Whats in your glass tonight?

[terri34 6]

keyseddie, Ah you post takes me back a few weeks when it was the wife's and my 35th wedding anniversary. We were given a bottle of 1961 Chateau Haut-Brion at our wedding that we saved just for that occasion. One of the great years as well as being one of the great bottles of wine. It was full bodied, rich and spicy. For our 50th, we have a 1989 Haut-Brion. That if nothing else will keep me kicking til then just to taste it.

As for this evening, on tap is a bottle of simple, yet delectable Chaucer's Honey Mead.

Wow, Wichita, that is some serious world class wine! I have never enjoyed a Premier Gran Cru! For those who don't know, 1961 was a legendary vintage for French Bordeaux, and Haut Brion is one of the top 5 wines in the highest category. Most serious oenephiles would consider the 1989 Haut Brion THE best wine in the world produced in 1989. You surely have a reason to live. :hail:

If one of my running buddies and best friends from high school hadn't had a father that owned several liquor stores, I would never have had either of the wines. She and her family introduced me to good wine. Her family still followed many old world traditions. There were 3 generations living in the same house. Meals, especially on Sunday were family affairs that easily took a couple of hours to eat, talk, drink etc. There was always a good wine on the table to go with the meal. Most often an Italian wine, since they were Italian. But on special occasions for special meals there were special bottles of wine.

I was a frequent guest as we were very close friends and at one of those special meals I was introduced to fine wine in the form of a Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1929. Didn't mean anything to me back then, it was just a really good wine. When you own a lot of liquor stores you can and do get that kind of stuff. The 1961 Haut-Brion was a wedding gift from this friend and a few years latter when I was looking for a really good wine to hold onto for a future celebration she suggested the 89. She helps run the family business now as well as being a classically trained chef with a fine place of her own. After all the time spent with her an her family over the years she likes to joke that my heritage may be Scotch-Irish but my stomach is Italian.

Our everyday tastes are not nearly so extravagant. (Good thing to because my wallet couldn't afford it) My wife loves a good Pinot Grigio and me, well I have a real fondness for Chianti and Verdicchio. Of course when we were growing up there were the ever present bottles of Madria Madria Sangria, Boone's Farm Apple wine and Strawberry Hill Strawberry wine. Those were the well aged vintages of at least a half an hour or more.
Oh the stories that go with some of those occasions.


JohnS.... I will pass on to you Mark Twains remedy for fighting the common cold. It is a simple remedy to follow. Get yourself a quart of Rye Whiskey and drink it down as quick as possible. If you wake up, you will find that your cold will be gone. :mrgreen:

Wine geek-speak!!! :cheer: Oh how I love it.

We have a bit of a cellar. The closest thing we have to a 1st growth (Premier Gran Cru) is a 1989 Chateau Montrose. It's considered a 2nd growth. We are heavier into French and Italian, several goodies in there but it's definitely an investment, both money and time...many of these babies have to go straight to the cellar and you wave at them: "See ya in about 25 years." You really do think about long-term special occasions to pull them out...makes them even more special.

 

[table1349]

Wow, Wichita, that is some serious world class wine! I have never enjoyed a Premier Gran Cru! For those who don't know, 1961 was a legendary vintage for French Bordeaux, and Haut Brion is one of the top 5 wines in the highest category. Most serious oenephiles would consider the 1989 Haut Brion THE best wine in the world produced in 1989. You surely have a reason to live. :hail:

If one of my running buddies and best friends from high school hadn't had a father that owned several liquor stores, I would never have had either of the wines. She and her family introduced me to good wine. Her family still followed many old world traditions. There were 3 generations living in the same house. Meals, especially on Sunday were family affairs that easily took a couple of hours to eat, talk, drink etc. There was always a good wine on the table to go with the meal. Most often an Italian wine, since they were Italian. But on special occasions for special meals there were special bottles of wine.

I was a frequent guest as we were very close friends and at one of those special meals I was introduced to fine wine in the form of a Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1929. Didn't mean anything to me back then, it was just a really good wine. When you own a lot of liquor stores you can and do get that kind of stuff. The 1961 Haut-Brion was a wedding gift from this friend and a few years latter when I was looking for a really good wine to hold onto for a future celebration she suggested the 89. She helps run the family business now as well as being a classically trained chef with a fine place of her own. After all the time spent with her an her family over the years she likes to joke that my heritage may be Scotch-Irish but my stomach is Italian.

Our everyday tastes are not nearly so extravagant. (Good thing to because my wallet couldn't afford it) My wife loves a good Pinot Grigio and me, well I have a real fondness for Chianti and Verdicchio. Of course when we were growing up there were the ever present bottles of Madria Madria Sangria, Boone's Farm Apple wine and Strawberry Hill Strawberry wine. Those were the well aged vintages of at least a half an hour or more.
Oh the stories that go with some of those occasions.


JohnS.... I will pass on to you Mark Twains remedy for fighting the common cold. It is a simple remedy to follow. Get yourself a quart of Rye Whiskey and drink it down as quick as possible. If you wake up, you will find that your cold will be gone. :mrgreen:

Wine geek-speak!!! :cheer: Oh how I love it.

We have a bit of a cellar. The closest thing we have to a 1st growth (Premier Gran Cru) is a 1989 Chateau Montrose. It's considered a 2nd growth. We are heavier into French and Italian, several goodies in there but it's definitely an investment, both money and time...many of these babies have to go straight to the cellar and you wave at them: "See ya in about 25 years." You really do think about long-term special occasions to pull them out...makes them even more special.

Terri, I include this link for those that may be lost in the world of Wine geek-speak. Cuvée Corner Wine Blog : Wine-Geek Speak :mrgreen:

We have a small cellar. Probably smaller than yours. A few bottles of special wines for special occasions. I have a couple of really good liquor stores in our neighborhood that have great selections of good to very good wine. A small selection of excellent to collector wines and the connections to get just about anything there is, of course for a price. The best thing is, they are willing to try new things. They were the first in the area to bring in a couple of the new and highly regarded Japanese Scotches. While it may sound odd having a Japanese distilled Scotch, what I tried was quite good.

Next spring will be 5 years that my wife will be cancer free. Since she likes Pinot Grigio I have a bottle of 2005 Domaine Stirn Cuvée to celebrate on that day. Not expensive in the wine world, ($22.00) but a highly regarded Pinot Grigio none the less.

With that said, my tastes have improved over the years, and I have been able to afford better quality alcohol, however sometimes you just have to drink some Old Crow at midnight while eating hot sausages and pickled eggs. :thumbsup:

 

[Tiller]

I'm new to the wine world. Just bought a book to reflect that

 

[shefjr]

Kraken and Coke on this fine Western New York evening.

 

[mishele]

Mojito!!!
The Real Mojito Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[shefjr]

Mojito!!! The Real Mojito Recipe - Allrecipes.com

" If you make a pitcher you might be tempted to drink the whole thing yourself, and you just might find yourself talking Spanish in no time!"
^quote from the recipe

So,
¿habla espanol?

 

[Designer]

Someone might be interested in what's in the SECOND glass this evening. The same as the first!

I bought a couple of bottles of excellent wine for wifie's retirement party and put it by in the cellar. It will have about 6 years on it by then and should be perfect. At the tasting I determined that it could improve with age, even though it was pretty good then.

My "house wine" is the $5/bottle Petite Syrah from the grocery store. :blushing:

 

[limr30 3]

My boyfriend's father imports wine from Slovenia. His wine cellar...gorgeous and stocked. I'm spoiled for wine

When I was in Portugal, it was almost as bad, because the wine there is very good, cheap, and plentiful.

 

[Warhorse]

Tonight's drink is Tanqueray and tonic.

 

[terri34 6]

My boyfriend's father imports wine from Slovenia. His wine cellar...gorgeous and stocked. I'm spoiled for wine

When I was in Portugal, it was almost as bad, because the wine there is very good, cheap, and plentiful.

Yet another reason to visit! :razz:

 

[kundalini]

......
Next spring will be 5 years that my wife will be cancer free. Since she likes Pinot Grigio I have a bottle of 2005 Domaine Stirn Cuvée to celebrate on that day. Not expensive in the wine world, ($22.00) but a highly regarded Pinot Grigio none the less.
.....

Congratz to the missus. A tipple for the next five years.

 

[KmH]

The other night I made myself a Manhattan - Whisky (Rye), sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters. Manhattan (cocktail) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I should have known better because I'm not a fan of sweet vermouth, so I was disappointed.

Tonight, I made a change in the recipe, substituted cream sherry for the sweet vermouth, and was pleasantly surprised.
I'll call it a SoHo. SoHo is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan. SoHo, Manhattan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[limr30 3]

The other night I made myself a Manhattan - Whisky (Rye), sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters. Manhattan (cocktail) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I should have known better because I'm not a fan of sweet vermouth, so I was disappointed.

Tonight, I made a change in the recipe, substituted cream sherry for the sweet vermouth, and was pleasantly surprised.
I'll call it a SoHo. SoHo is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan. SoHo, Manhattan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hmmm, sounds interesting. I do love me a Manhattan. I find sweet vermouth to be overwhelming at times as well. Manhattans can get too sweet, so it's important to balance it with a nice sharp rye if you're not a fan of sweet drinks (like me.) I've used different kinds of bitters to add a bit of complexity but never thought of switching the sweet liquor to something different. I might have to experiment...

 

[KmH]

Creme sherry is kind of sweet.

Note: I'm not including a brandied or maraschino cherry garnish.

 

[oldhippy]

Box wine Chillable Red. Beats Strawberry Hill