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Subject: Help with Californian wines

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Fredric

Grape Truck Driver
Posts:26

12/10/2006 10:39 AM
After posting in” What 5 producers are your largest holding?” and not having any Californian wines at all, I got a comment to get some Californian ones. To be honest I don’t have any Californians among my wines for keeping. So here’s a request: Help me find some wines to start the Californian journey with. Maybe a few to try out during the Christmas holidays. Please take a minute to read below and browse through the links. Post your thoughts, TN’s or any useful help which will help me and fellow Swedish wine lovers in the quest for a great glass of wine. As you might or might not know all wines (and spirits) In Sweden have to be bought through a monopoly. i.e. It’s the same variety in every store in every city and at the same price ( No bargain hunts). Here are the lists of what Californian wines that I can buy on the spot and which the monopoly has as on an ordering service which means I can get them within a week. The list read as follows: First there is an article number which is used for ordering, then comes the name and vintage of the wine. (If you click on the name you’ll get a new window where it says (in Swedish) a bit about the wine, area, vineyard, colour, nose and taste.) Then there’s the size of the bottle and then the price in Swedish crowns (SEK). Today the rate is 1 US$ = 6,96 SEK 1 SEK=0,14 US$ At the bottom of the page at the right there are arrows and numbers on which you can browse to the next page. Californian red wine in all the stores Californian red wine to order Californian white wine in all the stores Californian white wine to order Thanks for your help /Fredric

DJ Hombre

Napa Valley, California

Barrel Filler
Posts:1366

12/10/2006 11:51 AM
i'm actually surprised that some Cali wines find their way to Sweden. Here's what I'd look for... Calera Cargassachi Dominus Joseph Phelps Ojai (definitely should try Ojai) Spotteswoode Ridge Monte Bello not sure what your price range is - but if Seks was no object - then I'd look for those.

Dave

Wine Thief
Posts:2863

12/10/2006 1:48 PM
From that list I would order the 2001 Beringer Cab PR and a bottle of the 2004 Turley Old Vines just for fun. The 1999 Dominus is a little pricey for the vintage, but if some 2001 or 2002's make it across the ocean, those would be a good bet if the price is comparable.

Randy Wigginton User is Offline

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5453

12/10/2006 2:54 PM
In the stores, I see Ojai Syrah, not a bad wine. Also the Beringer's private reserve cab is OK, but not sure if that's in your price range. On the white wines, the Kistler there is OK - not excellent, but a representation of the Kistler style. You're probably better off looking for an offline in a country near you

MikeW

Fremont, CA

Grape Sorter
Posts:353

12/10/2006 5:45 PM
Very interesting question you posted. It's really interesting to hear about the wine situation in other countries. Your monopoly system has kept the pricing fairly reasonable, but on the downside, it doesn't leave you with too much to choose from. This board has a very heavy emphasis on California wines, and I take for granted how difficult it must be to acquire most of the California wines talked about here outside the country. A quick sampling of the pricing suggests that the prices are quite reasonable. Do these prices already include VAT? Others have made very good recommendations. My strong recommendation would be to start with the Napa cabs (something over SEK 400). There's lots of other good varietals to choose from, but as an introduction to California wines, that would be the typical and natural place to start. And as a starting point, what looks really good to me on the list is the03 Shafer Cab Sauvignon . The price is consistent with retail pricing in the US, and I think that would be a great example of a standard, well made Napa cab. (I haven't had the 03, but Shafer never disappoints in my house.) And if you need something to taste against that, order the 02 Darioush cab. Again, the price is reasonable (you would pay as much in the US) and should perform well. In any event, looking at the list, those are what I'd buy for a dinner with friends. I think those would be a good starting point to discuss what a typical California "style" would be, and should be able to stand up against similarly priced Bordeaux.

Fredric

Grape Truck Driver
Posts:26

12/10/2006 7:19 PM
Thanks for the replies so far. The prices are including VAT and in the case of ordering include shipping to the monopoly wine store of your choice. I have looked at the Shafer Cab after reading a bit about the vineyard but never tried it, now might be the time. it's about my price range at the moment. As for the Ojai Syrah , which one? The Santa Barbara, Stolpman or Thompson?

yhn

Grape Destemmer
Posts:59

12/11/2006 1:22 AM
The Ridge Lytton Springs is a must. A benchmark Zinfandel-based wine. I'd also recommend their Santa Cruz Mtns. Cab. If you want to splurge, Monte Bello is one of California's premier cru vineyards, but this will be very different than a Napa Cab. Seasmoke. Ojai and Martinelli both stand out - I'd recommend looking for reviews of those particular wines at cellartracker.com.

incident

Grape Stomper
Posts:107

12/13/2006 2:31 AM
It might be easier to simply relocate to California.

Blair Ridley User is Offline

Wine Labeler
Posts:3980

12/14/2006 2:05 PM
Quote: As for the Ojai Syrah , which one? The Santa Barbara, Stolpman or Thompson? All of them will be good - but the Stolpman and Thompson may need some time in the cellar to blossom.

MTPockets

Grape Puncher
Posts:947

12/15/2006 2:49 AM
Fredric, Do you ever/is it easy for you to get to the US? Maybe we can do a California-themed offline and take you wine shopping for the return home. MTP

Fredric

Grape Truck Driver
Posts:26

12/21/2006 9:36 PM
Thanks for the invitation. Unfortunately I haven’t any trips to the US planned for next year but you never know, When I go I will send you a message first. The Ridge Lytton Springs and Santa Cruz cab were sold out and I’ll have to wait until the release of next vintage, which is in February, to try it. I just got the Ojai Santa Barbara Syrah which I’ll drink soon and tell you what I think of it.

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