LOL I'm laughing because it took a wine question to get me to pay attention and post an answer.

Yes, I like wine a lot. I like more expensive wines than I can afford, but fortunately I have generous friends. I also have a state wine store nearby that offers a large selection of often interesting bargains. So my wine rack is always full (28 bottles) to overflowing.

My favorites are red (pinot noir, zinfandel, malbec, and petit syrah are at the top of my list), but I enjoy a good white now and then.

Yes, I like wine. I like Piesporter. It's a German white wine. Kind of sweet and fruity. Crisp enough to go good with popcorn and a movie.
Leslie

The only wine I really like is Blackberry, but I'd rather have a frosty cold beer anyday.

I love Piesporter, too, but there are a lot of good Rieslings out there now.

I LOVE merlot! I will also drink a syrah & cabernet. DH likes a wider variety, my Mom & Mom-in-law like white zinfendel (sp?). We try many different "brands" - we like California, South African, Austrailian - many different kinds.

If you have questions about what kind to serve or what you might like ask the person in the store, & I have found that it is really helpful to go to a store that carries a variety of wines, and if you have the opportunity to visit a winery - go for it!

Hostapasta

I guess I am the odd one here I do not drink.

Sue

I drank white wine (Chardonnay) for years (many, many years) never knowing what the big deal was with the red wines ... and then I went to Antarctica via Argentina. A couple I was traveling with brought a bottle of red wine to dinner each night. It was something like $25 corkage fee so they insisted I at least try the wine if they were going to shell out those kind of bucks just to open the bottle. The wine they brought with them the first couple nights was Malbec, the favorite wine of Argentina. I fell in love and have not looked at another Chardonnay since.

I also like Merlots and sometimes a nice Cabernet.

Jodi-

I am an oddity too, Marilyn Sue! Does moo-juice count?(;-)

Have absolutely NO knowledge of wine.
Used to drink Boone's Farm long time ago! Cheap drink!

I usually don't drink wine....but if I do it is "pink" wine.
(Now you know I am not a wine snob.)
DH used to sell spirits and wine and I really did get to taste a lot of really good wines but didn't like them enough to spend the money on ones that weren't free.
I cook with wine....mostly Trader Joe's two buck chuck.

When I go out to dinner, I like to have a glass of really good chardonnay. I am a wine snob and prefer wines I can't afford but my generous friends buy expensive wines.

My BIL is a wine connoisseur and I love to go to their house, as he always opens a good wine before we eat. I have never ask him what kind it is. I just enjoy.
I have joined a wine tasting group called the WOW Bunch (women of wine). No of us are very educated wine drinkers, but we are having fun!
I usually like the white zinfandels, but will try anything.

Wine is wasted on me. It all tastes awful, in my opinion. I will drink a mixed drink once in awhile, but no wine, or beer.

I can't drink the red wines. I get heartburn. I wish I could.
Leslie

In a box, with a tap.

Trin

Do I like wine? Hmmmm.... Yep.

The large wine cellar is in the garage (of course with a heavy-duty motor). Capacity is 497 bottles, currently has 491 in it. This photo was taken when we were transferring cases of wine from boxes into the cellar when we first got it:

This little cellar is in a corner of the dining room. Capacity is 57 bottles and it is full. I haven't taken a photo of it in our house, so here's one from the GE Monogram web site:

We have a little of everything -- Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Malbec, Meritage, Nebbiolo, Barbera, "red table wine," Port, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Viognier, Gewürtztraminer, Sauterne, etc., etc.

My favorite wine in the summertime is from Callaway Winery in Temecula -- Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon.

I can't pick one overall favorite. From Rubicon Estate in Rutherford (Napa Valley) - I love their Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon, Edizione Pennino Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, and Cask Cabernet Sauvignon.

From Trentadue in Geyserville (Alexander Valley) - I love the Zinfandel from their La Storia Reserves line, all of their Ports, and their Old Patch Red "table wine" is a great all-around wine to have with burgers, pizza, etc.

The best Sauvignon Blanc is from Peter Franus in Napa. His Zinfandels are wonderful, too. (Actually, all of his wines are great.)

One of the very best wines I've ever tasted is a dessert wine -- the 2001 vintage of Chateau D'Yquem. It's rated 100 points by Robert Parker. It costs, on average, about $600 to $700 for a full 750 ml bottle. My brother-in-law bought a case of it and was generous enough to share it with us. It is AWESOME.

I like quite a variety of wines, from Chardonnay, Sauvingnon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio, but also a few others, especially a dry Riesling from Pacific Rim Winery (formerly made by Bonny Doon Winery). Don't let the screw-top throw you off...some major wineries are going that route with wines meant to be drunk within a handful of years after bottling.

In the last couple of years, I've really gotten into some reds, especially old vine zinfandels -- a great one is from Zayante Vineyards, grown in my area. 2006 was great, but 2007 is to die for. I also like Pinot Noir, and I tried one tonight from Trader Joe's called Hangtime ($3.99), which was actually very good -- tasted somewhat between a true PN and a Merlot. I did try a two-buck-chuck Merlot a few days ago and it was so sweet it was undrinkable, quite unlike a nice bottle a couple of months ago.

I like a true dry Rose, but not white zinfandel. A true US-grown Rose is hard to find, but very easy to find in France, were white zin is considered an abomination (sorry if you like it).

But my absolute favorite??? Perhaps Dom Perignon or Veuve Cliquot champagne, or Shramsberg Brut sparkling wine. True champagne has teeny tiny effervescent bubbles, not the bubbles similar to carbonation. IMHO, Shramsberg does the best domestic approximation of a true champagne.

Does it show that I like my wines? I was a wine snob in the 1980's, but since the late 80's, so many wines were becoming so drinkable even at the lowest price points that I left off the wine tours and subscriptions to snooty wine magazines. (I also got married to a definite non-wine snob, so my focus shifted to other things.) But it truly is hit or miss...Sunset magazine has a few paragraphs on this in the latest issue. Basically, their suggestion is buy a few cheap bottles at TJ's, and if you happen to really like one, IMMEDIATELY return to the store to buy a case or two. Next week it could be a different blend.

Lindsay - Have you tried St. Supery's Sauvignon Blanc or Elu? We discovered them on a trip to Napa (I think they were next door to Cakebread) - we also fell in love with Rhiannon a delicious red produced by Rutherford Ranch. We went to Temecula recently and enjoyed Wiens which had a couple nice wines for being so young, we enjoyed their Crowded. I am going to see if I can get the Peter Franus Sauvignon Blanc.

Lindsey, I wanna go to dinner at your house! Don't worry about cooking . . . we can skip the entree. :-)

Mtnwoman, re returning immediately: My state (PA) controls alcohol by selling it through state stores, which can be a pain for people who would like to select and order wines online. But they have a relatively small number of wine "superstores" that I enjoy shopping in. They always feature some impressive bargains, and the inventory changes quickly.

One day I was doing my usual hunt when I noticed a bottle of Australian wine labeled Yard Dog. It had an incredibly ugly label. It was a mixture of Petit Verdot and Cabernet, and a small amount of Merlot. The alcohol content was a hefty 15%, similar to what you see in a lot of good Zins. It was only around $10, and I was intrigued. But I had my arms full of Malbecs (go, Jodi!) and Pinot Noirs, and the store had many cases of Yard Dog, so I decided to maybe buy it another time.

Less than a week later, I was back and looking for the Yard Dog, which seemed to have disappeared. "It's gone," the clerk told me. He said people had bought single bottles and then returned immediately for cases. They'd raved about it.

The manager overheard, and said she had one bottle in the back room that she had snagged for herself, but if I wanted it she would sell it to me. I took her up on it. I still haven't opened it, but I'm expecting great things!

Because of meds, I rarely drink anything alcoholic..but, on special occasions, I will have a little wine.

Don't really know that much about wine itself, or vinyards or which years are betrer than others.
I just know what I like, as to my taste.

I prefer a Sauvegnon Blanc, and for champagne, will never refuse Moet Chandon White Star.

Worse thing in the world to me is cheap "champagne". For a short time, I had a manager who was an alcoholic, and kept a small fridge of J. Roget rotgut,er "champagne" to pull out at staff meetings. Everyone had to take a drink....even just a sip, made me run to the ladies room and upchuck every time.

"It costs, on average, about $600 to $700 for a full 750 ml bottle. My brother-in-law bought a case of it and was generous enough to share it with us. It is AWESOME."

In my opinion, for this price, it should not only be awesome, but it better come with a solid gold cork!

The price of a great bottle of wine would be wasted on me, too. I also do not drink alcohol of any kind. Never tasted anything I like. Actually, can't get it past my nose. Everything about the smell of wine says "Do not drink me" to my nose. Wine, beer, liquor... doesn't matter. It all smells rotten, turns my stomach.

The appeal of wine is something that completely escapes me. I used to try it, friends would offer something they were just sure would convert me. I gave it an honest try. Then I said forget it, this is me. I am the safest designated driver in any group. I won't even be tempted to have "just one."

I like most Wines. But, everyonce in a while I get a "bad" one. I like to experiment. I favor Cabornet Sauvingnon or Chardonney.

Perot Noir and Merlot once in a while.

"Have you tried St. Supery's Sauvignon Blanc or Elu?" As a matter of fact, I have. We're wine club members at St. Supèry. But I prefer the Peter Franus SB.

"We went to Temecula recently and enjoyed Wiens..." Weins has some great wines. And, they're right next door to the Ponte Winery, which is right next door (on the other side) to the South Coast Winery & Resort, both of which have great wines. We love staying in the Villas at the South Coast Winery & Resort when we're in that area. And the Blackjack Port from South Coast is one of my favorites! I just gave up my club membership at Ponte, but we're still members at South Coast...

"I am going to see if I can get the Peter Franus Sauvignon Blanc." Peter's wines can be difficult to find, but you can always order from his website.

"I like a true dry Rose, but not white zinfandel. A "dry Rosé" is one that is not sweet. That totally omits White Zinfandel from the lineup. The name "White Zinfandel" was totally a marketing gimmick. A lot of folks were ignoring rosé wines - men because they thought they were "sissy," and women because they thought they weren't "real wine." White Zin is made from Zinfandel grapes (yes, the kind that make the red Zinfandel), but the skins are not left in contact with the wine but for a very short time -- just enough to impart the rosy color. Once the stuff was marketed with the "White Zinfandel" name, it started selling like crazy.

sue here's another who doesn't drink...

Lindsey - I have about 200 bottles of wine but not kept nearly as respectable as yours are. We just ordered another case of St. Supery's SB but I am ordering some Peter Franus SB and Zin right now. Thank you for the suggestions.

We're going to Temecula twice in July, once on the 11th to show an old friend around and the 25th and 26th for a wedding and reception which is being held at the Falkner Windery. Will have to keep an eye out for Weins, Ponte, and South Coast Wineries. Any others to recommend?

Jodi-

Alisande - no we wouldn't skip the entree... or dessert! Wine enhances the food, and food enhances the wine. :-)

Raeanne, don't worry about not having an "official" wine cellar -- just make sure the wine is kept cool, because heat is its biggest enemy. Wine should ideally be cellared at 58º. Refrigerators are 40º, so you can always put a few bottles in there -- just take them out a while before serving, so they can warm up a bit. Cellaring wine at 58º allows it to age properly. Cellaring it at a lower temp (such as in a 'fridge) halts that aging process, so you don't want to store wine in a 'fridge on a long-term basis.

We got our wine cellar though Capitol Cellars in Roseville. They use Vinothèque wine cellars, and by ordering through them we got to customize what we wanted, and then got slightly more than 35% off the retail price. Since we wanted it to go in the garage (we really don't have a spot for the huge thing inside the house) we didn't worry about getting carved wood or etched glass doors on it.

Jodi -- Wow, both times that you'll be in Temecula it will be a weekend, and all of the wineries will be VERY crowded. In addition to Weins, Ponte, and South Coast, I always like to go to the Callaway Winery. (Almost all of the Temecula wineries are on Rancho California Road.) Callaway is on the north (left) side as you're heading away from the freeway into the winery area, and South Coast, Ponte, and Weins are on the south (right) side of the road. And, you'll come to the four of them in that order. :-)

My favorite wine to drink in the summer is the Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon from Callaway. They have so many good wines there, and they're up on a hill with a great view. They're open from 10:00 till 5:00 daily.

South Coast Winery Resort & Spa is open from 10:00 till 6:00 daily. Be sure to look at the Villas! I love staying there, because the Villas are built in pods of three and pods of four, but none of them have connecting walls. Very romantic. :-) They have a nice gift shop, too.

Ponte Winery is just beyond South Coast, and is open 10:00 till 5:00 daily. Great gift shop, too.

Weins is on the far side of Ponte, and is also open 10:00 till 5:00 daily. They don't have a restaurant, but the other three do.

You can go to the Temecula Wineries web site and print out coupons for free tastings, etc.

Also, Jim Carter, owner of South Coast Winery, opened a restaurant and tasting room in Orange County at the corner of Bristol and MacArthur. Last time we were in there, Jim Carter was also in there, and he spent about two hours talking with us and having the staff pour all sorts of wine for us. It was a lot of fun. (Did you know that Jim Carter also owns the South Coast Plaza? That's why the winery is also named South Coast.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Wine Cellars

Lindsey - thank you so much for all the info. My husband built a rack in our basement which stays at 58 most of the year and may go up to 60 in the summer - so we are lucky that way. We had lunch at Ponte's the place was packed. I had a terrible cold when we went so I didn't try as many wine's as I normally would have and it would be unfair to judge the one's I did. However, I did manage to enjoy Thornton's where I ordered a nice tasting of all zins.

Thanks for sharing.

Raeanne, I envy your basement wine cellar! I wish we had a spot in the house that stayed that cool...