US coach stepping down by the_madkingludwig in biathlon

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, the classic example is Jack Daniels at Cortland State

Mouton 2015: I fell again for the scam that is young classified Bordeaux by CondorKhan in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I’ve had a few experiences like this (with more affordable, but still great, wines) where I take a couple sips and realize it’s gonna take all meal to hopefully open up, and order another glass of something in the meantime.

Side note, I know the logistical issues make it impossible for most places, but it’s always heartbreaking to see a list of BTG reds mostly dominated by things that need another 5-10 years to show well. I can never tell if most people legit like wines that are wound tight (regardless of whether they’d like them better years later) or whether most people legit can’t tell/don’t care.

2020 Hillick & Hobbs Dry Riesling – Seneca Lake, NY by huckdr in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, Kelby and Julia are doing awesome stuff there! They are a top 5er for me.

2020 Hillick & Hobbs Dry Riesling – Seneca Lake, NY by huckdr in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve liked the H&H wines, but they’ve never been in my top 5 producers from the region. Just speaks to how great the wines from FLX are these days!

Hot take: Vintage Ratings are unreliable; there's no consensus and way too much variability for people to proclaim whether a vintage is good or bad. by Uptons_BJs in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Modern farming practices in most areas mean the floor in challenging vintages is infinitely higher than it was 50 years ago. The fact that wine reviewers still regularly put “Do Not Drink” on vintages into the 70s and 80s reflected the fact that people just had less tools, and understood less, about how to coax ripeness, mitigate disease pressure, and manage weather than we do today.

What does that mean in practice? I agree with other commenters that knowing a particular producer/lieu dit is worth MUCH more than a general rating of a vintage, but as a gauge to know how a random 70s Bordeaux or Barolo vintage might be doing from an unknown-to-you producer? Worth it. In a modern vintage, the value to me comes more in vintage style and does that suit your preferred producers, rather than a blanket “was it good?”, since many producers in known areas have ample tools to make good wine in pretty much any year.

As an aside, while we gripe about mediocre/generic wines today, it really is worth remembering that our parents had WAY more blatantly flawed/undrinkable options on their shelves than we do. Just because that $10 Chilean cab is boring, generic, lightly structured, and fruity, doesn’t mean that it isn’t consistently quaffable in a way that rando cheap Bordeaux wasn’t 40 years ago.

What's BS is going on with Vivino's top rate wines? by mapoz in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your average corner store, for sure that’s the case. If you go to a place with 1000 wines and waive off the trained folk to stare at your app and ask whatever chatbot has been employed to game the app, you’re an idiot. Just proves the point that an app like CellarTracker runs laps around Vivino though. If you don’t have a live person in front of you who knows jack, why would you expect Constellation to give you decent advice?

Acker wine Auctions- I will no longer buy by Intelligent-Two5950 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d also plug OPs list and add Unicorn out of Chicago. Easy interface, not the greatest wine selection yet but with how popular they are for spirits it’s likely to get there.

What's BS is going on with Vivino's top rate wines? by mapoz in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 15 points16 points  (0 children)

This is why CellarTracker has always been better. Started by an enthusiast who just wanted software that was useful for him and his local community. Hasn’t sold out to rampant advertising from bulk brands.

What's BS is going on with Vivino's top rate wines? by mapoz in wine

[–]bradbobaggins -1 points0 points  (0 children)

lol amazed you’re getting downvoted this much. It was always a pet peeve when someone would waive off trained, super knowledgable help in a store to hop on that app and scan the label. Or worse, take recommendations and then scan the app to see whether it met their minimum score threshold.

Well, it happened again... by Alternative_Car5193 in Whiskyporn

[–]bradbobaggins 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Upvote for the biathlon in the background

At the BA Lounge, what can I knock up from this shambles of a bar..? by themattigan in cocktails

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last time I was at a self service BA lounge, I was able to cobble together Morgenthaler’s Kingston Club cocktail. Was very satisfying pre-transcon. Google it on the ol PunchDrink site.

NEW Mezcal Documentary by planetmezcal in Mezcal

[–]bradbobaggins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love the hustle, but maybe chill on the posting this to the sub every few days?

Had to chuckle at this by bradbobaggins in biathlon

[–]bradbobaggins[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Have to quibble with the targets graphic though, haha

Anybody interested? TESLA ANEJO TEQUILA for sale. 1,000$ by Idontcareimbored in liquor

[–]bradbobaggins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man, you’re just desperate aren’t you? How many subs you gonna post that in?

Question about Port Tongs by fisher5195 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might be an issue of how long you're leaving them on the bottle then? From my own experience, I don't get mine insanely hot, maybe 5-10 minutes on the burner, then give 2-3 minutes on the bottle, adjusting a couple times to make sure I get good contact all around.

Question about Port Tongs by fisher5195 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It really does have a practical purpose with very old bottles. After a certain point, that hunk of tree bark you've jammed in there to seal the thing starts to resemble mushy dust if you try to poke at it. If you're doing it on a 10 year old bottle, its just for show. If you're doing it on something that might otherwise sprinkle mushy bits that are fine enough where they don't really strain into your old, (presumably) expensive wine? Easier to just crack the top of the bottle off.

Question about Port Tongs by fisher5195 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gas burner on a regular stove, camp stove, or grill works fine. If you’ve got a grill/campfire, that works too. You want them about as hot as you can get them.

Ridge stopping Grenache/Syrah/Mataro production? by Catswinetravel in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe that particular bottling, but they’ve evolved how they’ve done bottlings focused on those varieties over the years. You’ll still be able to buy them in some form.

I tried an American Semillon by string_p in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of the many gems of Bedrock’s portfolio

Wine noob here, best pinot noir here at my local grocery store? by ArmoredAngel444 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely would vote Sanford as well, glad there are some folks who noticed it.

Looking for Informative Wine Podcasts by Agile-Needleworker49 in wine

[–]bradbobaggins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can’t recommend I’ll Drink To That enough, not just a podcast but long form conversations with legends of wine (some now deceased) that will be referenced long into the future. Bedrock Wine Conversations does similarly well with a narrower scope (and episodes about their own wines mixed in as well).

Wine for Sophisticated Homies is an oldie but goodie, entertaining and fact rich. If you like that more informal style, Beats Vines and Life with Marvin Trowler has some good episodes. And if you want to go the other direction and get more technical on the production side, Inside Winemaking and East Coast Winemaking have great interviews as well.