Which Quality Wine?

I used to use the bible. "The world's best-selling annual wine guide. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 44th year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual guide. Hugh Johnson provides clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world. He reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both. This latest edition of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book includes a colour supplement on terroir."
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Morning Glory said:
I drink rather more than that in one week. I am not saying that is a good thing. :ohmy:
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I wondered when you would chime in. Lol. I think Morning Glory and I are the biggest drinkers on here. I love red wine and choice is merlot. We have a lot of wine here as my wife gets a lot of gifts. She would drink one bottle a year. I drink spirits coruba rum and gin. I wish my wife would drink more wine with dinner?

Russ
 
I referred before to my "normal" work and my love for private wheeling and dealing. Wine was one of the commodities. It started with wine when my first niece was born. My big brother and I hired a panel van and spent 5 days in the Bordeaux region buying that years product. We picked a year(2 years after her birth) to go based on the standard summer weather conditions that should produce a good keeping vintage. We bought with cash, the owners of some well known Chateau's appreciated a big wad of readies with no receipts required.
The initial purchase after 10 years was like a sourdough " mother". We would take 20% each year and exchange with a wine merchant in the UK for younger vintages he had at the usual rate of 3/4 cases against one of ours. They were then put down. We did this 4 times. Then 16 years after the initial purchase we started disposing of it through various method. That was my brother forte as he was a senior partner then of Peat Marwick, his specialty was Tax avoidance.
For our American members if you had popped into this Napa Chateau and done what we did these are the sort of returns you would get.
Château Montelena, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
1990 (1)
1991 (1)
1992 (1)
1993 (1)
1994 (1)
All levels base of neck
5 bottles per lot
Estimate: USD 500 - USD 800. Price Realised: USD 812.50 To put this into context a 1 bottle of 1990 Margaux will cost around £650.
 
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With the February 2021 Recipe Challenge focused on wine, I have gone out and bought a spectrum of reasonable wines for cooking with. Some being more quality than others and ie. more expensive.

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The spectrum of wines runs from dark reds and lighter reds to various whites. I have found that the sugar and thus calorie count of reds and the Gewueztraminer are notable, but other dry whites have low sugars and are demonstrated to have nearly zero calories. That was a very unexpected finding.

I love reds, particularly Cabernets, as opposed to Zinfandels and Merlots. My favorite whites are Rieslings and Gewuerztraminers. Reds cannot be used with all meats and sauces and the whites, depending upon the type, do better.
 
flyinglentris said:
other dry whites have low sugars and are demonstrated to have nearly zero calories. That was a very unexpected finding.
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That isn't possible - if only it were. There are no zero calories white wines. If there was a nearly zero calorie white, believe me I'd be drinking it!

To my knowledge the lowest calorie is 55 cals per 125ml glass. Average dry white has about 85 cals.
 
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Beer is the top drink in this house, but we usually have a few bottles of wine knocking about. As Morning Glory has stated above, you can buy perfectly decent stuff in the UK for a fiver or so. We get a few from our local Co-op - they often have £7 wines for a fiver on offer. We bought a case of 12 from Aldi a while back for just over £60 and they were all pleasant. We also use Giordano, an Italian outfit who regularly have good discounts. We got a case of 15 Italian wines from them just before Christmas for £80 and the wines are all good.
 
Morning Glory said:
That isn't possible - if only it were. There are no zero calories white wines. If there was a nearly zero calorie white, believe me I'd be drinking it!

To my knowledge the lowest calorie is 55 cals per 125ml glass. Average dry white has about 85 cals.
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I would tend to agree with you. Alcohol by itself, has calories, as do any carbohydrates, regardless of an absence of sugar.

But check this out, what I found to put in my calorie log for food products I use .....

Condes de Albarei Albarino Wine Nutrition Facts

The only thing that I can think would make them provide such a determination is that they consider the calories in this wine - not nutritional.

But none the less, they state that the calories are near zero per ounce. :banghead:
 
Duck59 said:
Beer is the top drink in this house, but we usually have a few bottles of wine knocking about. As Morning Glory has stated above, you can buy perfectly decent stuff in the UK for a fiver or so. We get a few from our local Co-op - they often have £7 wines for a fiver on offer. We bought a case of 12 from Aldi a while back for just over £60 and they were all pleasant. We also use Giordano, an Italian outfit who regularly have good discounts. We got a case of 15 Italian wines from them just before Christmas for £80 and the wines are all good.
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I enjoy variety in all things, including beverages. Keep in mind that I am not a recreational drinker, whatever that constitutes. The wines I just bought are specifically intended as cooking ingredients, except for the cabernet and possibly, the gewuerztraminer. I will likely have a glass of those wines with a meal, instead of fruit juice, which is more typical.
 
flyinglentris said:
I would tend to agree with you. Alcohol by itself, has calories, as do any carbohydrates, regardless of an absence of sugar.

But check this out, what I found to put in my calorie log for food products I use .....

Condes de Albarei Albarino Wine Nutrition Facts

The only thing that I can think would make them provide such a determination is that they consider the calories in this wine - not nutritional.

But none the less, they state that the calories are near zero per ounce. :banghead:
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I think the website you refer to is erroneous. This is a good wine and not some kind of special low calorie version. This is MyFitnessPal

57402
 
Morning Glory said:
I think the website you refer to is erroneous. This is a good wine and not some kind of special low calorie version. This is MyFitnessPal

View attachment 57402
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I'll have to check some other sources to confirm that. The site I used confuses me. As I said, I know that alcohol and carbohydrates, which are in all wines, have calories.
 
Morning Glory,

I checked on myfitnesspal for the wine I bought and they don't list it. So, I will use a kind of average for the albarinos they do list of about 95 calories in my logs.
 
Duck59 said:
Beer is the top drink in this house, but we usually have a few bottles of wine knocking about. As Morning Glory has stated above, you can buy perfectly decent stuff in the UK for a fiver or so. We get a few from our local Co-op - they often have £7 wines for a fiver on offer. We bought a case of 12 from Aldi a while back for just over £60 and they were all pleasant. We also use Giordano, an Italian outfit who regularly have good discounts. We got a case of 15 Italian wines from them just before Christmas for £80 and the wines are all good.
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I use Giordano too
 
I have liked Cabernet wines mostly, as I have stated elsewhere and will drink a Riesling or a Gewürztraminer on occasion. Sometimes a Muscato or a Merlot appeal.

I have been taking in a glass of the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir after using it in my last recipe challenge meal. I have to say that it gives me a new appreciation for Pinot Noir. It's a really quite good drinking wine. I'm going to have to go easy, in case I may need it for another recipe.
 
I’m not an expert on wine although I can recognise the good ones from the nothing special ones.
I like red wines in particular and having tasted some remarkable ones mostly all over Italy, my faves are without doubt the Piedmontese Barolo and Nebbiolo.

A special mention for the French Merlot, outstanding.

And another one for chilled Prosecco that I often have for an aperitif or during cooking
 
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