What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Framboise 2024

Appearance - clear deep red rose

Smell - really good raspberry nose from raspberries plus Chambord liqueur

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour -this was fermented with 71B yeast to drop malic acid to reduce the need for back sweetening. I use corn sugar (dextrose) for back sweetening because it gives me an aftertaste that I like. This is SG 1.009, the lowest I've ever had on raspberry wine. This wine is slightly tangy with a really good nose and a really lingering finish. I can taste it in my mouth after 5 minutes.

I used most of this in wild cherry ports such as Black Iris Port and Black Iris Framboise Port both of which are excellent IMHO. This a retaste of Framboise because I needed to open up a bottle to top up the 2 fruit ports in my cooler.

Appearance - clear deep red rose

Smell - really good raspberry nose from raspberries plus Chambord liqueur. Chambord rules!

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really good raspberry wine. Rich and tasty with a killer aftertaste. I rate it as excellent IMHO. The Chambord lqiueur transforms it into something sensational. This wine smokes! Not because I made it.....It just is. If you made it I would rate it the same way. Enough said. I only use late season raspberries to make raspberry wine. I use early-mid season raspberries to make juice. I have an excellent raspberry patch which I have learned to pamper for 36 years with complete slow release fertilizers including - ground fish meal, kelp meal, sulpo-mag, rock phosphate and trace element mix. Sulpomag is potassium magnesium sulphate.

 

[David Violante]

 

[Christopher Anderson]

 

[jswordy]

Kirkland Signature Bordeaux. $6.99 is about right.

 

[tullamore]

a great Italian beer

 

[jswordy]

a great Italian beer


View attachment 119127

Oh, THAT looks interesting!

 

[winemaker81]

Kirkland Signature Bordeaux. $6.99 is about right.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I've found the Kirkland branded wines to be hit-n-miss. The Rose Prosecco is a very good value at $8 USD, but others have been meh.

 

[Rocky]

I went back to a Scotch that I enjoyed while I was in the Army, Haig & Haig Pinch. Sipped a glass or two and found that I still like it. As I get older, the Ryes I drink are knocking me on my keister, except for Angel's Envy, which is on the costly side here.

Hell, if it was good enough for Churchill, it is good enough for me.

 

[jswordy]

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I've found the Kirkland branded wines to be hit-n-miss. The Rose Prosecco is a very good value at $8 USD, but others have been meh.

Oh, maybe you want a slightly fuller explanation. This is a wet wine that is flabby. "Tight" does not apply here at all. While it has some bite, it lacks the complex tannic understructure necessary for a good Bordeaux, IMO. It is dense in color. There is a thin nose, and the oaked flavor lingers momentarily and the fruit dies quickly on the tongue. Remnants of oak bitterness are what linger. The wine performs better than similarly priced Trader Joe's Bordeaux. It is fairly priced. I am sure there are people who find WOW wines with Kirkland labels and I am not giving up, but as a Bordeaux guy, this ain't one. However, it IS fairly priced at $6.99. You DO get what you pay for here. Year is 2022, Bordeaux Superieur.

UNDER EDIT: All I drink are reds, so while I saw Rose Prosecco it was not of interest.

 

[jswordy]

I went back to a Scotch that I enjoyed while I was in the Army, Haig & Haig Pinch. Sipped a glass or two and found that I still like it. As I get older, the Ryes I drink are knocking me on my keister, except for Angel's Envy, which is on the costly side here.

Hell, if it was good enough for Churchill, it is good enough for me.

Angel's Envy is a good sip.

 

[cmason1957]

Oh, maybe you want a slightly fuller explanation. This is a wet wine that is flabby. "Tight" does not apply here at all. While it has some bite, it lacks the complex tannic understructure necessary for a good Bordeaux, IMO. It is dense in color. There is a thin nose, and the oaked flavor lingers momentarily and the fruit dies quickly on the tongue. Remnants of oak bitterness are what linger. The wine performs better than similarly priced Trader Joe's Bordeaux. It is fairly priced. I am sure there are people who find WOW wines with Kirkland labels and I am not giving up, but as a Bordeaux guy, this ain't one. However, it IS fairly priced at $6.99. You DO get what you pay for here. Year is 2022, Bordeaux Superieur.

UNDER EDIT: All I drink are reds, so while I saw Rose Prosecco it was not of interest.

Oddly enough, I happened to be sampling that same wine. My impression of it was very similar. I have had better from Costco at about that same price. I am a sucker for any priced under $10. I always buy one or two of the reds. The Malbec his above it's weight class. Others have been good, particularly given the price point. I marvel at how you produce enough for Costco, so them to the US, distribut them and make somewhat of a profit at under $10.

 

[Darkroom]

2008 Blackberry Port fortified to 18% with Everclear. Clear, smooth finish 3rd or 4th sip you started noticing the warmth of alcohol.

 

[winemaker81]

Oh, maybe you want a slightly fuller explanation. This is a wet wine that is flabby. "Tight" does not apply here at all. While it has some bite, it lacks the complex tannic understructure necessary for a good Bordeaux, IMO. It is dense in color. There is a thin nose, and the oaked flavor lingers momentarily and the fruit dies quickly on the tongue. Remnants of oak bitterness are what linger. The wine performs better than similarly priced Trader Joe's Bordeaux. It is fairly priced. I am sure there are people who find WOW wines with Kirkland labels and I am not giving up, but as a Bordeaux guy, this ain't one. However, it IS fairly priced at $6.99. You DO get what you pay for here. Year is 2022, Bordeaux Superieur.

UNDER EDIT: All I drink are reds, so while I saw Rose Prosecco it was not of interest.

Thanks for the details. I agree, it's priced correctly for what it is.

On Vivino.com it has 7,000+ reviews, with a consumer rating of 3.5/5.0. This puts it at the bottom of what I'd buy.

I had someone call me a wine snob ... during a conversation in which he turned his nose up as a $20 bottle of Scotch (this was long enough ago that $20 Scotch wasn't horrible). Everyone has their own likes, and in hindsight I find it humorous that this guy didn't see the irony of his statement.

I drink mostly reds, and tend towards heartier whites when I do a white. My wife purchased the Rose Prosecco as an impulse purchase, and it's actually pretty good, as good as some that cost 50% more ($12 USD vs $8). For that reason I recommend it to anyone looking for a decent Prosecco. She likes it, so that was reason enough to purchase another bottle. In the near future she'll want a wine, and I have that one plus another Prosecco for her.

 

[jswordy]

Thanks for the details. I agree, it's priced correctly for what it is.

On Vivino.com it has 7,000+ reviews, with a consumer rating of 3.5/5.0. This puts it at the bottom of what I'd buy.

I had someone tell me a wine snob ... during a conversation in which he turned his nose up as a $20 bottle of Scotch (this was long enough ago that $20 Scotch wasn't horrible). Everyone has their own likes, and in hindsight I find it humorous that this guy didn't see the irony of his statement.

I drink mostly reds, and tend towards heartier whites when I do a white. My wife purchased the Rose Prosecco as an impulse purchase, and it's actually pretty good, as good as some that cost 50% more ($12 USD vs $8). For that reason I recommend it to anyone looking for a decent Prosecco. She likes it, so that was reason enough to purchase another bottle. In the near future she'll want a wine, and I have that one plus another Prosecco for her.

I drink a wide variety of red wines and have broad tastes, including some wines that many people here would never touch, heaven forbid, so I don't consider myself a wine snob. I don't like flabby wines. Vivino is a very generous rating for most wines, IMO. I do enjoy the search for the holy grail of a wine that hits a home run at a lower price. But you gotta kiss a lot of frogs! Usually, the wines that hit higher are priced a bit above $6.99. An example is Excelsior, a South African 100% cab that runs $8.49 to $9.99 or so. It seems like a $12-$15 bottle to me, so that was a win. I'll probably play with Kirkland as they come available, for fun. They had no shiraz (syrah) at either Costco I checked. That would be one I'd like to try in Kirkland.

 

[jswordy]

Oddly enough, I happened to be sampling that same wine. My impression of it was very similar. I have had better from Costco at about that same price. I am a sucker for any priced under $10. I always buy one or two of the reds. The Malbec his above it's weight class. Others have been good, particularly given the price point. I marvel at how you produce enough for Costco, so them to the US, distribut them and make somewhat of a profit at under $10.

Great to compare notes. I'm sure they are buying bulk, probably concrete tank aged wines. The bottle was worth what I paid and that's about it. At least I didn't buy a case of it like I did with the Trader Joe wine, lol. I'll try some other reds as they are locally available.

 

[winemaker81]

I drink a wide variety of red wines and have broad tastes, including some wines that many people here would never touch, heaven forbid, so I don't consider myself a wine snob. I don't like flabby wines. Vivino is a very generous rating for most wines, IMO. I do enjoy the search for the holy grail of a wine that hits a home run at a lower price. But you gotta kiss a lot of frogs! Usually, the wines that hit higher are priced a bit above $6.99. An example is Excelsior, a South African 100% cab that runs $8.49 to $9.99 or so. It seems like a $12-$15 bottle to me, so that was a win. I'll probably play with Kirkland as they come available, for fun. They had no shiraz (syrah) at either Costco I checked. That would be one I'd like to try in Kirkland.

Same here regarding wide ranging tastes.

Vivino ratings need to be examined. Anything with less than 100 ratings is suspect, and it's necessary to watch that the rating for a wine is for a specific year rather than for a range of years. I learned that lesson the hard way, kissing a very ugly frog.

I look at the rating, the number of ratings, and the price. It takes effort on my part. Oh, well. Still, it's better than trial by fire, e.g., buy a bottle and hope it's good.

 

[Hazelemere]

my son in law and daughter's wine in a glass (his blend in a cooler carboy)

Sheridan Chardonnay (2023) 38% fermented with V13 and 38% fermented with D47, Fresco Chilean Viognier juice (2024) 15% and Fresco Australian Orange Muscat juice (2024) 9%. Medium toast American oak cubes in the Chardonnay.

Appearance - clear deep lemon yellow

Smell - good fragrant nose. The Viognier and Orange Muscat improve it.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - This is rich, tasty and balanced with a good aftertaste. We'll use these 2 yeasts again. I rate it as very good. It may improve over time.

 

[Hazelemere]

my son in law and daughter's wine in a glass, Sheridan Chardonnay (100%) fermented with 71B and spiked with citric acid and treated with medium toast American oak cubes.

Appearance - clear deep lemon yellow

Smell - good nose. The citric acid seems to improve it.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - This is rich, tasty and balanced with a good aftertaste. 71B made it flat but citric acid fixes the acidity and appears to improve the smell. Right now it is fine as is. Not as good as the last blend yet although that can change with additional Viognier and/or Orange Muscat.

 

[winemaker81]

After work today I compared my 2023 Vidal and @VinesnBines 2022 Vidal.



It was a totally unequal comparison.

Why? Her wine is 2022, and it's aging VERY nicely. The strong acidic taste that I had in my 2023 Vidal (from her vineyard) is not present. Hers is very smooth.

OTOH, my 2023 was fermented on the skins, which is the reason for the color. Fermentation on the skins produces an orange color, due to the skins. Mine is a much heavier wine, and was backsweetened to balance the acid.

Comparisons like this are good, as they help us understand the ramifications of choices we make.

 

[Hazelemere]

White Fusion 2024

This is a blend in a glass of 50% Chilean Viognier from Fresco juice, 25% homegrown Russets + Macintosh apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar, 25% Homegrown white wine grapes including Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner, Madeleine Angevine with homegrown Cox apple juice chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey and fermented with D47 yeast.

Tasting notes:

Appearance - clear lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant, complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is better than the sum of its parts and should make a really good, balanced and tasty house white wine for everyday drinking. I'd rate it as very good. It has no apparent flaws. I'll mix up 30 bottles of this in a carboy, put it back in my cooler and bottle it around Easter 2025.

retaste from a bottle:

Appearance - clear lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant, complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a tasty, complex, balanced house white wine for everyday drinking. I'd rate it as very good. It has no apparent flaws. I'll make this again if I can. It has a really good aftertaste and had all of its parts fermented with D47 yeast.