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Post by epaul on Feb 7, 2018 9:49:40 GMT -5
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Post by james on Feb 7, 2018 10:20:17 GMT -5
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Post by epaul on Feb 7, 2018 14:55:52 GMT -5
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Post by david on Feb 7, 2018 17:59:38 GMT -5
We should plan a Idiot wine tasting in the Willamette valley. Mike Is there a Golden Period when the touristas have diminished and perhaps a couple of folks could fly into Portland and spend a few days in Willamette and maybe Amtrak back to the Twin Cities, like maybe early October, or is that crazy crowded harvest time? I agree with Mike that early October is usually a good bet. I would recommend mid-Sept through the first week of October. Frau Gray and I might check out a sleepy little town, Carlton, Oregon, in the next few weeks. It is near some wineries and has interesting accommodations: www.visitcarlton.com/stay-accommodations-carlton/
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Post by amanajoe on Feb 7, 2018 18:04:19 GMT -5
Hmm, maybe this stuff from Trader Joe's would be even easier to deal with: Real Man's Wine
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Post by epaul on Feb 7, 2018 18:21:23 GMT -5
Have you cleared this little trip with your wife? (if it's cool, cool, but if not, well, we don't want to lose any more forum members)
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Post by david on Feb 7, 2018 18:56:19 GMT -5
Have you cleared this little trip with your wife? (if it's cool, cool, but if not, well, we don't want to lose any more forum members) We have one of those progressive marriages - it was my wife's idea!
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Post by jdd2 on Feb 7, 2018 19:17:46 GMT -5
Okay, maybe I'll try a box sometime. But instead of starting cheap and working up to something I might like, I'll probably start at the top end and work down. Not very important, but the second two articles differ a little on how long you can keep them after opening (4-6 weeks vs 8), and how long you can store it. One thing that I'm not picky about is screw caps. A lot of the aussie wines I choose have them, and I've read that some of the same wines are instead bottled with corks. for more snobbish markets. I've only had "corked" wines a couple times (spoilage). One of my sources (and prices there are list, not member discounted as in their catalog) will simply send a replacement with a phone call, no questions asked. More common is a cork that breaks up--doesn't come out nicely. One "con" to boxes listed in those articles that I'd sympathize with is the lack of variety that a multi-liter box locks you into for the time you have it, and before that when shopping--compared to hundreds of bottles, what is a good selection of boxes? 8-10? Nobody's mentioned it, but one (cheap) way companies add some oak to wines is with wood chips.
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Feb 7, 2018 21:26:47 GMT -5
Early October would be great. With any amount of luck, the winter torrential rains hold off until (usually, no garrauntees) until the last week of Oct or so. Kids are back in school, the harvest and crush are over, salmon and wild mushrooms are making their appearence at the local farmers markets. Oct means festivals with Bavarian sausage, pretzels and bier. There are far worse times to visit the PNW. Mike The above opinions are the views of one geezer surfer and should be taken with a grain of salt, even though he is right. Geezer surfers are alright... A geezer surfer (Peter Oberg) made me one some heckuva guitar. I knew and surfed with Peter's brother, Steve Oberg. Long long ag. Encinitas locals. Steve married Margo Godfrey, world champ woman surfer and they moved to Kauai. Margo was cool and Steve ripped. Mike
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Post by epaul on Feb 7, 2018 21:44:47 GMT -5
It's Horses for Courses. I love box wines. But, this household doesn't drink much wine. My wife likes to have a glass of wine maybe two or three nights a week. One glass. I usually don't think about wine, so I might only drink wine once a week, twice tops, a couple glasses when I do, full ones. I like wine, I just don't think about it. (I even forget about beer sometimes, scary!)
Anyway, it wasn't uncommon to have a half-full bottle of red sitting on top the fridge for a couple weeks. I would end up just dumping it down the drain. But, now, a box of Zinfindel or Merlot or something red, (I don't care, they're all good) sits on top of the fridge. And if I get the hankering for a glass, I just push the spigot and watch it splash and sparkle into my glass... and it is always fresh and tasty.
I am having a glass of Bota Box Old Crop Zinfandel right now, as it turns out. (I forgot to restock the fridge with beer after the Super Bowl, so, wine it is.) I think I will have a second.
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