Newbie

[Innkeeper]

Hi W, and welcome to the Wine Board. You seem to be well on track. For the whites you like I tend to stick with Alsace for the GT and with Alsace and Germany for riesling. New York's Finger Lakes puts out some great reisling too, but you won't find them there.

There are numerous wonderful shiraz' from Oz as well blends of shiraz and others including granche, cabernet, and merlot. However, we are doing some great things with syrah/shiraz in American too. Look for those from the Central Coast such a Tobin James, and from Oregon and Washington State. Many of these push your price point, but several good ones are available for under $20. You might also get into Lower Rhone wines such as Cotes du Rhone and CDR Villages. These, if not mostly, have a good shot of syrah in them.

We use Sake mostly for cooking. Do know that they should be drunk very young, as are most Italian Whites. Both are difficult to find in America without a lot of age on them.