Wine Making?

[ekeen]

I am looking into making wine because I am tired of paying 10-30$ for a decent bottle. I visited the Clintonville wine store and talked to Nina and she showed me the starter kit and wine juice varietals that she sold. Has anyone out there made wine? For 2-3$ a bottle I figure why not try?

PS. For the best wine selection in town (no not the Andersons) try Carnados wine store in Upper Arlington, Lane Avenue Mall, just past Swan Cleaners.

 

[Hubbard]

Good idea, but this is gonna take you some trial and error before you find the combination of sugar/time/grape and such before you find one you really like. There is a reason those bottles are expensive

 

[DaytonBuck]

Trader Joes in Dublin has some very good wine for 3 dollars a bottle. I guess Dateline or one of those shows had a special about the brand, and people from West Virginia and PA are driving to Trader Joes to buy cases of it.

 

[ekeen]

I think you're talking about "Charles Shaw" also known as "2 buck chuck". I have tried this wine and find it to be very good for 4$ a bottle. I would like to make my own for the satisfaction and convenience. I have been to several vinyards and think I could pull this off myself. I'll let everyone know the results. Wish me luck!

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

Get in touch with DEBuck. I think he is a wine snob, just kidding DE. He recommended some for me awhile back. I honestly cannot tell the difference between a $8 and $80 bottle. Drink what you like. I just won a bottle of some Washington state valley wine. I shared it with the table and it went over very well.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

Sorry ekeen, I don't know very much about wines ... even less (actually none) about making them. This guy could probably help though ...

Good luck!

 

[osugrad21]

Ahhhh nothing like some "Dago Red"

 

[DEBuckeye]

There a lot of really good wines that you can get for between $8-15/bottle, especially if you've got a Costco, BJ's or Sam's nearby that sells it.
A few:
Ravenswood Vintner's Blend Zinfandel
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon
Columbia Crest Merlot
Coppola Rosso
Clos Du Bois Chardonnay
Fat Bastard Chardonnay (I had to try it, just for the name....)
Trumpeter Merlot, Cabernet Franc

The important thing, as Bucknola said, is to drink what you like, regardless of what anybody says about it. But remember, friends don't let friends drink wine from a box...

Wine snob? Maybe, probably more like wine geek, though....

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

DE

Just funning with you. I knew you would come through with some good picks.

 

[DaytonBuck]

Wine from a box is great, except for the drunken aftermath

 

[gbearbuck]

Be careful as to where you store it... my partents have some friends that make their own... it tastes good, however every now and then the pressure builds up and the cork blows out, leaving you a big mess...

 

[ekeen]

gbear,

I looked in that phenomenon when the cork blows out. I think this is caused when people cork the wine early...while it is still fermenting.

DEBuckeye:
Ravenswood Vintner's Blend Zinfandel - I have had this, good buy.
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon - Not this....
Columbia Crest Merlot - All Columbis Crest wines are a steal if you ask me.
Coppola Rosso - Yes, had this once.
Clos Du Bois Chardonnay - Yes, not too long ago.
Fat Bastard Chardonnay (I had to try it, just for the name....) Never had this one.
Trumpeter Merlot, Cabernet Franc - Never had this one either.

There are a couple I could recommend too. Not sure if Andersons carries these, I usually go to Carnado's in the Lane Avenue Mall (next to Swan Cleaners)

Concannon - Petite Syrah - A steal at $10 a bottle. Let it breathe for about 15 mins, it's a very young wine.

Giesen, Sauvignon Blanc. 12-13 a bottle. Not bad, fruity, balanced, crisp with nice acidity.

Drouphin Rully - 15$. The best chardonnay I have tasted for under 20 a bottle. Very crisp and balanced and not oaky or buttery like a califonia chard.

I have a couple more I tried just this weekend, including our annual "deck pounder" nomination. I'll reply once I get the names, varietals, etc. I just had this stuff this weekend.......good.

 

[DEBuckeye]

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon - Not this....

ekeen- you didn't like the Los Vascos? I think that, for the price, this is a great Cabernet. Although, I think that the more recent vintages (2000, 2001) are not as good as some of the older ones. I think they just need a little time to age- If you've got the patience, let a bottle sit for a couple of years; it will get much better. They also have a Reserve Cabernet- have you tried that? It costs about $13/bottle, and if you didn't know any better you'd think you were drinking a $30 bottle of wine.

Los Vascos is actually a joint venture of sorts with Rothschild of France. There are several of those in South America now, where larger established winemakers are buying into vineyards in Chile and Argentina and producing pretty good wine at great prices.

By the way, if you like the Ravenswood, they're releasing a Vintner's Blend Shiraz. The winemaker actually contracted a grower in Austrailia to get the grapes and he went down under to make the wine. I tried it at a tasting about a month ago- pretty good stuff.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CHEERS... :cheers:

 

[BrutuStrength]

...Los Vascos is actually a joint venture of sorts with Rothschild of France. There are several of those in South America now, where larger established winemakers are buying into vineyards in Chile and Argentina and producing pretty good wine at great prices...

My wife and I used to buy this stuff by the case (you know, just for the discount) about 5 years ago. Then we started getting bad bottles, where the corks were ruined and the wine was bad. We eventually stopped buying it because we were getting so many bad bottles. Have their recent products been consistent, quality wise?