Wine Questions?

Question

I have a 3 Qs about wine..

1) If you buy a bottle of cheap wine (say $15), store/age it, and take it out again (unopened) in about 10-20 years, would there be a really great difference between this wine and an expensive wine ($200) kept in the same way? Or would the costly one still remain tastier?

2) Also, what's the best Wine you've ever tasted? Was it very expensive or just priced moderately? (your answer is probably going to be expensive, but just wondering)

3) Where can you find the best deal in wine? Either at your local wine store, or at one known nation-wide (like wine being sold at Walmart of something.. I don't even know if Walmart even sells wine).

Thank you in advance! My dad's wondering.. I hate the taste of wine haha. Way too bitter (I'm 13).

Answer 1

1) Usually the difference in a "cheap" (I hate using that word with wine) and a more expensive bottle is the label. The winery/vineyard have gotten a lot of publicity and that's why some wine is highly priced. But...there are some wines that are just better and their price may reflect that (say 2-Buck Chuck compared to a nice Cab from the Napa Valley). Wine is only better with age. But wine can, in a sense go bad. If you open a bottle and there is a chunky resido on the top and on the cork, you can wipe it away and the wine is still good. And sometimes you'll open a bottle and it won't be good at all. This usually means the bottle never fully recovered from shock (aka. "dumb": when the wine is bottled and it has to sit another 7-8 months because the wine has gone into shock from going from a barrel to a bottle.)

2) Best wine ever...Brunello from Italy. In Italy it was about 20 euros, but in the States it was a $250 bottle. I'm also a big Zin fan, there are a lot of great Zins in Central California that are priced from $20-$40 a bottle.

3) Grocery stores usually have some good sales on wine, or drug stores. I usually browse when I'm there. But I like to buy wine at wine stores. You usually get someone there that knows more about the wine and can help you with your selection. Wineries can be over-priced at times, but sometimes they have buy x for $y.

Answer 2

1) Yes you can age "cheap" wine, though the reason for aging wine really doesn't have to do with the quality or price. Mostly it helps mature the flavor and balance tannins (the bitter stuff). More expensive wines often have more complex flavors which can appear if the wine is aged. It's a matter of taste. Some, if not most, wines are best consumed within about a year of purchase, or 2-5 years from the "vintage" date.

2)Best bottle. Consistanly, vintage after vintage. Schug Pinot Noir. Pretty reasonable at around $20-30. From the Carneros region of California.

3)Where to find wine deals. Make friends with a bartender at you're favorite restaurant (not TGI Friday's, think date restaurant). He/She'll be happy to taste you on lots of varieties, offer lots of "inside" info and tips, and maybe let you order from the distributor for that restaurant at a nice discount. You can usually save 30-50% off of the wine shops, grocery stores, or even Walmart. Just don't forget to Tip Generously. It will come back to you many times over.

There's a great book called Wine for Dummies. Sound's silly, but I can't say enough about it. For the cost of a bottle of wine, it does a great job introducing the finer points of enjoying vino.

Salut!

Answer 3

1. some wine stores well while others don't. it's not like an old wine tastes like liquid heaven, taste is allways a matter of personal preference. I once had a glass of a 100 year old port that was worth around 400 a bottle. to be honest it really didn't taste all that different than any other good port. bottom line is you like whatever you like. it doesn't matter what some wine snob or magazine says.

2. I rarely spend more than $25 on a bottle of wine. the price is not directly related to the quality. I live in CA central coast wine country so we have a lot of small local wineries. I don't have a single favorite wine since we drink a wide variety. also wine will vary by vintage so a 2000 cabernet can be a little different than a cabernet from 2005 even from the same vineyard.

3. I guess it depends on were you live. here in our area the local grocery stores have a large wine department or we have wine outlet stores too. some of our large local wineries that may be available nationwide are Wildhorse, Meridian, E.O.S., J.Lohr. Australian wine is also very good and cheap. try Jacobs Creek.

Answer 4

I love red wine. The best I ever had was in 2001. It was 1994 Navarro Correas Cabernet from Argentina. It was only $9 per bottle and a limited number produced as an estate vintage with numbered bottles. I bought this at my local grocery store.

You can store and age cheaper wines, but it depends upon the wine how long you should age it. Some will be better than others. Reds store longer than whites. Most whites should be consumed within 2 years. The better the wine you start out with, the better you will end with.

You could store a cabernet for maybe 4-7 years, then drink it, because it will start to turn to vinegar. It'll be better for a salad dressing. The darker and stronger the red wine, the longer you could/should store it for it to be better with age.

Always store a wine that you're aging on it's side (to keep the cork moist) in a cool place with a steady temperature. You don't want the temp to be high one day and cold the next, or vice versa. This will certainly kill the flavors and result in vinegar.

The secret to good wine?...drink what you like. Don't be afraid to experiment and if you like one, go back to the store and buy some more for storage.

Answer 5

Sweet or semi-sweet Red Muscadine is really really good. The best I've ever had was from a winery in North Carolina called WoodMill Winery. You can't buy it at a store but if you don't mind ordering I would deff suggest it, I'm the same way I really only like sweet wine. Also, try a wine spritzer! Which is just a wine with ginger ale or some type of clear soda mixed in with it, makes pretty much any wine delicious. Any type of wine will give you a good buzz if you drink enough :). I'd also suggest going to a wine tasting event, it's the best way to try lots of different wines locally, then you can pick a favorite.

Answer 6

For years I have been thoroughly enjoying my two glasses of red Carlo Rossi Burgundy a day. It's a very flavorful, dry wine that goes well with any meal, and since red wine is known to be heart healthy, my doctor absolutely approves lol. The bonus is that I don't pay an arm and a leg. At $10 fo a four liter bottle, it's an unbeatable steal for the quality. Most of those hugely expensive wines are not much more than "snob cost"
I am sure that if you bought some cheap wine and kept it for ten years it would become "smoother" as it matured, but the aging process of wine is normally done by keeping it in the big wooden vats. Anyway, I doubt too many people would want to buy a few hundred dollars worth of "cheap wine" only to let it sit there in the cellar for the next ten years LOL (would they???)

Answer 7

I only buy cheap wine - by your definition I only buy welfare wine! I hardly spend more than $15 on a bottle of wine and usually around $9. There is no rule that says you can't find good wine at good prices. And some wine is not meant to be aged. The key is the quality grapes and the way they were processed. Crappy grapes in 10 years will still be crappy.

My favorate wine is George De Boef Beaujoulais Neauvoux. It's out right now but you need to drink it ASAP. It's not supposed to be aged or kept. It's about a $12 bottle of wine.

Walmart doesn't sell wine, at least where I live in the midwest US. We have "blue laws" that do not allow stores other than liquor stores and some bars to sell booze. Can you say dumb!?

If you have an interest in wine, even at your age, you could get a book on it. There may be a career in wine-tasting for you.

Answer 8

1. Some wine gets better with age, some wine gets acidic. Hard to predict because of temperature fluctuations and storage conditions....

2. The best wine I've ever tasted was Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (2001). It was very expensive and worth every penny! You really get what you pay for in the world of wine.

3. Where I live there are lots of wine-only specialty stores. They are in close competition with each other so they always have excellent deals. I've heard some of the wine clubs online have good deals, too. Personally, I prefer to hold the bottle to see if it will "speak" to me...

Wine is definitely an acquired taste. When you are a little older you'll appreciate it more!

Answer 9

1). After 10-20 years, the flavor might have evolved, it might have diminished, but it probably would not have improved much. Not all wines improve by aging. In fact, almost all wines sold are consumed (and meant to be so) the same day that they were purchased.

2). The best wine I remember having was a Pio Cesare Barolo, but that had as much to do with the occasion and sentiment as it did with the wine itself.

3). Most likely the best wine bargains you'll get will be at auctions, when and where such things are allowed. Other than that, if you have local wine stores, those would be my preference regardless of the deal offered, as the employees there are more likely to be educated and involved with the products they sell, so you can learn more about what you're buying.

Answer 10

1) Cheap wine is cheap wine... good wine is good wine... expensive wine is expensive wine. You can find a good wine for about $25 a bottle, store it properly and it'll be wonderful in 7 years time... or take a $200 bottle of wine and store it 10 to 20 and it'll be beyond its prime and the $25 bottle will taste better. Some good cellaring candidates would be:

Trimbach Riesling, France (3 to 4 years)
Grgich Hills Chardonnay, California (5 to 7 years)
Etude Carneros Pinot Noir, California (5 to 6 years)
Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Reserva, Italy (5 to 7 years)
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Australia (6 to 8 years)
Muga Rioja Reserva, Spain (7 to 9 years)

White wines, as they age, tend to develop into a wine with softer acidity and an almost nutty, caramel taste while reds the tannins get softer and they tend to develop leathery, spicy character. It's rare that a white wine will get any better after about 5 years and a red won't improve its taste/character beyond about 8 years, although I've had very deep, nice drinkable Rioja after 12 years... but it was at the end of it's tasty drinking point.

2) - I'm with the person who said that sometimes the best wine is one that you relate to a certain event or the company with which you shared it. I will attempt to set that aside... but really two of the best were consumed with someone I consider to have been one of the great loves of my life. One was David Bruce Petite Syrah (and it was the first time I felt a wine/food match in my mouth... peppery notes in the wine alongside cracked pepper on the beef I was consuming at the same time and they played off one another beautifully!) and the other was Cakebread Chardonnay ordered in a restaurant to celebrate a special evening and he knew I'd always wanted to try it :) The David Bruce was probably about $25 a bottle and the Cakebread Chardonnay was closer to $45.

Typically, on a daily basis, I drink wines that are about $5 to $7 a bottle and for special occasions maybe $12 to $25.

3) Best deals - Trader Joe's... hands down! If you're not near a Trader Joe's then the best deals are at a discount wine store like Total Wine and More. WalMart does not sell wine.