Other wine besides Port ...

[Roy Hersh]

Port aside for the moment, what is your favorite table wine producer in the world?

Also, and this can be a totally different area ... what is your favorite appellation of wine outside of Portugal?

[Eric Ifune]

Tough question!
I'm going to be a ditherer and say it's a tossup between FE Trimbach, Hirtzberger, and Huet. I guess I just like white table wines. As far as appelation, I'm going with Alsace and the Wachau. Both with great wines, beautiful landscapes, and warm and friendly people.
If I had to pick a red, it would be JL Chave.

[David Spriggs]

Pride Mountain Vineyard for reds and Aubert for whites.

Favorite appellation? Tough question....
For visiting - Bergerac and the upper Dordogne.
For drinking - Sonoma - If I need to give a specific AOC, then I'll say Sonoma Coast.

-Dave-

[Frederick Blais]

I was a big fan of Mission Haut-Brion until they decided to put their prices on par with 1st Grand Cru. Today I'm really enjoying a lot of Burgundy and DRC comes in my mind first. I have the opportunity to taste them on a regular basis and they always bring something special!

[Moses Botbol]

Today I'm really enjoying a lot of Burgundy and DRC comes in my mind first.

Who doesn't like that...

I've been impressed with Diamond Creek, but my usual wine drinking is much more pedestrian than the Like of Haut Brion and DRC unfortunately. I'm a Bin Ends shopper when it comes to wine.

From QPR aspect, I really like Symington's Altano wine.

Favorite appellation: Burgundy

[Andy Velebil]

I'm not sure I have one favorite producer in the dry wine side. But I am a necro-wine drinker. I love old California Cab's and Bordeaux, and a few old Zinfandel's from a couple of California Producers (namely Ridge). I prefer to save the young wines for later drinking as I prefer most of my dry wines to have lots of age on them.

[Gary Banker]

My favorite table wine producer is J. J. Prum.

My favorite appellation would be rieslings from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer producers. If forced to drink red wines, I prefer burgundy from Volnay. If I could afford DRC, I might make a different choice.

[Jay Powers]

Favorite single non-Portugal producer: Pride Mountain Vineyards Cab and merlot (regular botteling)

Favorite appellation: Bordeaux

I have restricted my favorite producer to wine I can afford to drink on a regular basis...I might pick something in Bordeaux if I could afford it regularly now.

Jay

[Adam F]

Producer...Musar

Appelation...Rieslings from Mosel.Saar.Ruwer

[Roy Hersh]

Surely ... others here must "occasionally" drink NON-Port wine?

[Glenn E.]

I drink white dessert wines all the time, but I don't really favor any one producer. I really like German Trockenbeerenausleses (as well as Beerenausleses), and I'm also fond of good ice wines.

Speaking of "other" wines... is it possible to get more of that South African Chenin Blanc you shared with me the night we had the 1906 Brunheda Colheita and the Fernandes Brothers 40+ Verdelho? I really liked that as well and wouldn't mind acquiring a few bottles.

[Roy Hersh]

Glenn,

Yes, I have one bottle left that I hand carried back on my last trip to So. Africa. I'll try to remember to share it with you one of these days.

As to the Fernandes Bros. the only way is to go on the FORTIFICATION TOUR or buy one from someone who has been on it. They have never come to the USA and every bottle that may be here, is in the cellar of one of our Tour guests. In fact, you don't find there stuff exported anywhere with very few exceptions. Great stuff eh?

But you'll soon have another top notch Madeira in our marketplace: H.M. Borges which is great juice.

Knowing that you never drink white or red wines that are not sweet, makes it really tough to get you to many tastings where great dessert wines show up ... but only as dessert, after hours of table wines have flowed.


Roy

[Scott Kipping]

I'm really getting turned on to Washington reds, Betz, Mark Ryan, Cadence, Buty.
Touring Willamette valley this Thanksgiving for the second year in a row.
What really floats my boat is being able to procure some of the best wine in whatever region for under 100.00. Which you can do in Washington, Oregon, Alsace, and the Douro. To a certain extent Barossa.

[Roy Hersh]

Scott,

I used to drink a ton of Washington State wines and still judge the top WA wine competition each year. So I remain in touch with the local industry and support only a few WA producers since I am no longer in the business of buying wines professionally.

Last weekend, I made a rare appearance at a winery not too far away, which was in your list ... Cadence. Ben was offering up the 2006 vintage and I wanted to make sure I was able to get my share of the Taptiel vineyard release. Maybe we'll wind up doing a trade for some Cadence Mags.

[Rich N.]

Not sure of a favorite producer, but for style, my preference is Cotes du Rhone. I like the "symphony" of a blend and for "first chair" (beating the metaphor into the ground a little more), my favorite grape is syrah...!

[Scott Kipping]

Roy that sounds like a good idea. Is the Taptiel vineyard more than one varietal? How was 2006 in Washington? I have heard that all the vintages in 2000 have been good to great .

[Ray Barnes]

Favourite wine producers:
when money is no object (<1% of the time), based on wines tasted: Chateau Margaux, Egon Muller zu Scharzhof, Bonneau du Martray (Corton-Charlemagne), Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, Chateau Pontet-Canet, Robert Mondavi reserves

when money is an object (>99% of the time): Domaine Zind-Humbrecht by a mile (probably favourite of all), Domaine Weinbach, JJ Prum (wonderful basic Kabinett), St. Josefs (Canby OR - best $7 Riesling and $40 20 year-old cabernet sauvignon anywhere)

[Ray Barnes]

A hopefully brief postscript - I have enjoyed every wine I have ever tasted from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht (even the 2003s, which by and large were not a success in Alsace), but my palette and wallet have enjoyed the most the village labels, such as the 2005 Pinot Gris Thann, coming from the great Clos St.-Urbain, Grand Cru Rangen. The 2005 Riesling Turckheim was sourced mostly from the Grand Cru Brand and a little near Clos Jebsal. These village labels can offer excellent quality. More often than not, the wines selected have come from younger vines whose precocity and slight lack of concentration by comparison to the oldest vines, resulting in declassification. I would say the difference in quality is much less than that of price. This producer also bottles some wines as simply AOC Alsace, none of which I have tried yet. These wines, for the modest price, have received excellent press.

[Marco D.]

Tough question indeed... I wish I tried more Latour, DRC, etc... but going with what I normally drink... it would probably be J.J. Prum, Donnhoff, or Huet.

[Carlos Rodriguez]

It depends on the moment and with what I'm going to take it. It's not the same to have it with a storng lam dish, that with a green salad. Any way here you have some wines I love.
Vega Sicilia, Rivera del Duero wine. Any of them.
Finca Terrerazo, from Valencia
Cervoles, Costers del Segre, Catalonian
Finca Sandoval, From La Mancha
Toro wines, like: Gil Luna, Numanthia, Gran Elias Mora
Priorato wines like: Mas d'em Compte, Clos Martinet
Rioja like: Prado Enea, Cirsion, Mirto, Crison, Valenciso
White Alvarino, Rias Baixas, Galicia
Those are some from Spain. But there are many countries.
France: Chateauneuf Du Pap, Saint Emilion, Chinon, Sweet wines (Coteaux-du layon, Jurancon).
Italy: Chianti Classico Riserva, Bardolino, Sicily (Nero D'Avola).