Rick's recommended Wines

The links below show my notes for wines tasted in the last few years. I am always looking for well made, affordable, and currently drinkable wines. My "threshold of pain" for wines is about $20. If a wine is more expensive than that, it should be very good, indeed!

In the past, I relied exclusively on Robert Parker's newsletter and Connoisseur's Guide to California wines. However, many of their recommended wines far exceeded my preferred price. In addition, most of the wines require many years of aging before they are ready to drink.

My philosophy regarding wine has changed as a result of having a much smaller wine cellar. I now lean towards wines which are ready to drink. I am a big believer in buying several similar wines and holding my own wine tasting - usually with Sue and Teri (Cynthia no longer drinks wine). We often disagree over what is THE best wine, but our tastes are relatively similar.

I use the "Private Preserve" wine preserver system, which allows me to store the leftover wine for weeks with no discernible loss in quality. This is the first wine preserver system I've found that really works. Due to numerous instances where the wine bottle was NOT sealed properly, I have discontinued using the FoodSaver bottle stoppers.

In June 2013, Wired magazine had a review of five different systems for sealing wine bottles. Their favorite was Private Preserve, which uses an argon gas system to protect the wine.

In July 2013, The Coravin system was released. This is very pricey ($300), and also uses an argon gas system to protect the wine. The new feature is that you can pour wine without removing the cork.

Some wines are "Not Recommended", due to obvious flaws, or better alternatives. 
The better wines are rated as follows:  
Wine Ratings: ** Good to Very Good, *** Excellent, **** WOW!!

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