Thread: My other distractions

Originally Posted by bromion

Got any cellar photos? My "cellar" is a 24-bottle wine fridge. Not bad for now....

Here you are:

My set up per today, with shelve space for 112 bottles.

I recently had a 1987 Monticello Corley Reserve Cabernet (Napa) that was quite good! Definitely a bit over the hill, but lovely nonetheless.

My favorite Napa grower is Grgich-Hills. Overall, though, I tend to avoid Napa because they're rather overpriced. Paso Robles and Santa Barbara are great regions with less prestige and lower prices. They also have a wider diversity of grapes that do well thanks to various microclimates. SB and PR are great for Rhone varietals.

Otto, that's an awesome setup! I plan on getting a nice wine rack as soon as I move somewhere with more space.

Climate controlled? : )

Originally Posted by bromion

Climate controlled? : )

Yes, Norwegian climate It is a cellar with concrete walls all around.
16C - 18C that is 60.8F - 64.4F year round.

Originally Posted by Otto

Yes, Norwegian climate It is a cellar with concrete walls all around.
16C - 18C that is 60.8F - 64.4F year round.

Ha, yeah, that'll do! I'm in Southern California. My apartment can be 70-95F! The wine fridge keeps it pretty stable around 60F.

I am a sommelier student and I collect wine. I bought a big fridge-sized cellar last winter to preserve old wines and wines that have the potential to get old. On a capacity of 180 Bordeaux bottles, I have around 65. My best bottles are '05 Cotes du Rhone, '05 St-Emilion and '85 Rioja. I try to get my hands on Clos Saint-Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Their Deus ex Machina and Combes des Fous have been rated between 98-100 by Robert Parker for at least 3 years in a row. Rhone blends are extraordinary.
I don't know if they sell Guigal's wine in California, but they are probably the best and most consistent CDR at an affordable price. Of course, you could buy Beaucastel for twice the price and a little better quality.
Wine is more that a drink. It is an experience. Even the cheapest wines can be good when drunk in good company.

I'm not much of an oenophile, but my wife is. She keeps a few hundred bottles in a temp controlled celler. Not a big collection, but fun for her. We bought a case of '98 Cheval Blanc and a case of '98 Haut Brion for our daughters (who were born in '98). When they are of age, they can either drink it or sell it.

I used to keep salt water tanks. That's a really fun hobby that I would like to revisit sometime.

I drink Italian wines almost exclusively, and while I was in Italy recently I toured the Chianti Classico region, which also puts out some of the best Super Tuscan wines. My favorite varietals are Valpolicella (especially Amarone), Montepulciano di Nobile, and Montalcino. I like lots of different labels from those regions and I'm always trying new ones.

Something interesting -- while touring Chianti Classico, we visited exclusively "organic" vineyards and wineries. No pesticides (other insects that eat the pests are introduced), and no yeast added to the wines to speed the fermentation process. The wine will ferment on its own, it just takes longer, but having tasted a number of wines from those regions, you can really appreciate the time that goes into those organic processes. Why force something that will happen naturally? I'll post some pictures when I get them up on the 'net.

Of course, I do like the resilient grape varietals that have traveled overseas, especially those that are bold and dry. Of those, I like a Californian Cabernet Sauv. 2003 Segway and recent SIMI comes to mind.

Went right to the source a few weeks ago. Burgundy, outside of Baune. Distracted?