We went to Burgundy (Beaune, specifically) and had an amazing time. Got some great wine at incredible prices. We were prepared for the shipping prices and whatever tax we'd need to pay. Then we got the tariff notification...

$500!!! Absolutely insane. We're still moving forward with the order but for the love of God, these policies are incredibly stupid.

The Sassicaia 750 ml at my government liquor store is $390 CAD tax in (equivalent to 243 USD before tax), while the 1500 is $979. Two 750ml bottles would only be $780.

Now I do understand some arguments saying that larger bottles age differently (slower), but is there really a reason why you'd go pay more per ML for the bigger bottle?

WTSO is having a case sale on nine Achaval Ferrer wines this weekend—12 bottles for $10 each. I’m not familiar with this producer and CellarTracker sentiment seems mixed. Is there an r/wine consensus? I prefer a more restrained/Old World style so I generally avoid Argentine Malbec, but Achaval Ferrer seems like potentially a more serious producer.

I got two.

Was it a cheap hand me down corkscrew, yes, but it has a lot of sentimental value

I rarely drink anymore but am wanting to try something new to me for my birthday. If I do drink I have my lower price point (under $25) old reliables I stick with so open to any and all suggestions. I can no longer do reds, the tannins and histamines take me out halfway through a glass.
I enjoy most styles of white wine, except sweet grapes like moscato, Riesling nor do I care for American Chardonnays, or Pinot Grigios and Prosecco. Prefer dryer whites or roses and orange wines.
Whats a wine you love for special occasions or to give as a gift? Any price point, I’m in Chicago so have access to a lot of specialty wine shops as well as Binnys. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm planning a trip to Mendoza and would love some advice on my winery itinerary.

Here's my current plan:

• Days 1: Mendoza city — Arrive late, staying at Park Hyatt Mendoza. Dinner at Los Toneles.
• Day 2: Mendoza city — Free day in Mendoza, 7pm dinner at El Enemigo.
• Day 3: Uco Valley — Private transfer to Casa de Uco, with lunch at La Azul along the way.
• Day 4: Uco Valley — 11:30 am visit and tasting at Alfa Crux, followed by a 1:30 pm lunch at Zuccardi Piedra Infinita.
• Day 5: Uco Valley — Staying at Casa de Uco with nothing planned yet. I originally wanted to keep this day free to enjoy the hotel and relax.
• Day 6: Back to Mendoza — 11:30 am visit to Catena Zapata (La Familia es Todo), followed by a 2 pm lunch at Lagarde. Staying one final night at Park Hyatt Mendoza.

Initially, I was worried about fitting in too many winery visits and making the trip feel rushed. However, now I'm wondering if I might be leaving too much on the table, especially on Day 5.

Would you recommend adding another winery visit that day, or would you keep it free to enjoy Casa de Uco? If you would add one, which winery in the Uco Valley would you recommend, considering that I'm already visiting Alfa Crux and Zuccardi?

I'm looking for memorable experiences rather than simply checking off as many wineries as possible.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Has anyone used the Sip and Ship program with Southwest for wine? We might do it for our upcoming Walla Walla trip. If you are not familiar I included the link.

Last time I was in Napa I just bought a cheap suitcase (I don't have a wine suitcase yet) and wrapped six wine bottles in bubble wrap and checked the bag. It worked out fine.

This time around I may save on the checked bag cost.

Thoughts?

Hello all, I’m looking for an independent wine shop/club near Milwaukee, WI. It seems that most of the wine stores nearby are Total Wine and the like. If anyone has any recommendations, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Domaine des Tours 2011 (Vin de Pays de Vaucluse): Expressive and fruit-driven, with garrigue/wild herbs right up front. Silky tannins and no rough edges at 15 years old.

Château de Fonsalette 2016 (Côtes du Rhône): Same signature in a more polished frame. I've never tasted Rayas/other Emmanuel Reynaud wines but some of my friends of friends at the table had. They said the wines (fruit+herbs+silk) were purely and 'unmistakeably Reynaud.’
For me: a delight.

Neither is shy about the fruit, and neither is heavy. The garrigue keeps them fresh and savory, and they got along very well with the lamb dish.
Wines, as always, sourced on Idealwine (auctions).
Anyone else have experience with these, or with the Reynaud wines outside Rayas?

2025 Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsula. Vines planted in 1996, north facing vines that are planted 100-120m elevation on clay soils.

On the nose are notes of ripe pear, green apple, white and yellow peach, a slight toasty smell, vanilla, strong oaky notes, and honey

On the palate the flavours come in waves. It starts off with fresh minerality, goji berry, and a soft fruit flavour of green apple and pear. The body is quite smooth. The flavours then transition to very buttery and oaky notes, and almost a subtle Parmesan cheese taste. The wine ends with a very long finish, ending with smokey and fruity flavours including green apple once again.

This was unexpectedly sensational. Better even that a 1996 Bin 707 I opened last month.

Cherries, cedar and leather on the nose with a hint of truffle. The palate is juicy and opulent, dominated by blackcurrant and liquorice. Long lingering finish of coffee and dark chocolate with fine tannin.

This is peak Australian shiraz.

​

Went to Napa about a week ago and am back in the rat race. Will post about Napa later, which unfortunately is not detailed. This posting will also not be detailed, i.e. horrible. Took the old and new teams out, interesting times,... looks like I will have to work harder to integrate the new team. Dinner at an Italian restaurant, I brought 8 bottles, but we could only finish 6. Yes, all C/C+. 2nd pic is from the back.

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Domaine Desertaux-Ferrand, Cote de Nuits Villages, Chardonnay, 2020, 13% abv.

Popped 30 minutes before first sips. Nose was typical cheap white, different types of citrus and a hint of petrol jelly or plastic. Light bodied, tasted like it's Nose, but with air time there seemed to be light notes I would relate to malo and/or new oak. short finish. Personally disappointing. I personally find it hard to believe this got 1 star from Le Guide Hachette des Vins. Got this bottle for KRW₩65K in Seoul, South Korea. 

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Philippe Pacalet, Ladoix Blanc, Chardonnay, 2022, 13% abv.

P&P. Nose was similarly citrus with grape juice, lighter compared to the Desertaux-Ferrand, CdN Blanc, not much going on, pretty neutral stuff. Light to medium body, just typical chardonnay, no malo or new oak suggestions, no tropical or intense fruit, not even special matchsticks. Muted finish. Super disappointing. Should I have left it out for 2 hours to get air? My sommelier friend (Korean guy from France) recommended this to me, although it might have been a different vintage. I continue to strikeout with ldx. That 2022 Pacalet Monthelie Gauthey is looking better and better. Got this for KRW₩180K in Seoul, South Korea.

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Chantereves, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Dessus de Montchenevoy, Pinot Noir, 2022, 12% abv. 

P&P. Nose was light fruit, nothing special. Light to medium bodied, flavors were an improvement over everything so far, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, no "wood", no "malo" or new oak, good and basic. Short finish. Compared to both whites and the Cornelissen P1, this was the better offering. Got this for KRW₩169K in Busan, South Korea.

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Frank Cornelissen, Munjebel P1, Perpetuum, Nerello Mascalese. 

Apparently a blend of 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019 with about 2500 bottles. Popped 30 minutes before first pours. The nose was the best of everything tonight with juicy and slightly candied red fruit, hints of blue and black, floral, perfumed, quite good. However, the palate was more "woman's armpit hair", earthy flavors taking the front but doesn't drown out the red fruit. Some complexity here, but conversations started getting serious and this one disappeared relatively quickly, along with the Chantereves. Guess this needed several more years. Got this for KRW₩200K in Busan, South Korea. 

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Turley, Estate, Zinfandel, 2022, 15.5% abv.

P&P. Nose was showing hints of red fruit, oily wood, ... and did I detect some vanilla? Light to medium bodied but closer to medium, a savory palate with vanilla and red and bramble fruit, some orchard fruit in there as well... very good relative to what I remembered these tasting like. Medium finish. Wondering if this was better than what I remembered because of the meal, or just bottle/storage variation? The fruitiest of all 6 wines opened tonight. Got this for KRW₩122K in Seoul, South Korea. 

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Viberti Giovanni, Barolo, 'Bricco delle Viole' Riserva, Nebbiolo, 2017, 14.5% abv.

Popped about 2-3 hours before first pours. Nose was fruity, but closer to "tart-like" aromatics than the juiciness of the previous zinfandel. The palate was quite good though. Great flavors, balanced, overall ripe fruit, red fruity leaves, raspberry oil, no malo elements, abv was in check. Medium finish that waa similar to the palate. A young Barolo and already showing quite well... not sure if it was the food or the air time, but quite good. WOTN for me, but not strong competition. this for KRW₩150K in Busan, South Korea. 

Hello!

Like the title says, I want to like wine. The thing is, i hate the bitter fermented taste of the wine. I would like a sweet wine without that taste. Preferably red so I look classy lol

Any recommendations on bottles like this you can get in ontario, canada. Nothing crazy expensive lol

Thanks!

Purchased from a super cool 125-year-old wine shop on a trip to San Sebastián this past May.

Fill and color, fabulous. Bottom 1/4 of cork crumbled in the ah-so.

On the nose, leather, smoke, oak, damp musty basement, tar, some floral notes, rose petal, eventually banana.

Similar on the palate, though it lost quite a bit of the musty funk and some surprisingly bright fruit began to shine though. Ultimately leather, tobacco and banana were the standouts.

Super clean, lightweight and the finished with the beautifully sour acidity I love so much from classic Rioja.

This wine was super dynamic, and quick. Initially the finish was close zero, but it filled out nicely and even began to linger over the course of an hour.

At 57 years old, this crianza had no business being this good. Super fun to experiment with a wine that predates modern technique. Though it’s not a Lopez de Heredia, the aroma, taste and experience of consuming this bottle from the past put me squarely back in their cellars :)

I just cracked this one open. 1985 CDP. Silky, earthy, and gently complex. Let it breathe in the bottle then in the glass. Decant only if you have to.

Hey all, I have some friends coming over for a wine tasting tomorrow. They aren’t dry wine drinkers but are interested in trying some. Do yall have any recommendations for a nice beginner Pinot noir other than Meiomi?

Notes in post below.

Wondering if someone could provide insight into Harlan being worth the price. I know I just recently posted with the plan to get into Bordeaux wines and have a solid list of wines I will be getting, after the great feedback.

However, we finally got onto Harlan Estate’s Founder’s List, and I’m wondering if it’s worth the 1575 PER BOTTLE price. Probably already know the answer, but figured I’d spark up a conversation about it.

I'm in need of some advice, y'all. My economic situation has recently upgraded, which means I finally have some discretionary income to throw at grape juice, and my wife's permission to proceed with gusto. The catch is that I’ve spent the last 20 years with a hard $20 per bottle price cap.

Back in the $20 biome, blind risk was easy to handle. If I picked up an oaky vanilla bomb or a flawed, flabby bottle that tasted like disappointment, whatever. I was only out twenty bucks. It was cheap to explore random producers, obscure appellations, and mid-tier table wines without sweating the bill.

Now that I’m looking at stepping into the $100+ realm, my brain is short-circuiting. While gambling $20 on something new used to be fun, tossing $100+ at a bottle that turns out to be overly oaked, overly extracted, or a complete miss just feels like a personal offense. I will probably mourn it for a week.

For those who have done it, how did you strategically transition into higher-tier wine without burning money on bad picks? Should I be looking at high-end offerings from the same regions/varietals I already know that I like, or starting completely from scratch? My favorite 'budget' producers don't even make single-vineyard or cuvée-level bottles. Do I need to blindly trust my independent wine shop's recommendations? Do I just unclamp my wallet and embrace the new reality? Am I simply suffering from financial muscle memory or are $100+ bottles genuinely a minefield for the uninitiated?

Thanks for the help!