Poll: Everyday wine

i don't understand. most people would think that full bodied=intense and rich. but you say light bodied wines can be as well. full bodied according to you only 'tend' to be higher alc. so what DOES define full bodied if not intense, rich and high alc????? and please do name a couple of those subtle and delicate 15% alc wines. and also which of the marketing dept written labels gives any reliable info on the actual style of the wine. i read that stuff for a good chuckle to share with my friends.

i don't understand. most people would think that full bodied=intense and rich. but you say light bodied wines can be as well. full bodied according to you only 'tend' to be higher alc. so what DOES define full bodied if not intense, rich and high alc????? and please do name a couple of those subtle and delicate 15% alc wines. and also which of the marketing dept written labels gives any reliable info on the actual style of the wine. i read that stuff for a good chuckle to share with my friends.

Thank you, Creighton, I was going to ask the very same set of questions.

I was somewhat puzzled by the whole comparison of alcohol content to points, in terms of usefulness (or lack thereof) in selecting a wine. It would seem to me that the percentage of alcohol in awine is an actual objective (as in scientific) measurement, as opposed to something arbitrary, like points. The alcohol level of a wine does tell you something: Perhaps you don't want to put that much alcohol into your body with every glass of wine you drink... I mean, there are health considerations, and potential run-ins with the Law, if one's driving...

Can't say I have one.

Truth is, I can't even come close to trying all of the wines I want to. I rarely get around to drinking an everyday wine more than once.

Basically when I evaluate a wine’s body or texture all I consider is how the wine ‘feels” or “weighs in” in my mouth. Is the wine “watery” or “meaty and chewy”? After answering with a simple yes or no, I move on with my assessment of the wine.

Salute

A good zin you're missing that is above 14.5% alcohol--Biale Black Chicken
Although the label indicates over 16% alcohol by volume, the fruit is sufficient to disguise the high alcohol (and I'm one who loves German Riesling with its lower alcohol percentage)

A good zin you're missing that is above 14.5% alcohol--Biale Black Chicken
Although the label indicates over 16% alcohol by volume, the fruit is sufficient to disguise the high alcohol (and I'm one who loves German Riesling with its lower alcohol percentage)

16%? The horror!

Echoing other replies, on any given night our wine is usually chosen to pair with whatever we are eating.

Beyond that our everyday wine is often found, not ordained. It is usually red. We find it at a tasting conducted at a retailer. The price is usually low, maybe single digits. And it usually is a low tannin wine. Past winners have been Protocolo, Santa Ema Carmenere, and Borsao.

Currently, we are prepping for two graduation parties and have Marietta Old Vines Lot 41 and Latour Macon-Lugny "Les Genievres" on hand in quantity so they are serving as the everyday wines.

This is an acidic group.

Certainly wines can be light but intense - German Kabinett and Spätlese made in a sweet style are good examples. The lemon sorbet of wines!

I'm less sure about "rich". It is a term I don't used as a descriptor of wines, but a rich food is surely heavy, no?

Barolo I'd describe as delicate, and most people would say it is full-bodied. But this is where I start to fail to intuiutively understand terms like full-bodied.

I tried a Montepulicano d'Abruzzo (Masciarelli 2003) for the first time the other day, and I think this may be now be my new, favorite everyday wine. Not particularly complex, but infinitely drinkable and fabulous w/ the summer sausage and fontina cheese I was having for dinner. Really nicely balanced tannins, acidity and red fruit. Yum.

Good choice K.

[David M. Bueker]

Considering this issue further, I still do not really have an everyday wine, but I do have a few i have bought in sufficient quantity that they have been/will be consumed vastly more often than others:

2005 Pepiere Clos des Briords Muscadet
2004 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken (I need to find the 2005)
2004 Schafer-Frohlich Riesling QbA Halbtrocken
2004 Gunderloch Riesling 'Dry'

All three were purchased in case or more quantities for well south of $15 (and one below $10).

I have no current house red, but until recently I was pounding through a case of 2001 Cap de Faugeres. I only have 2 bottles left, so I'm letting them sit a little to see what happens for future reference. 1 will meet its maker this summer.

Single varietals are boring at the every day level.

???

Muscadet, Beaujolais, Gruner Veltliner, Riesling from anywhere, CdR from the Northern Rhone, Bourgogne rouge, Bourgogne blanc, Loire sauvignon blanc, barbera, dolcetto..

All well chosen of course.

But that's also true for blends.

When I evaluate intensity or richness I usually don’t relate it to just body and texture. Instead I think of things like intensity and richness of certain components present in the wine (fruit, tannins, acid, RS, alcohol and other “good” components). (In other words IMHO basically all the components of a wine will fall within a given range, from hardly there (unnoticed or undetected) to intense and rich –How much? Of course everyone will have there own answer.) As far as the term delicate, it could be used not only to describe a “light-bodied” wine but also a graceful, elegant subtle “medium to heavy-bodied red.

Salute

David, I just read that you are currently drinking the 2004 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken. I do not have much knowledge of German rieslings, and wonder which '04s are ready to drink. I have some JJ Prum and some Van Voxlem Kabs from 98 & 99. I even have one or two 1993's from Peter Jordan which I bought at Trombley's urging, I have also left those alone at his urging. I guess I would like to know what producers are for holding and which are for early drinking, Or, is this a vintage thing? Where is John Trombley when one needs him?

[James Roscoe]

Where is John Trombley when one needs him?

What ever happened to John? He was great on the old WLDG site. I enjoyed talking to him. Oh, well....

Well, for one thing he got married and his new wife may not share his wine enthusiasms.

Shaji, my usual house wines are Ontarian, which typically means VQA (Vintners' Quality Alliance) Niagara Peninsula or Beamsville Bench wines. I am equally split between reds and whites, with the caveat that whatever wine I may be fancying at the moment as a house wine, it must be dry. Usually for reds I get Baco Noir or Marechal Foch (getting rare in Ontario, but Magnotta makes good oaked and unoaked versions) and for whites, dry Vidal and then Sauvignon Blanc.

Recently I have been on a very strong Grüner Veltliner trend, though, and with the current Wine Focus being on that variety, I plan to get more.

Personally I'm a believer in the notion that if you really love a particular wine, you can and should eat it with anything. If I order a sangiovese with my fish at a restaurant and someone gives me crap about it I'll politely tell 'em to MTOFB.]

Ryan, I agree!

Heck - I'm the one who once said that if I feel like having a glass of Dry Concord with my Hassenpfeffer, I don't want anyone telling me I can't have it ... !

[David M. Bueker]

David, I just read that you are currently drinking the 2004 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken. I do not have much knowledge of German rieslings, and wonder which '04s are ready to drink. I have some JJ Prum and some Van Voxlem Kabs from 98 & 99. I even have one or two 1993's from Peter Jordan which I bought at Trombley's urging, I have also left those alone at his urging. I guess I would like to know what producers are for holding and which are for early drinking, Or, is this a vintage thing? Where is John Trombley when one needs him?

Well it's really a vintage and personal preference thing, as well as producer.

The '04s are all still pretty much open for business. I would expect them to shut down soon, but so far no signs of it.

As for the Jordan & Jordan wines, I'm not so sure about holding them any longer. '93 is a vintage that is pretty much in the bullseye now, so I would at least peek in at one.

'98 and '99 Prums are shut down now. They need another 2-4 years or so, depending on pradikat. I would expect Van Volxem '98/'99 wines at the kabinett level to be drinking well.

More details on request.

What ever happened to John? He was great on the old WLDG site.

I have seen him post recently on Squires, although I know absolutely nothing about his marital situation.

John's new bride may not have the same amount of enthusiasm for wine, but based on the last two MoCOOLs I would say she certainly seems to tolerate his enthusiasm quite well. Nice lady.
I'm also one in the "other" category, for many of the reasons expressed. I don't have one go-to wine, I have several. And those I go to are food friendly wines and are mainly not on the list - sangiovese, grenache based rhone blends, tempranillo (along with pinot noir) for the reds and vouvray (along with riesling) for the whites.
An interesting post, and fun to read the responses.

For me, it usually depends on the time of day and what I am eating.

'delicate subtle heavy-bodied red'

i definitly want a list of those!