Recommended Red Wine

[MamaFej]

I agree with the assessment that Americans drink their whites too cold and reds too warm. 

 

We bought an itty bitty 8 bottle wine chiller for our RV. We keep it at 55F and serve reds straight out of it. We keep whites in the regular fridge and pull them out when cooking dinner. Both seem to be the right temperature (for us) when we serve them.

 

As long as we are confessing (are we?) the $6-$7 wine I like from Costco is Menage a Trois California Red Blend. We also enjoy the Kirkland boxed (GASP) Cab Sav and Pinot Grigio for casual enjoyment. The box fits on its side in the aformentioned chiller. 

 

The Pinot Noir I forgot to name above is Meiomi, from Sonoma, CA, 

[zitsky]

I am glad this thread is down to earth and we are not debating whether the right temp for wines is 55…. Or 56!

 

My favorite low priced Pinot Noir is Samuel Robert from Amity, OR. $15 at Total Wine.

 

From California I like Belle Glos Clark and Telephone around $50 I think.

 

Both Pinots are a little heavier than the average Oregon ones.

 

If you are ever in Roseburg, OR stop at Hillcrest Winery.  But I have not been there for several years.

Edited April 3, 2022 by zitsky

[MamaFej]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

If you are ever in Roseburg, OR stop at Hillcrest Winery.  But I have not been there for several years.

I just checked to see if Hillcrest Winery is a Harvest Host site. It is not, but there are several in the area. We may just have to check it out on our way to or from visiting our son in Montana. 

-----

Harvest Host is a program by which wineries, farms, museums, and other places which don't use their parking spaces overnight allow RVers to stay the night (usually without hookups) with no camping fee, and visitors are expected to spend at least $20 on products. We have discovered some nifty wineries and breweries through it, and tend to spend more than the $20. 

[zitsky]

I’d call maybe they have parking space.

[terrydtx]

14 hours ago, MamaFej said:

I agree with the assessment that Americans drink their whites too cold and reds too warm. 

 

We bought an itty bitty 8 bottle wine chiller for our RV. We keep it at 55F and serve reds straight out of it. We keep whites in the regular fridge and pull them out when cooking dinner. Both seem to be the right temperature (for us) when we serve them.

 

As long as we are confessing (are we?) the $6-$7 wine I like from Costco is Menage a Trois California Red Blend. We also enjoy the Kirkland boxed (GASP) Cab Sav and Pinot Grigio for casual enjoyment. The box fits on its side in the aformentioned chiller. 

 

The Pinot Noir I forgot to name above is Meiomi, from Sonoma, CA, 

 Meomi

We have a wine cooler with dual temperatures. We keep the reds at 60 and the whites at 52 which seems perfect for us. White wines too chilled lose their aromas and bouquet.

 

Meiomi is a very nice everyday Pino Noir that is consistent from year to year. This was one of my mother's favorite wines, so when she was alive, we always kept a bottle or two in the house.

Edited April 3, 2022 by terrydtx

[dateacher]

16 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Which one, please?

I've become a Pinot Noir fan lately, and would love to have suggestions. 

A to Z was the name.  Not expensive - about $15 a bottle at Total Wine. It was $44 at my neighborhood Italian restaurant. Remember, I'm not an expert. I know what I like and don't like but usually can't remember.

 

[MamaFej]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

We have a wine cooler with dual temperatures. We keep the reds at 60 and the whites at 52 which seems perfect for us. White wines too chilled lose their aromas and bouquet.

 

Meiomi is a very nice everyday Pino Noir that is consistent from year to year. This was one of my mother's favorite wines, so when she was alive, we always kept a bottle or two in the house.

We are considering a wine cooler for the house. If we get one, we will definitely get the dual zone.

 

Shocking literally no one, the 8 bottle one in the motor home has but one zone. 

[terrydtx]

32 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

We are considering a wine cooler for the house. If we get one, we will definitely get the dual zone.

 

Shocking literally no one, the 8 bottle one in the motor home has but one zone. 

Check out Wayfair .com for wine coolers, huge selection and great warrantee and prices. Our first one after about 8 months one side quit cooling, I called Wayfair and they sent me a brand new one at no cost including the shipping.  They told me to keep to old one and use the one side that still worked.  I was shocked because the cooler cost about $800 and it holds 36 bottles. So I now have 1 1/2 coolers and the side that doesn't work still cools a little so it is my lay down and hold wine cooler for my better wines that need aging.

[Stockjock]

One thing that I wasn't thrilled about was that on the NYE cruise, I asked for "their best Champagne that is covered by my premium drink package".  And I watched them pour me Prosecco.

[George C]

11 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

One thing that I wasn't thrilled about was that on the NYE cruise, I asked for "their best Champagne that is covered by my premium drink package".  And I watched them pour me Prosecco.

We love celebrity but MSc yacht club has a deluxe super premium that you can upgrade to and they had a great champagne bar with several kinds of French champagne and they were all included, so was XO cognacs and all there top shelf scotch including Johnny Walker Blue. Definitely drank I little too much on that cruise.

[zitsky]

22 minutes ago, George C said:

We love celebrity but MSc yacht club has a deluxe super premium that you can upgrade to and they had a great champagne bar with several kinds of French champagne and they were all included, so was XO cognacs and all there top shelf scotch including Johnny Walker Blue. Definitely drank I little too much on that cruise.

NCL also has a champagne bar but I have not cruises them for a while.

[drakes2]

39 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

One thing that I wasn't thrilled about was that on the NYE cruise, I asked for "their best Champagne that is covered by my premium drink package".  And I watched them pour me Prosecco.

Were you expecting Veuve? 😆 

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Were you expecting Veuve? 😆 

I spent the day drinking an unspecified amount of California “sparkling wine”.  Trust me, it’s not the same.   I thought I did see Zonin Prosecco on one of the menus.  I’ll drink that.  Not OP but yes, I’m expecting Yellow Label.  🙂

 

Darn.  I miss that Norwegian champagne bar.  😭

[George C]

12 minutes ago, zitsky said:

NCL also has a champagne bar but I have not cruises them for a while.

So does rccl but no great selections of champagne 

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

Were you expecting Veuve? 😆 

No, but there are one or more legitimate French Champagnes that are included in the premium drink package.  I wasn't expecting them to substitute a cheap Prosecco when Champagne was requested.

[DaKahuna]

 I tried both the Primivita and the Malbec the other night in Tuscany.  I preferred the Malbec and will be seeing if I can get it in Luminae tonight. 
 

My wife drinks Moscoto at home and was pleased to see a by the glass offering that fit the DBP. 
 

Tonight I had the best wine i have had on the cruise thus far.  It’s only available by the bottle but well worth it in my opinion.  La Crema Pinot Noir. 
 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by DaKahuna

[drakes2]

10 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

No, but there are one or more legitimate French Champagnes that are included in the premium drink package.  I wasn't expecting them to substitute a cheap Prosecco when Champagne was requested.

I would have spoken up especially on such a special night. They are literally paying no more than a few dollars for the cheap Prosecco they serve.  

[drakes2]

5 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 I tried both the Primivita and the Malbec the other night in Tuscany.  I preferred the Malbec and will be seeing if I can get it in Luminae tonight. 
 

My wife drinks Moscoto at home and was pleased to see a by the glass offering that fit the DBP. 
 

Tonight I had the best wine i have had on the cruise thus far.  It’s only available by the bottle but well worth it in my opinion.  La Crema Pinot Noir. 
 

 

 

I had a bottle of that delivered to my stateroom on  a 2018 cruise along with the La Crema from Sonoma. Can you remember the bottle price? Have not seen it in Canada for a few years..

[DaKahuna]

The Celebrity app is showing it as  $68.00.  
 

[Stockjock]

11 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I would have spoken up especially on such a special night. They are literally paying no more than a few dollars for the cheap Prosecco they serve.  

Exactly.  If they were out of it, they should have told me, rather than being what perceived as sneaky.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Exactly.  If they were out of it, they should have told me, rather than being what perceived as sneaky.

 

I'm normally pretty forgiving, but I actually hope you sent it back and told them "no". I'm looking at an Edge list and it shows Montaudon Brut in the Premium Package. Maybe not great, but at least it's a Champagne. The Domaine Chandon isn't French, but it's pretty darn good as well. I've had some really good prosecco in my life, but I'm betting the one on X isn't one of them. And I'll shut up on the whole "Méthode Traditionnelle" thing!

[Stockjock]

3 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I'm normally pretty forgiving, but I actually hope you sent it back and told them "no". I'm looking at an Edge list and it shows Montaudon Brut in the Premium Package. Maybe not great, but at least it's a Champagne. The Domaine Chandon isn't French, but it's pretty darn good as well. I've had some really good prosecco in my life, but I'm betting the one on X isn't one of them. And I'll shut up on the whole "Méthode Traditionnelle" thing!

I didn't, and we didn't have the time to mess with it.  But their Prosecco is just barely okay.  Conversely, their Champagne is respectable.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 I tried both the Primivita and the Malbec the other night in Tuscany.  I preferred the Malbec and will be seeing if I can get it in Luminae tonight. 
 

My wife drinks Moscoto at home and was pleased to see a by the glass offering that fit the DBP. 
 

Tonight I had the best wine i have had on the cruise thus far.  It’s only available by the bottle but well worth it in my opinion.  La Crema Pinot Noir. 
 

 

 

 

I need to track a bottle of that down and try it. There's a whole marketing/segmentation/targeting/positioning thing on La Crema. I mostly associate them with their lower end wines (you can get that one for $21 at Total Wine in Springfield, so if it's good, it's a nice value).

 

Do they have the Penner-Ash onboard? It's on the master list as a markup from the premium package. I'd pay the upcharge on Equinox this summer for that one...

[DaKahuna]

Just now, markeb said:

 

I need to track a bottle of that down and try it. There's a whole marketing/segmentation/targeting/positioning thing on La Crema. I mostly associate them with their lower end wines (you can get that one for $21 at Total Wine in Springfield, so if it's good, it's a nice value).

 

Do they have the Penner-Ash onboard? It's on the master list as a markup from the premium package. I'd pay the upcharge on Equinox this summer for that one...

I do not know if the Penner-Ash is onboard or not.  It is shown on the Celebrity App and I will try and inquire tomorrow if I remember. With two port days and two sea days remaining, I am sure I will have time to try it if it is available. 

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I didn't, and we didn't have the time to mess with it.  But their Prosecco is just barely okay.  Conversely, their Champagne is respectable.

 

"You're a good man, Charlie Brown"...

 

Hence why we're at 6 pages talking about wine on a cruise ship. I'm happy when I get a good one, but it's not something I'm looking for on a cruise.

 

Now if you want really bad, cruise from the UK and explain why Old Speckled Hen served at 40F is their best English Ale...