foray into france

[gobigred]

stevebody,
i'll always have a soft spot for the iconoclasts among us. thanks for the advice and selections, i'll give them a try as I find them. actually I had 3 rhones last week (should I admit that?!) and went 3 for 3; liked them all.

By the way, I'm really enjoying this discourse. I think some of your points are confirmation of what I already suspected, that perhaps my pallete is not ready for Bordeaux, and that my tastes may never be ready. This is something that has been neglected in my (and i suspect other novices) wine education, whether from books by experts or by well-informed friends. Thus there is no point in my buying a $100 bottle of Bordeaux b/c I couldnt appreciate it and probably wouldnt like it anyways, at least right now. In the end thats probably just good business on the wine industry's part. Although I must say that the best wines I've tasted have always been expensive. (Of course then your getting into the idea of expectancy which is probably worthy of a whole post topic in itself.)

In regards to Tavel that you mentioned, I have yet to find one I like despite being hailed as great roses and I usually like roses. Can you suggest a specific one? Also, can you tell me any good American ones. I still cant figure out why there arent many US roses out there. Maybe b/c people see pink wine and think its going to be sweet? I had a really good one from ravenswood, but you can only get it at the winery, that figures!

signmefine: thanks for the advice on the store. actually one of our retailers here told me about that shop when I was looking for a specific sparkler (you think finding still wine here is hard, try finding some bubbly). I usually make it to dallas monthly to see friends and family and do as much wine shopping as I can afford while I'm there. But I'll be sure to check out that shop next time i'm down that way.