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 have far exceeded my preferred price. In addition, most of the wines require many years of aging before they are ready to drink. My favorite source of wine information recently is the weekly column in the Weekend section in the Friday edition of the Wall Street Journal.
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 my wife Cynthia. 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. Recently, we purchased a FoodSaver, and a set of bottle stoppers. This is an easier way to preserve wines, plus we use the FoodSaver on many other foods. UPDATE - due to numerous instances where the wine bottle was NOT sealed properly, I have discontinued using the FoodSaver bottle stoppers.
Some wines are "Not Recommended", due to obvious
flaws, or better alternatives.
The better wines are rated as follows: Wine Ratings: * Fair, ** Good to Very Good, *** Excellent
RED WINES
Cabernet Sauvignon Updated
12/07/07
France Updated 02/03/08
Italian Updated
08/07/08
Merlot
Updated
06/08/08
Miscellaneous
Updated 12/27/06
Pinot Noir Updated
02/03/08
Shiraz / Syrah
Updated
08/10/08
Spain Updated
05/31/08
Zinfandel
Updated 08/07/08
WHITE WINES
Chardonnay Updated
05/19/06
Gewurztraminer
Updated 08/16/04
Miscellaneous
Updated 08/27/08
Sauvignon Blanc Updated
05/29/08
ROSE WINES
Updated 04/16/06