Raven Nightshade wrote:

Dude! Party at Clarice's!  I demand a rack of lamb to go with this. NAO!

There is PLENTY of lamb around here. I just about hit sheep on my way to work some mornings (stupid sheep). Not that I know the best wine for lamb or mutton. A red, I'd assume, but I guess we'd just have to go through the whole lot and see what works best, eh...

Since I'm totally raising money to go to next year's RoseCon, I approve of this idea. I've always wanted to go to New Zealand. Plus, I could get some awesome pictures for my Photography class in college. I just need to get a travel visa and a passport... I have time, yes?

As for good cheese, Boon Cheese is really, really good. It's $10 a pound, but it's locally made extra-sharp soft cheddar. [Named because it is made in Boon, Michigan. The whole town is about the size of a small strip mall.] It's fragrant, almost oak-y, and has a taste like it has been lightly smoked. Golden in color, it melts on the tongue like dark chocolate. It very nearly overwhelms the senses, but in a really good way. It's very rich and filling, and tastes best with straight vodka. Yum.

Havarti surprisingly goes well with garlic water crackers and koolaid of the eh... grape persuasion.

mercurynin wrote:

So I baked up that brie with some cranberries, diced apples, almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon.    Eating it now on saltines, only because I forgot to buy nicer crackers, and sipping some Liebfraumilch.  I'm not much for white wine, but Liebfraumilch is mild, drinkable, and the only thing I had on hand that wouldn't overpower the brie.  I'd recommend it as a beginner's wine, for people who aren't sure they'll like wine.

Um, UNF.

I need to mess with whites a bit more. Although I'm still racist against chardo


HOLY SHIT HILLARY CLINTON ON TCR

Ugh, add to the bad wine list Woodbridge Cab Sauv by Robert Mondavi (Cali). Fucking noxious stuff, tasted like turpentine. Believe it or not, I let this stuff sit out in the open for two fucking days and it improved.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

One time I went to a friend's apartment because he was cooking chicken. I don't know what happened but somehow we got the idea to cook it with half a bottle of red wine he had sitting in the fridge since God was a child and dinosaurs roamed the earth. No, really, we were pretty sure it was borderline vinegar. So he poured on the raw chicken, added some rosemary and garlic, and put it in the oven after praying it didn't suck.

Wasn't bad, actually.

I keep a big bottle of cheapo (both in price and quality) Burgundy in the house for cooking purposes.  On a lark, I poured about a cup or so of it on some chicken--along with onions, garlic cloves, celery, and apple slices--and it turned out pretty damn good.  It was even better the next day, after everything had time to get friendly in the refrigerator.

ShatteredMirror wrote:

horrible wine to go with an intolerable seder

Speaking of Passover, I had my first glass of Manischewitz (blackberry flavor, I think) a couple nights ago.  It smelled like alcoholic jam and tasted like a step up from other blatantly fruity wines like Arbor Mist or Boone's Farm (LOLLER ALCOHOLIC KOOL-AID).

My mom and I went to dinner in Detroit's Greektown, and, upon her recommendation, we ordered glasses of Mavrodaphne.  It was ...sexy.  It's really more of a dessert wine, which is just as well because I didn't really get around to it until after I'd finished eating.  It reminds me of port, and it's supposed to go well with dark chocolate.  Also, it's insidiously easy to drink and sneaks up on you--after one glass, Mom was getting a little silly.    Retsina was on the wine list, too, which I have yet to try.

Can I just say that I fucking love Greek wine?  To be honest, I care naught for vintages, country of origin, or method of fermentation, as long as it tastes good.  This is the second Greek wine I've tried and liked which wasn't caught up in such details.  (Follow the link above to understand what I mean.)

I also cracked open a zinfandel (red, not white, natch) the other night, too.  More on that when I can concentrate on it.