I am often asked what is a good bottle or what do you recommend. I thought I would simply share my cellar with you. Check out a great website and app, Cellar Tracker. You can read everyday consumers reviews, points, different people's cellars and what is in mine.
Check out the link below
RyansWinePicks
As I write this I currently have around 85 bottles in my condo waiting to be opened, swirled, smelled and tasted. I'm pretty passionate about wine and due to the sommelier program, I'm currently in, its key to always be studying. I store my wine in a kitchen cabinet below my center island, hardly a proper temperature controlled place but for short term, it's better than above your fridge or beside your oven. I've got Pinot Noir's from California, Oregon, Ontario, France to Cabernets from Bordeaux, Australia, and Ontario. Spanish Gran Riservas, modern Italian Tuscan blends with French grapes, South African red blends, Chilean Carmenere....the list is a long one. I am a serious spender but not a silly one. I'll read washer and dryer reviews for several weeks before buying, yes I'm that serious. I just like to know I'm getting excellent quality for my hard earned money. The same comes to my wine selections, all selected by myself for sharing with friends and family....ok and a few are just for me.
I just purchased this new book on Champagne by Peter Liem, a champagne expert who moved from NYC to Champagne to absorb all things bubbly. Everything you need to know about Champagne from the Terroir to the different Champagne houses. I'm only 1/4 way through but this is an excellent book as Peter wants you to think about Champagne as a terroir-focused wine, not simply popped to celebrate and consumed without seriousness.
I had a fun Northern Italian wine tasting last week that finished with a 2007 Barolo...molto benne. P.S. for $40 that bottle is long gone from the LCBO unless you live in maybe Ottawa or Kenora.
I picked up these bottles today as well as a few more because they just came out yesterday from the LCBO. The chance to drink a 2004 Grand Riserva from Rioja, Spain for $34 is an excellent opportunity. Check out the wine to the right of it, a Chateau Peymelon, Bordeaux from 2006 for only $19.95. Will it be mind blowing, probably not, but a fun chance to drink some older Bordeaux.
People often say they are nervous to pick out a wine when they come over because in their eyes I'm an expert. Well, I am into terroir focused wine but hardly an expert. I like wine that tastes like it comes from a specific place. A well made Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa is easily distinguishable just as a Chianti Classico from Tuscany, they have a sense of place. A Chardonnay from Chablis France taste like the chalky soils where it's grown, not simply the chardonnay grape. The point I'm getting at is I suggest you ditch the big names like "J Lohr" or "Jackson Triggs" and try a Cabernet/Merlot blend from Stellenbosche South Africa for $15.75. You will be surprised at the value in leaving the big well-known brand names and regions. My standard reccomend go-to for a $20 bottle is Chile, Argentina or South Africa. You simply can't go wrong!
Have I mentioned "leave your comfort zone" enough yet?
Happy Sipping,
Ryan Sullivan
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