Random thoughts.
I discovered a new beer. Shiner Black lager... It's tasty. It has hints of chocolate and coffee without the heaviness of a typical Porter or Stout.
I've got a pretty well developed sense of smell and taste. I'm not a wine snob but I do know when something is all hype. Most expensive wines are hype. I've purchased some highly regarded bottles for $35 to $50 just to see what the hubbub was all about. I was always dissapointed. A couple of them I had to pour down the sink.
I've decided to stick with what I know is good.
Some of the best inexpensive wines I've found are: Columbia Crest. Smoking Loon, Woodbridge, Twin Fin, and Yellowtail. They all are under $8 per bottle.
I've tried some other hip new California labels but invariably they taste like turpentine mixed with sour milk.
I'm getting used to screw tops and plastic corks. It's nice to buy a bottle and it not be contaminated by a dry moldy piece of cork. I don't know what the laws are other places but around here alcohol is a non returnable even if it tastes like like a recycled enema.
I've been farting around with my banner. It's a work in progress. I really liked the old one but the meaning behind it no longer applies.
I saw a documentary last night entitled "Blog Wars" It was about the power of Bloggers in our political process and the way they can drive news stories to the front page by sheer mass of numbers.
At first it seemed even handed but then it became a biopic ass-kiss-fest of the Daily KOS and the smarmy milksop that runs it. That ruined it for me.
Ever watch the dog whisperer? Hector Milan apparently makes a living helping owners of ill behaved and psychotic pets. Invariably he can get the pet under control in a matter of minutes.
Then he gets tell the owners they are idiots for letting a 3 Lb Chihuahua run their life.
Is this a great country or what?
posted by Bill Rowland @ November 09, 2007
43 Comments
43 Comments:
I've been drinking Francis Coppola's Diamond Blue Label Merlot, 2005. I get it on sale for $13.99 at the corner market. It goes great w/ steak, pasta, chicken, fish, salads, breads, omelets, cereal,...
I'm not a big wine drinker but a lot of our friends drink Yellowtail, so I've had that one a few times and actually liked it too.
Blogs must be becoming a hot topic. We surfed past a show called "Band of Bloggers" last night. Didn't stop to watch for any length of time but it had to do with bloggers covering the issues in Iraq.
I'm going over to Floresville this morning. I'll have to stop by HEB and look for some of that Shiner.
I think the dog whisperer is mostly phony. There has to already be at least several hundred hours of discarded footage from the dogs he couldn't control. Of course they aren't going to show his failures.
Here's my deal with Milan...he's convinced he's the Dog Whisperer, and that confidence is all he needs to exert any sort of control at all over those dogs, from the get-go. Dogs are pack animals, and you just have to let them know that you're the Alpha. It's not that complicated, but most people assume that a playful dog is simply a happy dog, so they don't bother to try to train them to actually follow orders without bribing them with food.
He just cornered the market, but anyone can do it.
The best wine I've ever had (and I HATE wine) was a bottle of $5 stuff my sister brought over last weekend. I don't remember what it was called, but it was dry and sweet, with very little of that vomit-taste that makes wine completely unpalatable for me.
I'm sticking with Arbor Mist. People can laugh, but I like it.
I noticed the banner right away, which surprised me-usually I don't notice those things for a while.
I'd like to see Cesar Milian try to train Spot. I've never seen a dog so determined to have things his way as Spot is. But I wouldn't let Milian take Spot to his compound for "rehabilitation"-God knows what he does to dogs there to get them to obey. Cattle prods, probably. I don't watch his show, but I've seen bits of it while channel surfing.
Shiner has always been a big hit with one of my brothers. He likes their Bock. Cheers Hammer!!
Oh yeah, I was also going to say I liked the header graphic. Mine looks so flat and uninteresting compared to it. But then I have no talent for visual artistry at all.
I don't drink anymore, but when I did, I used to love Guiness Stout. nice and thick, frothy, carmel-like, and a nice aroma and aftertaste.
as for wine, if you like a nice white, find one called The Bishop of Reisling", not cheap, but not too expensive either. I think the last time I bought a bottle it was around $13.00, but that was several years ago. again, a nice bouquet and aftertaste, but it's not overloaded with sweetness like some whites... just a nice Reisling, yum.
BTW, I like the new banner.
yup.
B-D
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Honestly, unless it actually is a recycled enema, or turpentine mixed with spoiled milk, I don't think my tastes are refined enough to tell the difference between what's considered a good wine and a not-so-good wine.
Not to say I haven't had good wines, because I'm sure I have, most recently around the beginning/middle of September, for the Jooish holidays, but I just couldn't tell you what it was about them that made them good...
The whole "hints of [fill in the blank"]" or vintage years thing utterly confounds me.
Oh...where'd you learn how to make such spiffy banners? You just tinker around with shit until it's to your liking? Dat's pretty cool!
WOO HOO! Another yellowtail fan! I try to tell people that yellowtail is the best wine for the buck but nobody listens. Boo hoo.
Have you tried Bonny Doone vineyards? They're local here so I'm not sure if you can get their stuff where you're at, but they're another great (and inexpensive) wine.
I agree totally with your wine critique. Beyond varietal preferences, a good growing year, proper aging, and the absence of bacteria, there isn't much that a "name" wine can deliver than even a home brew can.
Other than Woodbridge, I haven't seen any of the wines you mentioned. But then, Gary makes it for me so I rarely buy. And when we are out, there are a lot of Ontario (Canada) wines available that you'd never hear of.
I can't drink dark beers. They taste like burnt rubber to me. So does scotch.
But then, I don't have a highly developed sense of taste or smell.
I just wanna see that Cesar Milan guy handle a raging pit bull just to see exactly how good he is :) If he can calm it a 30 minute show like he does all others then I am sold..
As for the wine, I am cheap. Give me a box of Franzia with the built in tap and a huge glass and I am good. Nothing beats 5Liters for under $9.00...
Have a Good One...
LOVE Woodbridge!! Discovered it by accident but WOW.
Have you tried the Sam Adams Black lager...its a winter brew and its not bad...and I like the Columbia Crest wine.
Scarlet: thanks for the tip.. cereal lol
terri: yeah who knew about all this famous blogging stuff.
alan: I would love to see the outtakes!
that would be a hoot.
Dr Chip: Oh I haven't met a reisling I didn't like. always chilled of course. thanks for the tip.
erica: originally I just went and copied a banner and used a cheap photo program to blank it out and cut and pate my own pics or ones I found on the net. A good free program I used with much sucess is gimp2. The wine tasting is pretty simple. If you like it it's good wine. Then you can get technical with body, bouquet, aftertastes etc.. But these only matter for those who are alreaddy starting with good wines.
qofd: I'll have to see if my store carries it. I'm always willing to find a new favorite.
jeannie: those beers taste burned because they are. It takes a good craftsman to make something out of roasted malt. My nose is a curse sometimes. I'm unable to palate really strong and bitter flavors.
Chalice: I was given 5 boxes of Franzia one time. I don't remember much after that ;) Yep I'd like to see milan handle a bad pit too. That would be the ultimate test.
Bridget: It's a great buy. Somtimes I'll do a case for the 10% discount. Not that I drink that much ;)
fyrmandoug: the sam adams brews are all pretty dang good. I got the one you mentioned in a Christmas pack.
I’m going to snob in just a bit yet I agree with you.
I distinctly remember the first great wine I ever had. It stood heads and tails above all others. It was a magnum bottle of 1993 Opus Cabernet. That wine engulfed your palette.
Another was the two occasions that I have had Harlan Cabernet. It was heads above all else. Both were in the many hundreds of dollars and someone else bought them.
I have bought Caymus Cabernet, Duckhorn Merlot and Silver Oak Napa and Alexander when I wanted a treat and I had friends around that appreciated great wine.
My daily juice usually is a Cline Red Zinfindel…the cheap stuff around $9 a bottle. I am also drinking this evening a leftover bottle from last night of 2 buck chuck cab that was very good. It didn’t taste like a cab but it was good.
Most Washington State wines are great values in my opinion. It is hard to beat Napa wines but you pay for the real estate and the name. There are fantastic wines in the Russian River area too of CA.
A new Zin I have been drinking comes in a screw cap. If it ain’t a natural cork I would rather have a screw cap that that fake shit.
Nostrovia!
Although I live right across the street from a award winnning winery... I prefer a good ol' Box O' Wine! Love me just about any white zin... I ADORE the new plastic corks!!!
Pass the Manochevits please
It's amazing what people will believe based on a fancy label and exorbitant price.
I'll skip Blog Wars, because I think I'd have the same reaction.
Might have to check out the Dog Whisperer though. :)
i've tried the shiner "bock" which i really like, but a little goes a very long way.
i was enjoying a "blue moon" last night - very light and airy with a hint of mandarin or orange.
yes, this is STILL the greatest country!
It does take one several years to learn to stick with what they like and ignore all the commercial hype.
I've finally done that with beers, whiskeys, scotch, and cigars now, and it saves me a lot of time, money, and disappointment.
The header is different...showing more of your personality or maybe it is your likes and dislikes!
Interesting. Blog wars really. I have never seen that one. I dont do political very much. Two political blogs is enough to read for me in one day. LOL...
I like girl drinks. I like wine in a cooler. I like my rum mixed with other things. and I really like irish cream liquore mixed with root beer. hehehehe
I was originally a Boones Farm drunk back in the late teenage years. Never did like the good wine, and beer was just beer to me. A way to get screwed up so that chick on the sofa actually looked do-able.
Don't do much but bitch about everything now. That's what blogs are good for. The politics are a bore; so many people spewing worthless opinions with minimal results. Ours are at least funny and entertaining sometimes. And of course, an outlet for our artistic expression.
Damn, I sure would like to taste that Shiner Black Lager. I love Shiner Bock, but I've never seen it in Jersey.
Reggie: I'll have to agree. I've had a hundred dollar bottle of wine twice and it was at Emerils. They don't sell rot gut at least when the somellier has anything to say about it ;)
cheesy: box o wine gives me a box o migraine ;)
diesel: Yep Dog whisperer is the perfect forum for making fun of California moonbats ;)
nanc: blue moon took me a few times to acquire a taste for but now I like it.
mushy: yeah I'm pretty set on my favorites. My banner shows most of them :)
tweety: political blogs that just scream nastiness are very tiring to me.
burfica: the irish cream and rootbeer sounds great. I like it in coffee too.
JP: Yeah the politics are a bore unless there is some humor involved. I started out with cheap booze but learned the more I apid the less the next morning hurt :)
I'l like any constructive input on the banner. The one I made was just a starting point.
Jim: the same quality is there it's just got a new twist. Maybe we can try some at the next meetup.
I asked some blog friends awhile back about wines when I was going to a wine tasting and these were the top picks I received:
Smoking Loon Merlot - nice and smooth, not too tannic.
Red Truck Pinot Noir -
Sterling Vineyards Vintner's Collection Cabernet Sauvignon -
Fish Eye Sauvignon Blanc -
sohos: smoking loon is a personal favorite. red truck has nice flavor but body is lacking. Fish eye was good but body was lacking too.
I have been wanting to change the look of my blog because I am bored with it..but still clueless how to go about it...guess I will figure it out one of these days..lol.
I just got home from a micro brewery, and wheee, I see this post. If I'm paying over $20 for a wine, it had better wash out the glasses and put them back up afterwards when I'm done. $8-16 is my sweet spot for price. I'm lucky to be in a major city, so I have a wine warehouse with an educated staff from which I stock up every Christmas for pretty much the year, so I tell them my price and what I'm shopping for, and they nail it every time. I get a good beaujolais-villages burgundy from Costco for around $10, and burgundy is one of the pricier wines you can normally get.
p.s.: if you're buying from a local winery, always go with their driest wine - it's always sweeter than most established vineyards' mid-sweet wines.
Maybe the next generation can do screw tops or wine in a box-pouch. I'm ruined from too many bad rot-guts in that packaging. Same reason I'll never enjoy a craft brew that would come in a can, if beer cans ever make a comeback.
Re: moldy cork, no one I know realizes that when you're out and the sommelier hands you the cork after he opens the wine, you're sniffing it to see if there's mold. Plastic corks, I'm ok with.
the "bocks" are FULL of body!
i believe if they were a woman, they'd be jane russell or maureen o'hara!
good weekend, hammer.
canadian flake: Email me with any questions and I'll try to help,
mts: beaujolais-villages really good stuff! Thanks for the tips on the local wineries. We have a few good ones here. Screw top..there are a few real winners. box...instant headache.
Ok You got me. What does KOS mean?
Daily Kos is of/by/for the left anyhoo, so since they dominate all the MSM, I don't know why they bother with the blog.
That dog whisperer guy is spot-on. When I have residents who are having dog problems, I lend them a copy of his book, which I keep in my office. It's always helped. :)
janice: it's a moonbat website that basically professes hatred for all things American.
plegmy: Milan has cornered the market on common sense it seems. I should hire him to teach my dog to quit licking himself so much ;)
I poured a $100 of wine down the sink before, I think I will try the brands you recommended.
I like your new banner, who's the cute dog?
If you like Smoking Loon, you might also try Rex Goliath, the 47 lb. Rooster wines. And for a wonderful cheapie bottle of vino, Casillero Del Diablo is a sweet, sweet deal.
I've seen the Smoking Loon wines but have yet to pick one up. I like the Yellow Tail and really like the Woodbridge. Have you tried the Llano Estacado? I like it too.
I discovered a SUPER delicious Pinot Noir this weekend, can't remember the name. Got it at the HEB. It's on special this week, it's an orange label. It's $9.99, but normally $16.99. "Mark" something or another. Can't recall just now.
I read NONE of the other comments...
but wanted to suggest "Bonny Doon" wines. wide range of price points and varietals.
I think you may like them.
Love the new header. Nice work. Need to do that myself. And I like Shiner, but I'm still searching, enjoying the taste testing. Found a lit of beers that were suposed to be all that, but didn't do anything for me. Shiner Bock will do ya, any time, I've found.
And that dog Whisperer is training people, not dogs. Always cracks me up.
I got the brand! Mark West.
Good post, thanks for the wine tips.
when you find a bottle of wine that doesn't taste like someone died inside of it, please let me know.
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