.

if they carry it, and the budget supports, Robert Hall and Wild Horse from the Paso area are really good (we belong to their clubs), as is Peachy Canyon. the house brand Old Moon zinfandel is great, especially at $5/btl. they carry a variety of ports too. if you buy a port, make sure you get a selection of chocolate to go with the bottle..... 2H6 doesn't even like chocolate, but she does with port. that's how good that combo is.

if you *really* want to get carried away, consider the option here: http://www.tobinjames.com/club.asp

we have two memberships to *that* one. %-)

[fimbrethil.livejournal.com]

I don't have a port suggestion, but I heartily recommend any of the Ravenswood wines. I have tried their Zinfendel (red, not white,) their cab and their merlot and like them all.

Also, they have a cool label (See icon)

[lysana.livejournal.com]

I also love their shiraz. It has a kangaroo triskele on it, too, which is a fun bonus.

[fimbrethil.livejournal.com]

Yup, that one too! I knew I was forgetting one. Thanks!

[jarlsberg71.livejournal.com]

I love a good port, but prefer Tawny over Ruby. Ruby is WAYYYY sweet. Another good dessert wine is a Muscat or a late harvest Riesling.

If I can come for dinner, I'd love a great Sangiovese. it's italian, and can stand up to spicy meatloaf, (one of my faves...) or can be served with herbed chicken, and not overpower it. (and yeah, I do chicken and cheese and fish with red wines. I don't do white, well except for sweet ones mentioned above, and a white port which is nice too.)