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Robinflannery · 12-13-2003, 12:33 PM,

Hi: I know nothing about wines, but my Mom and her hubby recently inherited a home and property in Erce France (somewhere in the midi Pyrenee region). They will be spending summers in France from now on. I thought a nice gift for the Holidays would be a book (starting simple like French Wines for DUmmies), a bottle of wine from that region and some wine glasses. Anybody out there know any wines from that region?? And if so, how to purchase?? Thank so much!

Innkeeper · 12-13-2003, 01:56 PM,

Hi Robin, and welcome to the Wine Board. The book you mentioned is excellent, and would be a great starter book for them. The nearest sizable wine region to the French Pyrenees is the Roussillon. There are a few much smaller ones to the west of there. A Cotes du Rossillon should not be hard to find. Any glasses suitable for Rhone type wines are more than suitable for the Southern French wines.

Robinflannery · 12-13-2003, 11:44 PM,

Thanks so much! I'll start looking today.

wineguruchgo · 12-15-2003, 10:59 AM,

Hi Robin!

The best wine glasses in the world are from the French company Riedel. It is my understanding the George Riedel is the only person to grace the cover of wine spectator who is not a winemaker or winery owner.

Many of your finer wine shops will probably carry their glassware.

The wine series of this line is very nice and very affordable.

Kcwhippet · 12-15-2003, 11:34 AM,

Riedel was founded in 1756 in Bohemia - now in the Czech Republic. After WWII, it moved to Kufstein, Austria where its current factory still sits on Weissachstrasse. The factory outlet is in Schneegattern, Austria.

Drew · 12-15-2003, 11:48 AM,

Riedel's top of the line is their Sommelier series which is not affordable and very impractical, IMHO. Very, very delicate hand blown glasses that require intense focus to clean without breaking. The rest of their line-up is more functional and practical.

Drew

Innkeeper · 12-15-2003, 12:04 PM,

Which stew would you Riedel experts recommend for Rhones?

Thomas · 12-15-2003, 12:22 PM,

Banyuls Sur Mer is at the foot of the Pyrenes East, and it would make a fine wine gift.

The most famous of the Banyuls wines is produced from Grenache (red grape) and it is made for chocolate.

sedhead · 12-15-2003, 03:03 PM,

Irish.

Innkeeper · 12-15-2003, 03:09 PM,

OK, STEM.

sedhead · 12-15-2003, 04:52 PM,

sorry about that.

Kcwhippet · 12-15-2003, 05:05 PM,

The stem Riedel recommends is the Syrah - number 416/30 in the Vinum series. Check them out at www.riedel.com.

Robinflannery · 12-16-2003, 07:34 AM,

Hi, showing my ignorance here...stem is some sort of acronym or slang for wine??? Thanks everyone for all the great tips, although I'll pass on those pricey glasses! Went to Saks and picked up some hand blown, hand painted (with real silver and gold) glasses. Unfortunately, I didn't have all of your great ideas when I hit the wine shop and ended up guessing, I bought a 2001 Pouilly-Fume from Domaine de Saint-Laurent-l'Abbaye. I know it is not from that region, but anyone know anything about it? Thanks!!

Innkeeper · 12-16-2003, 08:25 AM,

A stem is a glass.

Kcwhippet · 12-16-2003, 09:49 AM,

Robinflannery,

If you want to get some good wine glasses, check out this offer at Amazon - www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005Y1E5/qid=1071582055//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl79/103-1617778-7384637?v=glance&s=kitchen&n=507846

These are the Spiegelau Authentis glasses, which aren't quite the same as Riedel, but they're very good nonetheless. If you click on the special offer, you get 6 Bordeaux and 6 Burgundy glasses for $24.99 rather than the normal retail $144. Quite a savings. We have Riedels which we use frequently, but as Drew mentioned, they're a bit fragile, so we use the Spiegelaus as our "everyday" glasses. They're also a bit fragile but if you break one you're only out about $2.10 rather than the $20 or so for a broken Riedel. On our first order, one of the Bordeaux glasses was broken and the customer service rep had another box sent out and I didn't have to return anything. Worth a try.

Drew · 12-16-2003, 10:13 AM,

Kc, please tell me you CAN'T buy Sommelier Grand Cru glasses for $20.

Drew

Kcwhippet · 12-16-2003, 10:40 AM,

Drew,

I definitely can't buy Sommeliers for $20. The Vinums retail about that price. The Sommeliers are more like $70 a stem - way too rich for my blood.

Innkeeper · 12-16-2003, 01:04 PM,

Robin, the Pouilly Fume is a nice sauvignon blanc. Unfortunately it is not at all representional of the wines they will find around their new summer home.

hades_ibex · 12-16-2003, 01:06 PM,

I'm not sure how readily available these are retail, but you might look for Spiegelau glasses. Should be less expensive than Riedel.

http://www.spiegelau.com/english/home.htm

Also I believe Riedel is from Austria.
Cheers.

hades_ibex · 12-16-2003, 01:08 PM,

Oops sorry Kcwhippet... you mentioned they moved the factory to Austria from Czech. OK.

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