ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Food and Cooking Forums › Pairing Food and Wine › Finding out the best time to drink a vintage..
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Finding out the best time to drink a vintage..

post #1 of 13
9/18/08 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
..any sites out there where I can lookup a bottle of wine to see when the best time to drink it is?

Got a gift or 2 last year of a couple of bottles of wine from a guy who has a pretty big collection. They aren't expensive wines by any means, but i know he said not to drink one of them until 2009 not sure on the others. ones a 2001 chianti (castello di cacchiano - riserva) other is a 2004 cabernet from columbia valley (ex libris)
Reply
post #2 of 13
9/18/08 at 5:39pm
Don't know about any particular sites, but you can start googling around using your usual ingenuity -- if you can't find the wine, check the region. What I got on the Cabernet was that 2004 Columbia Valleys have plenty of tannin -- that means they'll age well. Five years sounds like a realistic minimum. Judging only on the basis of 2004 regional reds you probably have about two more years of improvement, then two of holding steady. 10 years is a lot for an Oregon red, so try and drink it before 2013.

I'm familiar with the Chianti, and let me tell you, you want to leave that in the bottle for at least a couple of more years. I tried a bottle last year, and thought it's nose was borderline offensive. Rhymes with "chit." I'd definitely give it more time in the bottle. It's supposedly a really good "castello," so be patient and let it put its best foot forward in 2011 or 12. I'd write a note on the label so as not to forget.

BDL
Reply
post #3 of 13
9/23/08 at 4:26pm
Thread Starter 
hmm thought i replied to this as soon as you responded....guess it got lost in the nuggisphere.

Thanks, that's pretty much what the person who gave them to use said as well.

I have a wine tasting lunch (about 25 wines, geeesh) this saturday, so hope to add a few more bottles to my collection.
Reply
post #4 of 13
10/20/08 at 11:46am
if you've got the gadgets, checkout:

Mobile | Wine Spectator

tripped over that the other day . . . >hic<
Reply
post #5 of 13
10/20/08 at 11:56am
Thread Starter 
saw that, but i'm cheap. haha.


I have wine spectators printed pocket/wallet vintage chart that's not bad.
Reply
post #6 of 13
10/20/08 at 12:24pm
...on the cheep

yeah. I can relate to that.
realistically, you go to a joint, there's 20 reds on the card.
15 of them you can eliminate sight uncorked.

so what's the chance in the adverted 200,000 reviews, your potential choice is listed . . .

to coin a phrase, information is nothing more than money waiting to be made - but the circumstances must be right.
Reply
post #7 of 13
10/20/08 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 
that's why a sommelier is probably the single most crucial "part" of my restaurant experience if I'm getting a bottle.

My regular restaurant, i probably eat there weekly, or at LEAST once every 2 weeks (lately weekly) and usually order a 50-100$ bottle of wine...they have a HUGE wine list....lots of italians, lots that I'm sure MANY have never heard of...but I've never had a bad bottle....but I've never picked one myself, the owner or sommelier are always just spot on as they are VERY knowledgeable about their wine list.
Reply
post #8 of 13
10/20/08 at 3:19pm
Do you have a wine celler, or wine refridgerator? If not I would say drink them sooner than later.

#1. They will still taste good
#2. If its not at the proper climate it can age twice as fast
#3. You risk the bottle becoming corked
Reply
post #9 of 13
10/21/08 at 9:32am
this is all so far above my head:crazy:
Reply
post #10 of 13
10/23/08 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
i have a makeshift cellar. By makeshift I mean, I live in a house built in the 20's that has what was called a "coal cellar" which is....exactly what it sounds like. A offshoot of my cellar that used to hold coal. It's a small perfect room for canning and wine. It's not always at 58, but its still pretty good.

Funny, I went to the big "discount liquor" depot here (joe canals) and saw a bottle that looked familiar, and since I'm a wine idiot and the label said "voted best cab under 20$" i picked it up...came home, and racking my brain on when I actually drank it, Nratched said....we NEVER drank it....it's because its one of the ones we recieved as a gift! DOH!! only it was a NEWER vintage 2006 - the ex libris 2006 cabernet.....so we said what the heck, at least we'll get a decent idea of what the 2004 is SOMEWHAT going to taste like....and the 2006 was really good. we figure sometime soon we'll crack open the 2004.

my pocket vintage chart says 2004 cabs are rated pretty good with a "drink or hold" designation.
Reply
post #11 of 13
10/23/08 at 6:24am
Cool, that should work then, just make sure the room is insulated, and that it doesn't get too cold in winter, because that can be bad too.

I just had a 2004 Redigaffi (100% Merlot) that was out of this world.
Reply
post #12 of 13
10/23/08 at 6:25am
Thread Starter 
I'm getting a better wine pallet, but have been more interested in cocktails as of late.

I'm bringin' Rye back. you just watch...
Reply
post #13 of 13
10/23/08 at 7:00am
... I'm bringin' Rye back. you just watch...

that's funny!

I had a great aunt, never married, but she did once upon a time have a beau. her brother-in-law gave her beau a bottle of "Wedding Scotch" for Christmas. well, she was a teetotaler, with a capital T, took the scotch away and substituted a necktie.....

I inherited the (unopened) bottle of Wedding Scotch, in it's original box - wonder if blended scotch ages well,,, say pushing 90 years.....?
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Pairing Food and Wine
ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Food and Cooking Forums › Pairing Food and Wine › Finding out the best time to drink a vintage..