WITHSTAND

[winecollector]

Cpurvis- Only had one or two Rieslings I've really cared for..... one was an NY wine that was a gift, and the other is one of Hotwine's recommendations, Schmidt Sohne's MSR.

Foodie- If I open a bottle at home by myself with dinner, I rarely drink more than half the bottle, unless it is an Italian Chianti or a Rosso. If it's dinner out with friends, then I'll usually drink more. I like both my foods and my wines with a lot of flavors. A good friend of mine is a fantastic chef, and one of our rules, is that "you can never add too much garlic," and I have never had a wine that I have felt has "too much oak." But I will not start out a meal with a wine with a lot of oak, because it just does not taste as good that way. I will open something like that toward the end of the meal. A good example, is 1995 Robertson's Well, Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. The oak does dominate, but after a rich meal it makes for a great taste in your mouth.

As with all wines, some do go better with different foods than others, all you guys are aware of that. But rather than be critical of wines with a lot of oak, or that are made with the "three evil grapes," I enjoy then under the right circumstances, and with compatible foods. And besides, if I don't draw a line in the sand on this one, none of us will ever here the end of it from Innkeeper!

<the winecollector from PA stands alone with his oak 2 x 4>