<p>Maybe your memory was leaving you at such an old age??? Does anyone have any guesses?</p>
<p>BTW, congrats on passing the 500 post mark, jmmom!!! That must have been one big celebration! Halfway to senior membership status!!!</p>
<p>TheDad - a single-malt guy? I have spent much, much time in Scotland over the years and have come away from that experience disliking blends. There is so much variety and so many distinctive flavors in the singles. Learn to love the peat!! Single-casks have even more variety. Macallan is one of the better ones, but for a unique Scottish experience, try Laphroaig. A young waitress in Glasgow introduced me to it when I asked for a recommendation, but chewed my a** off when I then asked for it with ice: “If you’re going to ruin a good whisky,” she said, “you can kindly leave this place!”</p>
<p>Anyway, Lafroaig is sometimes said to have a medicinal taste (which is smoother in the older Lafroaigs, which I can’t afford), but it’s a taste that grows on you. It’s amazing though that sometimes the memory of a place may overwhelm the true taste of the whisky. I love Oban single malt, but even the mention of the name Oban instantly puts me back there, standing in a gale, anticipating the ferry to Mull, wondering “Will it really launch in weather like this?”</p>
<p>Note: Before someone tells me I can’t spell, “whisky” is the proper spelling for Scottish ones.</p>
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<p>No, I was actually a person buying from the brokers/distributors for a grocer. Never got any free Cristal though!!</p>
<p>I like Dalwhinnie and Glenfiddich. I don’t really drink single malts much- kinda go through phases, but when I started reading Reginald Hills mysteries where the quantity and quality of the Scotch is a major factor in how well his police superintendent functioned, it just sounded really good. Just do a search for “Andy Dalziel” and you’ll see what I mean! ;)</p>
<p>Digi, I like single-malts but I’m very much an amateur. I have scouted out the territory, though, and I gave a bottle of Laphroaig to my Dad as a present several years ago. He was the real Scotch drinker though he didn’t actually drink all that much.</p>
<p>EmeraldK, I like Glenfiddich, too. Trouble is, I can often make a bottle last five years.
Last night was a sort of special occasion: my Dad received a posthumous award which my sister and I accepted on his behalf. TheMom and I shared a bit of the Macallans in his honor when I got home.</p>
<p>Need help. Last night husband openned a 97 Merlot - cork just fell apart. Someday I need to find one of those long tweezer things. I poured mine into a gray separator and then poured it into my glass. Husband poured a bunch down the drain. Have about a glass left in the bottle and I think I will pour it into the wine vinegar that has a mother. The kitchen island has a wine rack-probably not the best place to store the wine but some has been there so long I doubt moving them would help. I know I have junk mixed with great wine-Husband has been “what shall we open this weekend?” to use up some of the stuff I just had to buy. Have a 1978 Jordan Cab. It was great on our first date in 84 so sometime between then and?? I picked it up. Any suggestions on how to open this one? Should I get out my gravy strainer or mother vinegar?</p>
<p>Digi, I like single-malts but I’m very much an amateur. I have scouted out the territory, though, and I gave a bottle of Laphroaig to my Dad as a present several years ago. He was the real Scotch drinker though he didn’t actually drink all that much.</p>
<p>EmeraldK, I like Glenfiddich, too. Trouble is, I can often make a bottle last five years.
Last night was a sort of special occasion: my Dad received a posthumous award which my sister and I accepted on his behalf. TheMom and I shared a bit of the Macallans in his honor when I got home.</p>
<p>Actually, Digi, I’m even an amateur at wines…no systematic approach, little formal tutelage/terminology/etc…but have been at it with some enthusiasm for three decades. My Dad went to wine tastings etc. and tried to impart some of his experience to me.</p>
<p>Dear TheDad-sorry to hear about the passing of your dad. I remember you taking him to an appointment not so long ago. Congrats to him on the award.</p>
<p>LA</p>
<p>What was the name— Boone Farm or something? Apple Hill was 99 cents.
Mateus was $2.98?? </p>
<p>On my 21st birthday I took the L to Howard St. in Chicago and proudly bought a bottle of vodka…just because. I was annoyed when the cashier didn’t react to my ID and say “Happy birthday.” Evanston was dry back then.</p>
<p>Nothing did the trick quite like “Pink Pussycat,” 99 cents a bottle, the heaves at no extra charge! Ran into abottle of that at 14, did me in for drinking fo life. Now, if you are willing a share a vintage bottle of diet coke!</p>
<p>Haven’t read the whole thread, but I keep meaning to buy a bottle of the "two buck Chuck) at Trader Joes. A few months ago I saw a panel of experts do a Chard tasting and the two buck came out ahead of several $20 per bottle Chards. Has anyone tried it?</p>
<p>2 Buck Chuck is reasonably good for us easy to please wine drinkers. It’s 3 Buck Chuck in Seattle. According to my Sonoma County mother-in-law (and she may have embellished this story a bit), the wine was produced by a husband/wife owned winery. Divorce and subsequent revenge action by wife was to sell off the inventory at pennies on the dollar. Funny thing was, the circumstances and name recognition resulted in crazy demand.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the lots of two-buck Chuck vary. One article mentioned that folks buy bottles from different lots, go out to their cars and taste each bottle (they bring along corkscrews and cups), and then go back into Trader Joe’s to buy those lots that measured up.</p>
<p>We have Best Cellars around here that specializes in good wines for under $10. They’ve had some pretty good $3 Chard as well.</p>
<p>The first time I saw someone bring a Trader Joe’s 2 buck as a hostess gift to a friend’s house I about died (quietly)-but then we live in the sticks. Actually I liked it.Today at the winery while tasting I realized I like just about anything.</p>
<p>lamom-
Is your '78 Jordan a regular cab or an Alexander Valley Cab? 78 was a very good year, second only to '75 in that decade, for Calif reds. Properly stored, that bottle should be great. If its had significant temperature variation, if its been in the frequent light, or if its been stored standing up, uh oh 
. That bottle, if properly stored, would be worth around $75-80, yes, Drdrewsmom??? Since it sounds like its been more of a “family friend”, I’d say open it up and give it a try. It may have thrown sediment (see if theres dark stuff at the bottom). That’s ok-- not a bad thing. You just may want to decant or strain it. </p>
<p>The cork would dry out if its been stored in a too dry area (it needs some moisture)or if its been standing up. The cork could get moldy too, but again, that isn’t necessarily bad. The easiest way to strain it (for cork pieces and/or sediment) is to pour it through cheesecloth. Let us know how it is!</p>
<p>As for 2 buck chuck, I talked about it on p. 1 of this thread. Maize&Blue- I hadn’t heard the divorce story. What I understood is that Charles Shaw buys up grapes from all over the place and bottles it in his winery, so he can say its from Napa. And the range in quality is probably due to the variation in where the grapes come from. But I like the divorce story better :)</p>
<p>Last thing-- I went to an Oscar party tonight and wanted to bring a bottle of nice but reasonably priced wine. I grabbed a bottle of Ch. Souverain Chardonnay (2001, I think) from the cellar. Ch. Souverain is often listed by Newsweek and Consumers Report as a best buy. reasonably priced, and pretty reliable. I don’t know how this bottle was-- we drank margaritas!</p>
<p>PS Kinshasa- Boones farm??? Whew-- scary thought :eek: We’ve already mentioned MD 20-20 and Ripple-- how could we forget Thunderbird?? All of these can probably be found on the store shelves with the Turpentine</p>
<p>In 1969 you could buy a lot of good wines at around $ 2, including that Concha Y Toro Chilean cabernet, good Beaujolais, Hungarian and Greek wines. Premier class Bordeaux cost around $ 8-10. If you paid more for a Taylor Burgundy, either you were shopping in a high-class neighborhood (or a state-owned store) or you bought a gallon jug.</p>
<p>Digi, and other single malt fans:don’t miss any opportunity to try single malt Irish, such as Redbreast.</p>
<p>Porter Creek, 2002 - Russian River Valley Pinot – Hillside vineyard, old vine; estate bottled. A lovely, lovely Pinot, probably the best I’ve ever had. </p>
<p>Another Pinot worth trying…Echelon, 2003 – San Luis Obispo, Central Coast. Spicy with bright cherry. Great to sip on while cooking! </p>
<p>Yesterday, I tried a very tasty Oregon Pinot Noir – Benton Lane, 2001. Perfect choice after a walk on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to trying more Oregon Pinots. :)</p>
<p>Reasonably priced (apx $15 or less) & nice wines:</p>
<p>Babcock’s are great; moderately priced label is “troc” Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
Sunstone (organic too) has good Pinot, Viogner, Chardonnay
Qupe Chardonnay
Brander Sauvignon Blanc
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio</p>
<p>It’s harder to find good cheap reds in my opinion. I love big huge carbernets. They don’t come cheap… Usually I can do okay with a moderstely-priced French St Emillion or a St Estephe.</p>
<p>Special Wine: Heitz reserve Cabernet or Chateau Lynch Bages for red; Lucien Crochet’s high end Sancerre is yummy.</p>
<p>When I lived in France there were tons of great wines under $10.<br>
My corner grocery also had a plastic barrel from which you could refill your bottles for about 2-3 francs. It was hideous though.</p>