Eric's case (New York Times); Dan's case; your case

WINE TALK
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2013 Shooting Star (Steele Winery) Pinot Noir

Somebody else try this. I thought this was very good PN for $13.

My case:

  1. Finger Lakes Riesling
  2. Cotes-du-Rhone
  3. Spanish Grenache
  4. Barbera (Piedmont)
  5. Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc (or blends)
  6. Rose’
  7. Languedoc reds (Corbieres, St. Chinian, etc)
  8. Cru Beaujolais
  9. Chablis
  10. Greek wines; red, white, & rose
  11. Rioja
  12. Chianti Classico
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Thanks to all! I’m glad so many participated, and all in the spirit of the exercise.

For those who don’t know, I’m ITB. This was both idle intellectual curiosity and a market study.

A few comments:

I’m so glad to see Lanessan mentioned so often, I’ve been beating the drum about this QPR since the 1890s.
But somebody called it ‘ready to drink’ young, which IMO is simply wrong.
An amazing amount of congruence for a world in which at least 1 million different wines are bottled every year.
to Robert Dentice: You mentioned ‘versatility’. Mr. Germanophile does not have a big, hearty, gutsy, full-throttle red in there because Germany don’t make 'em. You have one red. That’s not the way the world drinks. With all due respect (and I’m going to have to find that Elbling Sekt!), this list is not a serious contender for the vast majority of the world’s wine lovers.
I do not apologize for not having included a Zin in my bin. I had six reds:
Cotes du Rhone, Cab, 2 Pinots - 1 Burg, 1 New World, Malbec, Rioja
You could substitute a Zin for almost any of them, especially the Cotes du Rhone, but you’d pay more for a good one.
I could also easily substitute a good Nebbiolo for one of the two Pinots on my list. Or a Xynomavro! But both are hard to find if you’re looking for both QPR and consistency.

Dan Kravitz

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Holy Sheeyat! Are you a vampire or some form of immortal Dan? [shock.gif]

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I’m hit and miss with Asimov but I liked this one. Probably because we actually look at wine as a pantry stable in our house. 90% of my wine consumption is at home during dinner with my wife so about 70% of my wine purchases are just restocking a variety of wines that pair well with the things we look to cook. We both like diversity so it’s hard to limit to a case, but I gave it a shot below.

My case:

  1. Champagne – Got to have a champ and something like Cédric Bouchard Champagne Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs usually fits the bill for us
  2. Rose - Domaine du Gros 'Noré Bandol is a house favorite
  3. Vermentino – Hard to pick one variety as we drink a ton of clean and crisp Italian whites at home to go with lighter dinners, salads, etc.
  4. Chardonnay – We drink a fair share of Chard from CA, OR and Burgundy so those options are always around.
  5. Riesling – So versatile with food. Prefer a dryer style from Germany or Austria.
  6. Gruner – Again so versatile with the food we like to cook. Brundlmayer and Knoll get a lot of love in our house.
  7. Beaujolais – Love the food pairing options. Foilard Morgon Cote du Py and Lapierre Morgon are house favorites.
  8. Pinot Noir – Probably the red variety we drink the most from restrained styles in CA and OR to Burgs.
  9. Etna/Vittoria/Sicily – We make pizza once a week and Sicily is our go to for tomato based pizza. Lots of Occhipinti, Calabretta, Tenuta delle Terre Nere in our house. Lovely Planeta Frappato with lunch this past weekend.
  10. Nebbiolo – We find ourselves reaching for Nebbiolo with a lot of our Italian meals, especially in the winter when we tend to cook hearty pastas, braises, etc.
  11. Northern Rhone – For lamb and beef on the grill we tend to reach for Syrah and Rioja the most. Gonon is easy to love and Jamet is to the top dog for us.
  12. Rioja – See above for the grill but we also do a fair amount of paella or cheater paella as we call it which is basically different variations on one pot rice dishes with things like chicken, sausage, saffron, veggies, etc. LdH reserva’s are always stocked.
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Late to the game, but here are categories for my case. There aren’t as many specifics as some have listed, mostly due to limited knowledge, but I added some notes. Keeping mostly at or under $20, and taking into account my wife’s tastes as well.

Syrah - Chave’s Mon Coeur, or maybe Qupé or similar if going US
Grenache/blend - Spanish (i.e. Nekeas El Chaparral) or any of a number of $10-15 CdR
Rioja/Ribera - crianza or basic reserva
Nebbiolo - Vallana Spanna or Langhe from just about any good maker
Sangiovese - CC/CCR from Monsanto/Felsina/etc. (alternate: Etna Rosso - Terre Nere or similar)
Chinon - Baudry (alternate: cab-based QPR Bordeaux)
Pinot Noir - Au Bon Climat, maybe SLB/Marsannay or Oregon…QPR is harder here & I’m tempted to replace this with a good rose

Riesling - off-dry Kabinett or Spatlese
Loire Chenin - off-dry
Chardonnay - medium-heft chablis or lighter CA style
A crisp dry white - Muscadet, dry Austrian/Alsace riesling, dry chenin, etc. Not that picky with this one, at least today.

White dessert wine - Tokaji or mid-level Sauternes

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A Greek red like Boutari Naoussa, or a moderate Rioja Riservas, can stand in for an expensive French Cab/Mer blend from a prestigious AOC…

Wouldn’t really call them stand ins as they’re so different but you’re completely right in that they would offer far better value for the money in most cases. In fact, I’m surprised there are so few Spanish and Greek wines mentioned on these lists - lots of values in both places.

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Rioja made the cut for me, Greek didn’t (although Naoussa can stand in for Pinot or Nebbiolo; Aghioritiko for Cab or Merlot), Zinfandel didn’t, Tuscany didn’t and a lot of other things didn’t.

It was implied but not stated that I was looking for a case at an average of $20 or under. Eric’s case came in a little over that. The reason that Rioja stands out is the plethora of reasonably priced bottlings (Crianzas and Riservas) with appropriate oak, some bottle age and the secondary flavors and refined tannins they carry. I know of no other region anywhere that offers these characteristics at these prices. With careful shopping, you can find a decent Crianza for not much over $10. There are literally dozens of really good Crianzas and Riservas for $15 - 20. I’ve posted in the past about how modern tastes seem to be swinging away from secondary flavors. My palate still treasures them.

Dan Kravitz

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My First post. Just startied my own very small cellar, in the last 2 months.
2015 Daou Pessimist Blend
2015 Le Paradis Chinon
2014 Ridge Three Valleys
2014 J Moreau Chablis
2013 Double Lariat
2014 Taken Complicated Pinot Noir
2014 Le Lolo de A’anhel Corbieres
2013 Gundlach Bundschu Napa Mountain Cuvée
2013 Black Stallion Napa Cabernet
2014 Hahn SLV Pinot Noir

Came out to about 180, before tax.

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Good case Bobby! This case would make me happy, though some things I’d want that aren’t included are Oregon PN (Cameron), Champagne (budget buster but need it), a Rose (preferably a Bandol), an Italian red (Occhipinti, Produttori or Monsanto CCR), and Chablis. I’d drop the Ridge and the regional duplicates to get those additions.