North American Red Wine?

[ponytug]

As someone who likes Australian syrah wines, there are lots of great syrahs out of California and Oregon. All three areas make exceptional wines in my opinion.

I would strongly suggest that your friend find a local wine shop that can advise her. What is available in any given locale is a strong function of the store's and the distributor's / state's wine buyers, and my suggestions are likely to be unobtainable in her shops. A good wine shop sommelier should be able to talk to her intelligently about wines she likes and make suggestions based on her preferences.

All the best,

Peter

 

[kenmbz]

I would second stags Leap.
I will ask my brother, him and his friends do wine parties and they are quite serious.
Need more input on what type of red,
More dry/earthy etc.
I will ask him about US Shiraz and see what he says, since I usually stick to penfolds for Shiraz or Italian wines for Reds.

Long Island NY used to have some good reds, but the vintners I knew at Hargraves and Pindar have changed out. Cali and the northwest are the best bet and they should find a local wine club.

 

[scootr]

So many outstanding reds produced in California and Oregon that I had to stop trying them all ... Hick !
Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles all produce good reds. I live in a wine growing area but our grapes can hold a candle to the ones I mentioned.
Cabernet Sauvignon is my choice but the crowd likes something lighter > Pinot Noir
Current favorite is a 2018 Decoy from Duckhorn in the Napa Valley. About $21 bottle

 

[Wagtail]

I would second stags Leap.
I will ask my brother, him and his friends do wine parties and they are quite serious.
Need more input on what type of red,
More dry/earthy etc.
I will ask him about US Shiraz and see what he says, since I usually stick to penfolds for Shiraz or Italian wines for Reds.

Long Island NY used to have some good reds, but the vintners I knew at Hargraves and Pindar have changed out. Cali and the northwest are the best bet and they should find a local wine club.

Thanks for that (AND to all of the responses, so far).

As to 'type' of red, she's definitely not the 'sweet' type... full 'bodied' including Cab Sav, Malbec, Merlot, GSM and Shiraz.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Did you read the original post? They asked for recommendations for a North American red for someone who prefers an Australian syrah and I made a suggestion.

Just saying that if you want a decent Syrah, you won't find it in the Willamette Valley.

 

[ponytug]

@Wagtail FWIW: The Best Wine Stores In D.C.

All the best, Peter

 

[scootr]

Yrs ago I joined a wine club online.
They had many experts who would rate the wines. Once you found a taster you agreed with - you stick with their recommendations.
You could pick a price range - then a rating... order 12 - 24 bottles and rest assured that 90% of what you got was very very good.
Good reds from Chile too.
wine.com

 

[Wagtail]

Yrs ago I joined a wine club online.
They had many experts who would rate the wines. Once you found a taster you agreed with - you stick with their recommendations.
You could pick a price range - then a rating... order 12 - 24 bottles and rest assured that 90% of what you got was very very good.
Good reds from Chile too.
wine.com

I, too, joined an Aussie wine 'club' many years ago... all of the wines are selected Australian and I've rarely had a bottle that was 'off'. In that case I simply call them up and they credit me the price of that bottle, no questions asked other than which bottle it was.

I've learnt a lot about various types of red wine (my preference) over the years due to 'club', I wouldn't have known/tried a Malbec or GSM (to name a couple) otherwise.

I also, religiously, use a "Vinturi" aerator with each bottle to 'decant' directly into the glass. A wonderful devise and not at all a 'gadget'.

 

[gsganzer]

There are some good vineyards in Fredericksburg Texas in the hill country. Two of our favorites are Becker Vineyards and Grape Creek. We belong to both wine clubs.

Fredericksburg TX has the second largest winery density after Napa/Sonoma California.

 

[bmaverick]

For Shiraz, the state of Wisconsin has several old Norwegian families who migrated here and built the Shiraz vineyards.
Spirits of Norway Vineyard - Producer. Winery | Wine-Searcher

Here is the main website of the producer and family dating from 1839 till present.
Home — Spirits of Norway Vineyard

The wine is award winners. All the comments are 5 stars. This is our savored SPECIAL occasion red wine, even though we make our own.

If you want to know more about the operation, Randy would be glad to share.