The Auswine Forum

I'm heading to the States in October for a brief two week holiday (relative's wedding).

I will be in Chicago for the first week and we're still to decide where we will be the second week.

Although I suspect my beverage of choice for the trip will mostly be beer, can anyone point me in the right direction for decent wines I should try that are both reasonably priced and widely available?

Cheers,

Jimmy

A few stalwarts that are also exported

- Ridge
- Clos du Val
- Au Bon Climat
- Saintsbury

but also look out for the local Bdx blends going under the name of "Meritage". A St Supery I tried was excellent with good cellar potential.

Plenty of stuff, but watch the high alcohol (especially the Zin's) if you're not especially tolerant of >15% stuff.

check wine-searcher for merchants in the area

regards

Ian

Without knowing what you prefer its hard to make recommendations, but check out Appellation America. There is more information on that one site than just about anywhere else.

Mike

I like the Plumpjack and Cakebread Cabs from Napa. Both could do with some cellaring though.

If you like Bordeaux & Rhones, they're much cheaper than in Oz - perhaps try a few of those.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I will do a bit of research based on the info provided and then get stuck in while I'm over there.

Cheers,

Jimmy

In Chicago, try to get to Sam's downtown, or one of the Binny's. Sam's in particular is a huge store, with thousands of wines - a candyland even for an American wine buyer, with a good selection from every wine region in the world. For California wines, there are so many it is hard to know where to start. Some of the wines I buy will be hard to find in a retail store, but there are plenty of available wines as well. A stalwart is Chateau Montelena, and I'd recommend both the "regular" Napa Cab, and their Chardonnay (they are most famous for the Estate Cab, but that will cost you $100 or so, vs. $30-35 for the regular bottle). Looking at the Sam's web site, I see a few wines I could reommend:

2002 Montelena Estate Cab $86 (expensive, I know, but one of the best, and not an OTT over-oaked, over-ripe fruit bomb)
2004 Ridge Lytton Springs $32 An excellent Zin
2003 Mondavi Cab $25 Though a "big name" their regular Cab is actually fairly good.
Seghesio Zin (Any, including the "Sonoma" blend)

Don't see any great Syrahs, but I'm sure the physical store inventory is much broader than the web inventory - they'll be able to help with suggestions in any price range.

Regards,
Alan

Picadilly is quite a good store - I'm sure Gavin concurs ....

Hello!! Idaho and Oregon wines and California wines are definitely a must try!!