ha ha mdler...I feel the same way about most shiraz...a buddy and I drank two bottles of Mollydooker The Boxer (16% alc.) and my head was bangin the next morning.

has nobody mentioned Astor Place Wines?

i always found them to be really friendly and helpful. it might be a bit overpriced, but not by much.

although, i haven't lived in the city in 6 or 7 years, and they may have changed drastically.

tumbles, especially when you have wine, then whisky, then champagne, then more wine...

Good call on Astor Place. They recently (within the past year?) moved down the street, but their new space is nice, and the people there are very friendly.

Joshua – those alcoa glass stoppers are wicked cool! I've heard that Whitehall Lane is using them as well.

I assume we'll only see them in the high end wines seeing that the closure is slightly under a dollar to produce compared to corks that cost half that and screwcaps, well, we won't go there :)

And you had the Mollydooker recently? I've really been wanting to try that. Besides the hangover (assume too much consumption, not the quality, right?) how was it?

a bottle or two of wine when you are tired or stressed removes all worries until the next morning. This thread is making it extremely hard for me not to run over to the adjacent island for a dip in the wine bar...300 bottles of South Africa wine at my disposal- hmmmm

...you lucky dog architech! I say go for it - and bring back a bottle or two :)

if you like or have tried tempranillo, try Hoya de Cadenas - Spanish.

it's spicy and woodsy and oh so lovely enojoyed with dinner or by itself;

i need to visit my dealer TODAY!

(it's soo not expensive either; < $10!!)

I've tried a few of the mollydooker the boxer(shiraz), two left feet(merlot), and the maitre d'(cab i think). all are very good but come in at 16-17% which is a wicked alcohol content. Served at about 65 degrees they are good decanted they are good. The first sip is like being slapped by a beautiful woman but by the second glass you are just happy to still be talking to her.

By the way this seems like a good place to brag. So i have quite the regulars at work and last night after a bottle of 94' Penfolds Grange(they offered me a taste but i declined) my table buys a 2000 Harlan cab, drinks half and leaves me the other half. So... i mean damn...that is wine.

tumbles and I broke out a bottle of '95 Bordeaux Grand Cru last night....tasty

just ok for $11...it has become my "gift" wine as of lately:

Il Bastardo Sangiovese Rosso di Toscana - great conversation starter

For 11 bucks a bottle, you can have Ecco Domani. We get the merlot typically, and its lovely. It doesn't have that harsh alcohol finish that many wines have, and it doesn't stain like many cheap wines. Oh, and its from Venice, so its Italian!

We got the white once, can't remember what it was, but it was good too.

We buy the red by the case.

as a chianti lover, this is my "architectural" gift wine...again, not too pricey, very comfortable...( i like comfortable...)

wow....so sorry about that...where is that "edit button" when you need it so much...sorry everyone...

I second the recommendation for the Wine House in West Los Angeles (somebody mentioned it above). I have been going there for years and the help is excellent. I have walked in that store many times with an extensive menu for a dinner party and have had one of the sales clerks spend a half-hour, or more, with me going over every detail and steering me to perfect wine matches in my stated cost range. I have also gone there and asked for specific gift wine recommendations, etc., etc. I always get friendly help and they have never been wrong with a recommendation. Pricing is good, meaning you can probably find a given wine cheaper somewhere, but not that much cheaper, and certainly not with all the same friendly assistance. If you are in/near LA, try this place.

I recommend a nice bottle of (2003 up) Malbec for mid week drinking - perhaps Traviche, its good drinking and won't leave you wrecked the next day. I'm not sure what it is but it manages to go down easy and wear off the next day (minus the smile)

anyone else had such luck?

Techno – Have not had it. Malbec is great, isn't it? If you can find it in your area, another good standby is the Viu Manent from Chile. Reasonably priced and goes down smooth.

Someone please resize this photo:
http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/screenshot_06.jpg

here ya' go:

Thank you, timing is everything....

East coasters - better you drink French

judging on the photos of the recent Halloween event I would suspect you take advantage of that (do you hear me wreathing with jealousy)

If you've been lucky enough to visit you know what I'm talking about. If not they may just mail it to you. Can't say I've seen them for sale outside of the central coast. My favorite is the viognier, but it looks like they didn't have one this year. I also recommend the s. blanc and the C Neuf D Pink. Cheers!

the wine of gods!

You can get plenty of good Languedoc wines from the wine warehouse near astor place ... I recommend the "Domaine les Creisses"

try UVA wines in willimsburg. they always have affordable wines and are extremely friendly and love to chat. i've never once gotten a bad bottle of wine there. and if i did, they would gladly take it back. as a fan of Pinot Noir, i would suggest O'Reilly's and Cloudline. both are around $20 per bottle.

*bump*

has anyone had this cheap 8 dollar wine they sell in NYC called Santa Emma? So Delicious!

DJ - Is it from Chile? White or red? Sounds vaguely familiar – I think I tried the merlot and cab and recall both were pretty good especially for the price point.

I am a big wine lover - my main passion is red wine, tough a white can fit to some dishes very nicely too.

If you are into Italian wine I would advise you to try some wines from Tuscany - they are available at pretty decent rates too and are really good. Especially the Chianti wines from the regions are definitely worth trying.

I believe Santa Emma is from Chile. I had the Montes Alpha Syrah last night. Also from Chile. It is about double the price. I like some Chilean wines but some are fairly harsh. The taste of alcohol is too prominent. The Montes Alpha is nice though.

any Priorat wine... but my choice, and what can i get here in Cabo is:

Les Terrasses 2005