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texasdago

texasdago 7569

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1 minute ago, South Austin said:

Barolo was the hardest for me.  We spent three days in the town of Barolo in 2014.  It wasn't exactly cheap in that region, but even with the euro conversion it was much cheaper than here in the States, and each night at dinner there were several bottles on the menu that were excellent and didn't feel like a huge splurge.  I was spoiled. 

So, does anyone know the car situation there?  I'd love to go back next summer and hang out on the beach but where we go, we need a car.

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Mo Horn

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3 minutes ago, texasdago said:

So, does anyone know the car situation there?  I'd love to go back next summer and hang out on the beach but where we go, we need a car.

We rented a car from Europcar for 6 days. Picked it up in La Spezia and dropping it off at Rome Airport. No issues at all. It was a little more expensive this year than when we were supposed to come last year, but not a whole lot more. 

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South Austin

South Austin 52459

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55 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Agreed.  We had dinner in Barolo and in a couple of other small towns nearby.  Fantastic meals.  Americans that think that Italian food is all meatballs and pizza and bolognese need to go to the Piedmonte region and eat.   Such great food and the white truffles don't suck either.

Yes, and northern Italy in general.  I had braised horse in Verona.  It was outstanding.  And some very interesting seafood in Venice.

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ScooterHTX

ScooterHTX 110

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Have read several different places that you can get way more bang for your buck with French and Italian wines vs. many Napa / California wines.


Problem is most of my limited knowledge is Napa / other Cali wines.


Any French / Italian suggestions I can pick up at specs that are in the $20 - $30 range?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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On 9/25/2021 at 1:52 AM, ScooterHTX said:

Have read several different places that you can get way more bang for your buck with French and Italian wines vs. many Napa / California wines.


Problem is most of my limited knowledge is Napa / other Cali wines.


Any French / Italian suggestions I can pick up at specs that are in the $20 - $30 range?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ornellaia Le Volte is a great daily drinker by a renowned Italian winemaker. About $30. 
 

I’d also look at Vino do Nobile from Montepulciano.   Barbera from the Piedmonte region as well as Nebbiolo from the same region.  You should also be able to find some nice Chianti Classico wines in that price range. 

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texasdago

texasdago 7569

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 9/25/2021 at 12:52 AM, ScooterHTX said:

Have read several different places that you can get way more bang for your buck with French and Italian wines vs. many Napa / California wines.


Problem is most of my limited knowledge is Napa / other Cali wines.


Any French / Italian suggestions I can pick up at specs that are in the $20 - $30 range?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Total Wine does and Spec's should carry Aglianico which is an exceptional wine.  Barbera D'Alba and Barbera D'Asti should be in your range.  If you don't wan to splurge on a Brunello di Montalcino, there are plenty of very nice bottles of Rosso di Montalcino.  Other good reds, Nebbiolo, Nero D'Avola, Primitivo, Rosso Piceno, Valpolicella... and there are just reds... all should keep you within that price range.  Just try some different ones but those varieties are a good start.  If you want to try a different type of Chianti, give Chianti Rufina a try (nor Ruffino... Rufina)  Reality is that Italy has a massive variety of grapes.  I would personally avoid Super Tuscans which are, for the most part, designed to appeal to American palates.  I tend to avoid anything Italian that includes international grapes.  Also, keep in mind that most Italian reds are not alcohol bombs.

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PenelopeWitherspoon

PenelopeWitherspoon 19100

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3 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Total Wine does and Spec's should carry Aglianico which is an exceptional wine.  Barbera D'Alba and Barbera D'Asti should be in your range.  If you don't wan to splurge on a Brunello di Montalcino, there are plenty of very nice bottles of Rosso di Montalcino.  Other good reds, Nebbiolo, Nero D'Avola, Primitivo, Rosso Piceno, Valpolicella... and there are just reds... all should keep you within that price range.  Just try some different ones but those varieties are a good start.  If you want to try a different type of Chianti, give Chianti Rufina a try (nor Ruffino... Rufina)  Reality is that Italy has a massive variety of grapes.  I would personally avoid Super Tuscans which are, for the most part, designed to appeal to American palates.  I tend to avoid anything Italian that includes international grapes.  Also, keep in mind that most Italian reds are not alcohol bombs.

If you are into whites, I also recommend Falaghina.  It is a native grape in Campania, and I have found the wines I have had to be very, very good.  

On the French side, I recommend Cot (i.e. Malbec).  Southwest France has some excellent Cot wines in the 15-30 range.  My other favorite is Gigondas.  Some really great reds come out of this region.  And finally, if you can get your hands on Alsatian Pinot Noirs, DO IT.

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HouTex

HouTex 1866

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Any recommendations for wedding wines? Probably only a handful of wine geeks will be at the wedding. We are splurging on the venue, band, liquor and food so the wine will not be classified Bordeaux. It mostly will be a bunch of millennials in their early thirties in attendance. I want to keep it under $20 per bottle. They are popular but I don’t like inexpensive pinots. I’m considering Villa Antinori and Falesco Vitiano from Italy for the red. There are a bunch of Southern Rhône’s imported by Robert Katcher that I like. There are a few Cali Cabs that I like under $20 (Louis Martini, Beringer). I would appreciate any ideas for a red and a white.

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sidis

sidis 9825

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i was going to recommend etude or emeritus as good, by the case wine for things like wedding but with the no-go on pinot, i think an inexpensive italian would be the way to go...specifically, something like valpolicella ripasso.  that was my go-to in my broke ass days of wanting wine and it never let me down.

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texasdago

texasdago 7569

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If you can track it down...

https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/red-blend/cantele-salice-salentino/p/109017750?s=504&igrules=true

Met the winemaker on a couple of occasions... extremely good guy.  Makes great wine!

Also had good experiences with this one...

https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/sangiovese/renieri-rosso-di-montalcino/p/113712750?s=509&igrules=true

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b_p

b_p 448

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9 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

How was the Bonneau?  I think I have a single bottle of that and one of the other bottlings (can't recall if it's cuvee especial or not).

This was one of the Celestins bottles that he only makes in special vintages. I’ve had a couple of others before and this one didn’t disappoint (they’ve all been spectacular). It was the best of the three we had including the Sabon Secrets de Sabon. Just a fantastic wine and definitely worth the money. Save the one you have for a special occasion. 

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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14331

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This was one of the Celestins bottles that he only makes in special vintages. I’ve had a couple of others before and this one didn’t disappoint (they’ve all been spectacular). It was the best of the three we had including the Sabon Secrets de Sabon. Just a fantastic wine and definitely worth the money. Save the one you have for a special occasion. 

Pretty sure it’s the most I’ve ever paid for a bottle (over $300 nearly 20 years ago).
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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14331

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28 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Oh, hell yeah.

What year is that?  We toured that vineyard in 2018.  Their wine cellar is amazing.

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A very small part of the cellar.

Interesting that they stored all those bottles vertically.  I would think the corks would all dry out.

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Reynolds Woodcock

Reynolds Woodcock 4739

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13 hours ago, VABuckeye said:

Oh, hell yeah.

What year is that?  We toured that vineyard in 2018.  Their wine cellar is amazing.

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A very small part of the cellar.

1996. Nice cellar pics.

This trip I tried to focus visits mostly on relatively smallish vineyards in the Barbaresco and Barolo regions that I can’t easily find in the US, with a few bigger players like Vietti sprinkled in. Good juice all around.

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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14331

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I know I'm a piker compared to many in here, but leaving Napa tomorrow. Spent waaaay too much on wine. Anyone have a rec for a red only wine fridge?

Last year I replaced my GE Monogram (died after 6 years) with a U-Line. It was their pricier model but it is well built and has adjustable/removable shelves to fit bigger bottles.

Honestly wine fridges (as opposed to climate controlled “cellars” or closets) are all basically the same.
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Jimbaround

Jimbaround 975

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I know I'm a piker compared to many in here, but leaving Napa tomorrow. Spent waaaay too much on wine. Anyone have a rec for a red only wine fridge?

I like Edgestar. Functional, look nice and about a third of the price of some of the high-end brands.

I’ll echo DDD on the sameness but humidity control becomes a factor in the cheaper units. However that shouldn’t be a concern unless you are looking for 5+ year aging.
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Jimbaround

Jimbaround 975

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48 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

What do folks think about the Coravin?  Everyone around Napa is using them these days.  Worth it to preserve good bottles you aren't going to drink in one sitting?

I like mine but don't use it enough, and when I put in a new gas canister it is usually a one-use (it goes flat before I use it again).  It was great when my wife was pregnant and if she was only going to have one glass of wine it had better be a good one.  If you get one buy the knock-off argon canisters as it will save you about $10 per canister over the official Coravin ones.

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Da Fino

Da Fino 2777

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On 11/5/2021 at 12:56 PM, Jimbaround said:

Fall shipments are starting to show up. The Rose is 2020 and may be the only 2020 Napa wine I get due to the smoke damage in the valley last year.

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Wish I would have ordered some stuff from Realm this year. I really like their wines. 

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b_p

b_p 448

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I've used mine to do side-by-side tastings of several bottles with only two or three drinkers.  We did this a lot during the covid shutdown (luckily Total Wine and Specs were considered critical businesses); we'd buy 8 or 10 bottles of new stuff we hadn't tried, then use the coravin to pour a tasting of each having fun doing the comparison.  I also found that most of these bottles were still good weeks or months after doing a single pouring with the coravin.  Other than that, I haven't found much use for it.  Even if you're the type that drinks one or two glasses with dinner and have a half bottle left over, just put the cork back in it and it'll usually be fine the next day, although you could use your coravin here as well.  I just don't think it's worth it for your average everyday drinker.

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Jimbaround

Jimbaround 975

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I've used mine to do side-by-side tastings of several bottles with only two or three drinkers.  We did this a lot during the covid shutdown (luckily Total Wine and Specs were considered critical businesses); we'd buy 8 or 10 bottles of new stuff we hadn't tried, then use the coravin to pour a tasting of each having fun doing the comparison.  I also found that most of these bottles were still good weeks or months after doing a single pouring with the coravin.  Other than that, I haven't found much use for it.  Even if you're the type that drinks one or two glasses with dinner and have a half bottle left over, just put the cork back in it and it'll usually be fine the next day, although you could use your coravin here as well.  I just don't think it's worth it for your average everyday drinker.

Good post. Mine is an interesting novelty my wife bought me as a gift.
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7768

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On 9/27/2021 at 7:32 AM, texasdago said:

Total Wine does and Spec's should carry Aglianico which is an exceptional wine.  Barbera D'Alba and Barbera D'Asti should be in your range.  If you don't wan to splurge on a Brunello di Montalcino, there are plenty of very nice bottles of Rosso di Montalcino.  Other good reds, Nebbiolo, Nero D'Avola, Primitivo, Rosso Piceno, Valpolicella... and there are just reds... all should keep you within that price range.  Just try some different ones but those varieties are a good start.  If you want to try a different type of Chianti, give Chianti Rufina a try (nor Ruffino... Rufina)  Reality is that Italy has a massive variety of grapes.  I would personally avoid Super Tuscans which are, for the most part, designed to appeal to American palates.  I tend to avoid anything Italian that includes international grapes.  Also, keep in mind that most Italian reds are not alcohol bombs.

We hit up a couple Italian style winemakers in Napa and I think I like Italian wines (as a whole) better than I like American wines.  Sipping on a Nebbiolo from VJB Cellars right now and it's fantastic.  And only costs $40 through their wine club, which we joined.  I'm tired of the Chardonnay/Pinot/Cab stuff.  Variety is nice, although we found some amazing Pinots out there this trip.

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We’reTexas

We’reTexas 1473

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2 hours ago, VABuckeye said:

If you like California Italian wines you should get some of the real stuff. 

Generally agree but there are some notable exceptions. Unti, Idlewild and Ryme up in Healdsburg focus on Italian varietals and are fantastic (though generally on the bigger side of what I like). Broc Cellars, which works with many lesser-known varietals, does a dolcetto/montepulciano blend and nero d’avolo. And Martha Stoumen, IMO one of the most exciting winemakers out there right now, has focused on making nero d’avalo her thing (she trained with the COS guys in Sicily and worked at Broc as well). 

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