Sol's Wine List
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Now some folks like money
Some like to dance 'n' dine
But I'll be happy if you gimme that wine.
Jon Hendricks
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I've been drinking wine for a few years now, but I just got into paying
attention to what I was drinking. Thus I'm keeping a record of it, and
it occurred to me, as long as I was typing it in, I should go ahead and
put it on a web page. Perhaps you can make use of my modest
evaluations, or, better yet, suggest something else I'd like.
As may be apparent here, I've been concentrating on dessert wines and
things that go well with stir-fries or pizza. This is because that's
what I normally cook for myself.
Update: I went through a low wine period in early 1999, and though I'm
drinking a bottle or two a week again, I'd gotten out of the habit of
recording stuff here. Well, I'm trying to get back in the swing.
(And failing, as it turned out. Too many repeat wines to make regular
updates interesting.)
I've also reversed the order. Without changing the old entries (yet) so
some refer to entries later in the list.
- Stoneleigh Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 1999
(9/11/2003)
- Great wine for sushi.
- Francis Coppola
Diamond Series
Red Label Zinfandel 1997 (5/21/2000)
- Nice, strong, fruity Zin. Pleasant to drink by itself, went
well with a spinach and bacon pizza. (My standard test for
these things, I guess!)
- Ridge 1997 California Coast Range (12/18/1999)
- Half-Zinfandel mix had power and zing, and a taste reminiscent
but not identical to a Zin. Went well with a spinach and bacon
pizza.
- Ridge 1997 California Lytton Springs
- Zinfandel was powerful and smooth, went very well with my
Italian sausage pizza.
- Hogue Late Harvest Riesling 1998 (9/1/1999)
- Went pretty well with my stir-fried chicken and peanuts in
hoisin sauce. (And everything else I've tried it with since.
This is a keeper.)
- Gallo Sonoma Stefani Vineyard Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 1996
(8/18/1999)
- I wasn't that enthusiastic sipping it, but it went surprisingly
well with a ham and pineapple pizza. Note that this is not the
Gallo of Sonoma Zinfandel (which I tried over the summer, but
didn't record here.)
- Chateau Crand Traverse Semidry Johannisberg Riesling 1997 (8/98)
- Nice white. I've had it with fish, stir-fries, and sushi, and
it works with everything.
- Taurino Riserva 1994 Salice Salentino (9/98)
- Red which was awesome with spicy cashew chicken.
- Zabaco Zinfandel Sonoma County 1994 (11/17/98)
- Nice, very affordable Zin. Worked well with a fairly spicy pizza.
- Cline 1996 Zindandel California (10/21/98)
- Nice and somewhat more affordable Zin. Went well with a good
ham, portabello, and feta cheese pizza. Will definitely be buying
more of these.
- Ficklin Vineyards California Port (10/11/98)
- I liked this better than the Ramos Pinto, but I was the only one.
- Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel Conta Costa County 1996 (10/11/98)
- Wonderfully strong Zin. A bit overpowering for the liver, but
I had a couple of glasses anyway. (11/21/98) Tried it with
pizza, and it was heavenly.
- Domaine d'Andezon 1996 Cotes du Rhone (10/11/98)
- Good red, also with the liver.
- Veca Sindoa 1997 Tempranillo - Merlot (10/11/98)
- Really nice, light Spanish red. Went well with vension liver.
- Ramos Pinto Porto Traditional Late Bottled Vintage 1992 (10/10/98)
- Delicious port. Good with almonds.
- Rosemount Estate Traminer/Riesling 1997 (10/10/98)
- Nice and fruity. Had after dinner, but I think it might work
with a stir fry. (11/98) Tried it with a stir-fry and with
sushi. Both worked.
- Fess Parkey Satana Barbara County Merlot 1996 (10/10/98)
- Dark tasting Merlot.
- Rodney Strong 1996 Russian River Valley Rinot Noir (10/10/98)
- Nice with a beef tenderlion.
- M. Chapoutier 1996 Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise (10/9/98)
- Very nice dessert wine.
- Makor 1997 Pinot Blanc Santa Barbara County (10/9/98)
- Funky. Drinkable, but not nearly as good as the Pine Ridge or
Cooper Mountain directly above.
- Pine Ridge 1997 Chenin Blanc/Viognier (10/9/98)
- Okay.
- Cooper Mountain
1997 Oregon Pinot Gris (10/9/98)
- Good, slightly sweet.
- Bonny Doon Cardinal Zin 1996
- Good red Zin, with cute name and awesome label. Not as good as
a Ravenswood or Peachy Canyon, but certainly an acceptable
substitute.
- Hogue
1997 Johannisberg Riesling
- Simple and nice, went reasonably well with spicy pork and
noodles.
- Rosenblum Cellars 1995 California Zinfandel Late Harvest
- An interesting, very rich, desert wine. Will probably try again.
- Topolos Russian River Vineyards California Moscato Rosa Black
Muscat 1996
- Ugh. Had a glass, used the rest as cooking wine.
- Hunold Gewurztraminer 1996
- The nicest Alsatian Gewurz I've tried. Still didn't like it as
well as the Fitz Ritter.
- Peter
Lehmann Barossa Botrytis Semillon Sauternes 1996
- A dessert wine perhaps on par with the Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de
Glaciere, but with more of a Sauternes flavor.
- Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 1996
- Nice dessert wine, tasty. Not as striking and wonderful as the
Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glaciere, but perhaps a little more
subtle.
- Peachy Canyon
California Zinfandel Incredible Red Bin 105
- Nice Zin, not quite as good as the Ravenswood Vinter's Blend,
but still worthy. Went very well with the above pizza.
- Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva 1994
- I wouldn't drink this by itself, but it went fine with one of my
better bacon, spinach and tomato pizzas.
- Ravenswood Vinter's Blend Zinfandel California 1996
- Awesome! Maybe not quite as powerful as their fancier Zins, but
it still has lots of flavor, and it's ready to drink now.
Now my official pizza/pasta wine.
- Rabbit Ridge 1996 Russian River Valley "Sweet Susie" Late Harvest Gewurztraminer
- Lots of flavor, hit with the family.
- Ravenswood Vinter's Blend Merlot California 1996
- Good. My Uncle Tom, the family Merlot drinker, gave this a
thumbs up, and the rest of the family liked it as well.
- Boschendal Chardonnary 1995
- Too long since I drank it to say much beyond "good".
- Flora Springs Chardonnary 1996
- Too long since I drank it to say much beyond "good".
- Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1986
- Excellent. More refined than my normal tastes, but I love it
anyway.
- Essensia California Orange Muscat 1996
- The first time I had this it was great. The second was a little
lackluster. The third was great again. Not sure if I got a bad
bottle or it just depends on what you have before.
- Chateau St. Jean Chardonnary Sonoma County 1996
- Too long since I drank it to say much beyond "good".
- Makor 1996 Pinot Blanc St. Barbara
- Too long since I drank it to say much beyond "good". Actually,
Greg says it was "funky", and see my comments on the 1997 below.
- Ravenswood Zinfandel Lodi 1996
- Very similar to the Sonoma 1995. Lots of flavor, but a little
on the dense side for my taste. I wonder if I'm drinking these
too early?
- Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel 1995
- Not as much punch as the Ravenswoods, but excellent with pizza.
I will be getting more of this.
- Chateau Souverain Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 1995
- Again, I was very neutral to this wine, and my mom like it.
- Villa Mt Eden California Pinot Noir 1996
- Not bad, but a bit bland for my tastes. My mom liked it.
- Hardy's Whiskers Blake Tawny Port
- My second taste at Port was also weird but enjoyable.
- Ravenswood Zinfandel Sonoma 1995
- Very similar to the above, but I didn't like it quite as well.
- Ravenswood Zinfandel Alexander Valley 1995
- Tasty, went well with tomato sauce meals.
- Fitz Ritter Durkheimer Nonnengarten Gewurztraminer Spatlese 1996
- The reason I was trying all the other Gewurzes was because I
couldn't find another bottle of the Fitz Ritter. Finally I found
this new Fitz Ritter, which all over the place now. I haven't
tried it with the chicken and cashews again, but it has been
good with the stir-fries I've tried. Excellent with my fairly
sweet sushi.
- Firestone Gewurztraminer Santa Ynez Valley 1996
- Again, great smell, disappointing wine, though this one was at
least reasonably drinkable.
- Trimbach Gewurztraminer 1992
- The smell when I uncorked it was glorious, but the actual wine
was a huge disappointment. The one stinker of all the wines I
tasted, I thought I could still taste it's nasty flavor 24 hours
later. (I wonder if I did something seriously wrong serving
it?)
- Fitz Ritter Durkheimer Nonnengarten Gewurztraminer Spatlese 1995er
- A fairly sweet Gewurz that was really, really good with my
homemade spicy chicken and cashew stir-fry.
- Kendall Jackson Pinot Noir 1995
- My notes say yummy and smooth. I've had this with beef stew and
beef tenderloin, and both times it was really delicious.
- Borgogno Barbera d'Alba 1995
- Slightly less harsh than the d'Asti. Also good with pizza.
- Neirano (? handwriting hard to read) Barbera d'Asti 1993
- Slightly harsh, but good with pizza
- Fonesa Ruby Port
- My first crack at port. The taste struck me as weird, but I
quite enjoyed it.
- Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glaciere 1995
- Very tasty dessert wine.
Links:
Wine Spectator
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Have comments, questions, suggestions, proposals, flames, bottles?
Send e-mail to Sol Foster: colomon@ralf.org.