Shiraz and merlot....what the different?

Shiraz (or Syrah) tend to have blackberry, plum, spicy(not the chili spicy) to name a few, kinda flavor. Its the kind of wine you would pick to go with beef and hearty foods. IMO its a bit darker then merlot and generally would pick it if you are having a meal of sorts.

Shiraz is a much fuller bodied wine with more body or 'thickness' and has more mature taste. Whereas Merlot is a little lighter and not so heavy on the berry and plums, etc.

If you are just starting on reds (from whites) or just starting on wines, merlot would generally be your pick.

Or to make it simple... Merlot would be like beer as Shiraz would be to Vodka.. or absinthe - in terms of thickness and richness on the wine.

This post has been edited by vermins: Jan 27 2009, 07:17 PM

after opening a red wine n cant finish it, how long can be kept?

Personally I like wolfbrass brown label, Black label... but recently I taste ice wine, it was fantastic, but pricely...

<B>By the way, anyone know where can I post the selling list of liquor, as I want to clear out my collection of liquor, since didn't drink much liquor now...</B>

For beginners (usually they prefer sweeter stuff) you could try some sparkling shiraz or maybe a rose they're alot easier to go down.

Sparkling shiraz is alot cheaper than Champagne but still classified under bubblies so the glamour effect is still there for those on a budget

My favourite recommendation for this is are Beringer Stone Cellars wines (Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot) - go Merlot if you prefer lighter reds, Cab Sauv maybe too heavy for some people. There are also other reds I can recommend but they are not found easily in Malaysia, while Beringer Stone Cellars can be found quite easily.


Not true. If it tastes like grape juice, then it's not wine.

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Added on February 3, 2009, 4:16 pmIf you cork it back, and store in the fridge, generally not more than 3-4 days, a week at most. More than that, I wouldn't drink it as the taste would have changed too much from exposure to air.

Ice wine is indeed great, and too expensive especially here. I remember getting half-bottles of nice sweet Finger Lakes icewines for USD5 at the wineries themselves. But outside that area, all I can find are pricey Canadian icewines.

You can also try prosecco, which is Italian sparkling wine. It's slightly sweeter than champagne/sparkling wine. By the way, Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France only. Any other sparkling wine, even if made the same way, is only sparkling wine, not Champagne.


This post has been edited by Traveler: Feb 3 2009, 04:16 PM

Any idea how long could I store red wine (new, unopened?) 20 years?

It really depends on the type of red wine (Bordeaux blend, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, etc...) and how it is stored. I am assuming that by storage you mean a proper storage facility that is both temperature and humidity controlled. In our hot and humid weather, this would mean a wine chiller unit. In colder countries, this could be an underground cellar that is about 12-16C.

Some reds don't benefit from any storage at all, and are meant to be drunk young (like Beaujolais Nouveau), while others can be kept for 10-20 years or more. It really depends. If you are talking 10-20 years type, then most likely it will be the Bordeaux or maybe also the Cab Sauv from California. It's best to get a wine guide to see recommendations for your particular wine. I recommend Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Guide. It's not so expensive and its small and light to carry around. If your wine isn't listed in it, then it's probably best to follow the generic recommendations for your wine/vintage/region.

Thanks for the tips.

Where to get the Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Guide?

I have a bottle of Merlot 2002 California, Cab.Sauv 2002 Australia and Merlot 2007 from Chile, all plan to store it for 21 years from it's vintage year. I put them under the closet which is quite humid, cool but not cold, would this think these wine would still be ok after that years? I'm not planning for investment but instead to give it away as my kids's 21th. birthday present!

The Pocket Wine Guide you can find in MPH or Kinokuniya. Get the 2009 edition. If they are out of stock, you can also try Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, with the GBP so weak, it may be cheaper or similar price to have it shipped.

Storing wines at our ambient temperature around 30C is not a good idea. Red wine will tend to mature extra-fast. To properly store wines, you need to keep it around 12-16C. Merlot is not known to age well and should be drunk within 3-7 years in general. So you should drink your 2002 Merlot now, while your 2007 Merlot you can probably drink it within the next 2-3 years. I normally won't drink any Cab Sauv less than 5 years old, as I think they need the time to mature. Your 2002 CS should be drinkable already but I don't know for sure if it will benefit from further aging. You may want to check it with HJ's Pocket Wine Guide. Normally I drink my CS when they are between 5-12 years. I don't keep anything longer than that unless it is a high-end Bordeaux, Sauternes, sweet Riesling, icewine or Tokay.

in this case, how do we know it is a high-end Bordeaux?

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Added on February 11, 2009, 2:47 pmGuess what? This is what I get from Amazon.com:

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009: 32nd Edition - Hugh Johnson
$6.59 - Usually ships within 1-2 business days
Condition: Used - Very Good
Sold by: snappyshoppe



*** We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to the country you selected. You can enter a different shipping address above, or you can remove the item from your order by changing its quantity to 0, then clicking the Update button. ***

This post has been edited by scfun: Feb 11 2009, 02:47 PM

1. If its a name I am not familiar with, I normally look it up in HJ's Pocket Wine Book.
2. That's odd, I never had any problems buying from Amazon US and shipping it to Malaysia. Try Amazon UK if you can't get Amazon US to work.

Whatever wine you've got, try to research some information on them online. Sometimes there will be information on that particular year/grape/winery where they will tell you the peak time to drink the wine. Of course due to the weather differences you should minus a few years and then it will be DELICIOUS


For dessert wine, my fav is still De Bortoli's Noble One. Anyone tried it?

This post has been edited by quantum: Feb 12 2009, 10:07 AM

Good point. Some wineries post when-to-drink recommendations for their wines on their website.

My favourite wines for dessert are:

1. Chateau d'Yquem - Tasted the 2004, and this Sauternes is simply WOW! The price is also a WOW... so I could only afford to buy a half-bottle (375ml) of either 2002 or 2004 (which are decent years, but not the greatest) in HK (duty-free), and even that set me back close to RM600-700.
2. Moscato Bianco from La Familiglia du Robert Mondavi (Italian style offering from Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley, USA) - delicious and inexpensive (I paid around USD20 for it at the winery itself), but I don't know if they still make it.
3. A good Tokaji Aszu from Hungary - preferrably 4 or 5 puttonyos (measures of sweetness, the higher the number, the sweeter it is).

Wah you've really tasted alot of different wines eh........I tried quite a few but they're all from my uncles (they can afford it) hahaha....I rarely drink alone because I can't finish it and it's a waste drinking a good bottle alone....none of my friends appreciate wine

anyone know where to buy Moet Chandon champagne?

Heheh, yeah

I've done wine tasting at the wineries in New York's Finger Lakes region, California's Napa Valley and Bordeaux (Left and Right Bank). Lots of good stuff but sometimes some mediocre stuff as well.

Next week am planning to open a bottle of Pavillon Rouge (Chateau Margaux's 2nd wine) 1994 vintage over a nice dinner with business friends. I'm really looking forward to it, since I bought that bottle in 1998 and have kept it in proper storage these past 11 years.

Wow thats nice......I can't wait to start working and get a place of my own so I can start a collection....I'm stuck with my wardrobe for the moment. I've only been to barossa, yarra valley and the granite belt. I kinda miss the free tastings that they used to give some years ago lol!!! Its getting too pricey to taste wine now

When I went tasting in the Finger Lakes region, most wineries had free tastings. One even gave us cheese, crackers and a special dip for the crackers that used their wine as ingredient (it was super yummy - too bad they didn't sell the dip!). One or two charged up to US$3-5 for tastings. One of them had a microbrewery so you also taste their beer.

In Napa Valley, about half charged and half didn't charge. The most expensive tasting was at Opus One, US$28 for a glass. But they really filled that glass to the very top! And considering they sold a bottle for US$125 and Opus One is known as one of the best and most expensive from Napa Valley... not so bad lah the price. The wine is simply superb.

In Bordeaux, most of the top chateaux (the First Growths, Super Seconds), do not charge. Imagine getting a glass of 10 year-old Chateau Lafite (I saw a bottle in KL for sale around RM3.5K) or 20 year-old Chateau Figeac, for FREE! Well don't have to imagine, if you visit, you'll get it. Usually it's the lower-ranked chateaux that charge around EUR5-7 per person for tasting. It's understandable though, considering the top chateaux need only to sell one bottle and they can cover your tasting cost. The lesser chateaux's wines are usually around 10% of the price of the top chateaux and they don't have hordes of people clamouring to buy their wines, so they need to cover their costs. With several exceptions, you can generally taste the difference between the top chateaux and the lesser chateaux. It's quite noticeable, but whether it's worth paying 10-20x more... well everyone has a different view.

Yesterday jes throwaway a half bottle of JC Merlot. After open for about 2 month and in the fridge, the taste of the wine a little weird. I guess they expired very fast once open yeah?