Wine List

2002-1-13 02:51:00

First I introduce movies and now you come up with the idea of favorite wines, Blayne. This could add a new dimension to this list.

I am probably a good one to give you advice on wine since I have a similar background to yours. Outside of sneaking a few drinks when I was a kid, I drank virtually nothing with alcohol in until I was around 33.

For a number of years after taking a drink now and again I found that I preferred sweet wines, but gradually drifted over to dryer red wines. I think this is a pattern many follow. I notice many young drinkers like sweeter wines and older ones like the dryer ones.

I also noticed that during my sweet wine period that the quality of wine didn't mean that much to me. A cheap one in a box tasted better to me than expensive vintage wines.

This gradually changed as I began to appreciate dryer wines. I think a person has to develop a taste for Cabernets, Merlots, Chardonnays, Shiraz (in other words, the dryer wines) before he can really appreciate the quality in wines.

Unfortunately I am not rich so I have to limit my discerning palate to the more reasonably priced wines. Unless it is an important occasion I refuse to spend more than $10.00 a bottle and rarely spend more than $8.00. Thus my recommendations will be a practical guide for the average working person.

First my favorite wine growing countries are Australia and Chile.

Glenys was outraged a while back when I was extolling Australian wines and sent me several New Zealand Reds. I must admit they were indeed as good or better than those I have been buying from Australia, but I could not find them here - so forgive me Glenys for overlooking the excellent New Zealand vintage.

I think that the wines of Australia and Chile appeal to me because the grapes there are grown in earth that has not been stripped of trace minerals. In the United States over 90% of our trace minerals are depleted from our soil, but in Australia the figure is around 50%, one of the lowest in the world. I do not know what the figure is in Chile, but I can tell from the taste of the wine that the trace mineral amount is much better than the United States.

I figure that if I drink red wine from mineral rich countries that the wine will have an additional health benefit beyond the antioxidant and heart benefits from moderate drinking.

Here are my recommendations: Australian Wines My favorite that I can afford is a Shiraz by Lennard's Crossing. This sells for $7.99 a bottle at the Boise Co-op. Close to it that you can by in most grocery stores is the Rosemount wines. These sell for $6.99 on up and all of them are good. Next are the Lindeman wines. Some Alberstons have these in a 1500 ml bottle for 10.99, a big savings over the small bottles.

Two other Australian wines that are reasonable in price (less than $6.00 a bottle) but have nice flavor are Banrock Station and Alice White.

The most expensive Australian wine I buy is Black Opal. It sells for around $10.99 a bottle, but it is really a great wine for special occasions.

Two reasonably tasting wines yet rich in flavor from Chile are: Santa Rita and Walnut Crest. These sell for around $6.00 a bottle. There are several others I like that cost more but I can't remember their names.

I buy mostly red wine from the above wine labels. I enjoy a dry white wine now and then, but I like the sweeter wines better when drinking white ones.

As stated in the book we both like the Gewurztraminer wines - good labels for this type is Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle. You can't go wrong with any wine these companies make.

I also like the local Riesling wines made by San Chappell.

For a very interesting sweet wine get a special harvest from the last grapes of the season. These sell for over $10 a bottle but are very good.

I don't drink much beer but do like some of the micro breweries, especially on the darker side. My favorite commercial beer is the dark Spaten Optimator from Germany and a close second is Guinness followed by Watney's from Great Britain.

I'd better not go much further here if I want to maintain my status as a spiritual teacher (hic).

On the light side a few days ago my wife said something like this to me as I was writing a post.

"I'll bet the group would be surprised if they could see the atmosphere that you write in. Usually with the TV blasting away with some show of a completely non-spiritual nature and sometimes nurturing a glass of wine on the side."

Yes, my dear. We need to balance heaven and earth.