# Is it Just Me?



## AlFulchino (Oct 7, 2008)

Tonite my wife popped open a bottle of wine given to us...it wasa white Zin from Sutter.....sitting next to it was a bottle of my barbera from 2007....i thought to myself that i would finish off what was left of the barbera and then try the zin......i had been wanting for a long time to drink some store bought wine since i had not had any in ages...and to be clear, the wine looked awesome w its rose color...so clear and just wonderful to look at that just leaving it for that purpose would have made it a keeper.....so after tasting mine , i went to the sutter.....i thought i missed something, so i put some pasta in my mouth and returned to the zin....uh-oh same thing...it was not a cross taste from going from one wine to another.....my taste buds said.....water with some alcohol in it...i asked my wife to try it...same opinion....... 


am i out of the loop concerning commercial wines?


i mean i would not pay to drink this....only to look at it in a window w the sun shining in*Edited by: Al Fulchino *


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 7, 2008)

Istarted this hobby because a friend cut me off his home wine. I can not drink store bought wine. It taste bad and gives me a head ache. The store bought either tastes like water or worse it tastes like it has not been aged. I would rather drinck straight Rum.


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## Wade E (Oct 7, 2008)

Most of the time our wines are better because they are but there are many wines out there that are much better but we just choose not to pay that much or just dont know what to buy that is good. There are a lot of cheap wines that are truly great and a lot of expensive wines that truly suck and vice versa. If you want to buy a cheap wine that is good or a expensive wine that is good check out this site! 
Gary Vaynerchuk


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## AlFulchino (Oct 7, 2008)

Wade, hahaha..i went to that site and saw a Jet's logo so i almost discounted the website immediately 


thanks for sharing it.....have you found some good wines this way?


i know you mentioned cost as a factor....but how do you even pass it off as wine.......????makes no sense...that did not taste like wine.


****


Rocky..i hear ya..i would have rathered to have opened up the homemade limoncello......by the way, i am in NH...and its almost live free still


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## Wade E (Oct 7, 2008)

Some wines like Sutter are purely




! There are some big names out there that have me astonished that they are still in business with stuff like that. I have learned that each has there own taste but IMO this guy knows his



and I stand behind him whole heatedly because out of 12 wines that I have bought on his recommendations over 1 1/2 years I must say that 9 of them were under $15 and very good. I originally started watching him due to Dean on this forum mainly because I didnt know much about red wines and my taste was changing to primarily like dry red wines and needed to know what I liked to start making some of my own without having 30 bottles of wine I didnt like. He's funny to watch unlike most snobbish winers!


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks Wade. It has always been hit and miss. Then when I find one that I like, the next year the same wine will be off flavor. 


Al , I lived in Rodchester and Dover NH for many years. I always liked the phrase :"Live free or die"Most people do not understand what it means. "I willlive free or givemylife fighting for freedom." Another phrase that I like is " A will unbroken you can not bend." (Scottsman)


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## AlFulchino (Oct 7, 2008)

thanks for the info Wade!


Rocky..we are in hollis..just west of Nashua.....you have a debate in your state this evening..it should be interesting


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 7, 2008)

That is a nice Old small town. I miss Lake Winnipesaukee, the light houes and covered bridges of New England. I do not miss plowing, shoveling, blowing, melting, salting, sanding and dredging threw the white stuff!! I did not leave because of the snow. It was the high taxes. I bought a nice 3,000sf. house with two acers of land for $134,000 in TN ( 2004) and pay $800 a year in taxes. I think that it is time for another "tea party" in New England.


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## AlFulchino (Oct 7, 2008)

I think that it is time for another "tea party" in New England.




amen


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## Wade E (Oct 7, 2008)

I 3rd that!!!!!!!


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## Waldo (Oct 8, 2008)

Rocky Top said:


> I bought a nice 3,000sf. house with two acers of land for $134,000 in TN ( 2004) and pay $800 a year in taxes. I think that it is time for another "tea party" in New England.




Dang Rocky , you must have one heck ov a big family there ....3000 sf ??
I bought me a 340 sf house here in arkansaw fer might near $8,000.00
kourse itz only me, mama and our 3 youngens whut lives in it but we still haze room enuff to move aroun pretty good. Not sure whut our taxes wuld be...never have paid em yet


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 8, 2008)

I hear you Waldo. I also know better.


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## JimCook (Oct 8, 2008)

Fritz - $800 a year in taxes - what would I do with all that extra money compared to what I'm spending now?


- Jim


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 8, 2008)

Jim, You could buy more carboys and fill them up!


Waldo, you could not fit your carboys in a 340 sf house.I think I saw a picture of your wine celler.






Just to rub it in a little more,



TN does not have state income tax. We pay fed tax and $800 a year prop tax on a $134,000 2850 sf house. We pay $24.00 for car tag. ($36.00 for duely.) ($6.00 per wheel) Sales tax is 9.25%






I was on a business trip in TX. We had people from all over the US and Cananda. We spent several hours talking about houses and taxes and heat and AC bills. The two best places to own a great big house for the least money are: The south and I think Alberta Canada ( The place in Canada thatgets freenatural gas.) The trick in the south is finding a job that pays good. My job in NH pays 25% more.Min wadge is $6.25 and about 10% of the jobs in the southpay min wadge.


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## Wade E (Oct 8, 2008)

He wishes that was his cellar and I also wish it was his cellar. Taxes are the Death of me here in CT.


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## jobe05 (Oct 8, 2008)

Taxes are going insane here in NC..........

Last year my property taxes were $802.......

This year they are $811.............

Oh the sorrow..........................


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 8, 2008)

WOW!!.....$9.00....... MAN!!!!!...... Are they nuts!!.....Where will you get the extra cash?.......... You need to call your state Rep!!!!.......NO NEW TAXES!!!!!........ Hang in there!!!!!........ We will fight this together!!!!!



*Edited by: Rocky Top *


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## swillologist (Oct 8, 2008)

I guess I look at it a little different then most people. I'm just glad I can have a place worth enough to pay taxes on.I could be living out of a car somewhere. And where I am st right now living isn't all that bad. No matter how much it costs. I like living where I do so I just pay alittle more. Mother just check out taxes for this year and it looks like they went down $50. LiFe is good!


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## Wade E (Oct 8, 2008)

$3,800 a year here for a 1,400 sq ft house and going up again as they just bumped our mill rate 2%. Good thing they dont know about the 900 sq ft that would now be considered taxable in my basement. Too bad for them they just checked out my house last year right before I started it all!!! Wont see them for about 10 years.


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## jobe05 (Oct 8, 2008)

wade said:


> $3,800 a year here for a 1,400 sq ft house



Thats what I hated about the Northern states, the cost of living is tremendous compared to the south. My wife double paid our electric bill 3 months ago ($127). Last month our bill was zero, this month our bill was zero and we still have a $7 credit. This time of year it's in the 70's during the day and 50's at night, which will last 2 to 3 months, before we get a cold spell that will last a couple of months. so heating and air isn't that bad, and not even needed the next few months.

Food: A whole chicken still cost on average of $3.50 and a ham is around $7, which will last for several meals. till this past year, most all food staples and milk was a lot cheaper here.

Taxes are pay as you use. our vehicle taxes are $50 to $100 a year depending on the age of your vehicle. Sales tax is 6.75. 

Can't wait to see what taxes are going to be on the business.............. luckily my wife does that along with the accountant.


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## Wade E (Oct 8, 2008)

Each of our vehicles taxes are around $400 an we arent driving new cars or Mercedes. Our electrical bill is approx $120 a month in the summer and about $80 the rest of the year.I dont even want to talk about oill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Edited by: wade *


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## AlFulchino (Oct 8, 2008)

we pay bewteen 175 and 300 a month on elec but that is because certain *people* forced a shut down of our nuke plant before it got up and running fully


as for oil...do what i did...i filled four oil tanks (275 gal apiece) by finding people who are switching from oil to natural gas...they need their tanks emptied....i averaged 1.95 a gallon....


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## Wade E (Oct 8, 2008)

How did you go about finding out who?


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## JimCook (Oct 8, 2008)

Rocky Top said:


> We pay fed tax and $800 a year prop tax on a $134,000 2850 sf house. Sales tax is 9.25%




Rocky Top,


By my math, I'm showing a 0.6% property tax rate based on property value. Since our sales tax is the same in northern Illinois, it's necessary to show that our property tax is about 2.5% of the price of the home. On a $134,000 house, that would be $3,350/year. 


Even with that property tax, I'm still ordering some limited edition kits, however. 


- Jim


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## AlFulchino (Oct 9, 2008)

Wade.........craigslist...i put an ad in in items wanted titled heating oil and then just said something simple like...are you changing your heating system from oil to another form such as natural gas? etc etc etc


my son does a little bio diesel stuff...se we already have the proper pump/tanks/ and hoses.....its pretty straightforward....you go to their house or business......set it all up and run that pump.....just make sure if you do it alone that you tie your hoses down so you dont get yourself an oil snake....you dont want to be wrestling that bugger...then you come home.....and you pump to your tanks........the point may be moot soon if oil keeps dropping.....i just decided to hedge my bets and pay now and get it all now


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## Rocky_Top (Oct 9, 2008)

Swill,My family got couhgt up in "The Great Yankee-Florida Land Rush" of the 1970s ( NH too cold, FL too hot) FL ends up spitting a good number of the yankees out like a volcano thowing them 1/2 way back to the north.I followed late and was very picky about where I landed. I was looking for like minded people that had it together. I never would have gussed that it would be Chattanooga TN.(Unlike the jokes about TN, I found the people modern and open minded) We are very blessed to have these choices in life. "Life is good "




The south pays less in taxes because it has very little need for gov. services. We need roads, cops and schools. The roads last forever (no plows) You only call the cops when something goes really wrong. The schools are payed for by the lottery. Everything else is pay as you go. A buiding permit pays for the inspector. (You know,... the way it was suposed to work before everyone had to get a hand in the cookie jar)




electric bill (With AC set at 70) July $200 Jan $50 
natural Gas bill(Heat, Stove, Water heater) July $40 Jan $80


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