Gemini says it's Cain5

The listing basically says it is not Elivette, and all the clues given point to Cain Five. I picked up 3. You can still get the 2013 Elivette at this link too:

https://lastbottlewines.com/products/spring-mountain-vineyard-red-blend-elivette-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-2013

How did you get a link to go back and buy a previous offer on LB?

BigAg95 said:

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The listing basically says it is not Elivette, and all the clues given point to Cain Five. I picked up 3. You can still get the 2013 Elivette at this link too:

https://lastbottlewines.com/products/spring-mountain-vineyard-red-blend-elivette-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-2013

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Thanks! Just bought a case. Good deal

Thanks for the head's up!

Wow! Any other secret links to great deals are appreciated!!!

Definitely a cop

Just impressed and wondering what other deals there are to be found on LB.

Yeah I've never seen how to buy an old offer off of last bottle that's wild! I do know you can email them and they'll sell you anything still in inventory for $1 more than the original listing, but you're at the mercy of 6+ for free shipping.

The Hallberg Pinot they've got on last bottle today is phenomenal. Actually just coravined that exact bottle the other night and said how I wished they would bring it back because of how good it was!

Chipotlemonger said:

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Yea there comes a tipping point where people are going to start moving some of that $ to other wines. Why buy 1 750ml from Napa for $375 when you could get 2-3 great wines from somewhere else at the same cost?

Example: If Napa loses a customer to Pinot, for example, that customer could go right next door and get stellar Sonoma Pinots at a fraction of the cost.

I am glad that my favorite wine is Pinot, personally. I can get great stuff all the time at good values, and there are also splurge opportunities as well.

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Chipotlemonger,

I am mostly a fan of Napa Cabs but have found it almost impossible to find good value for money as of late. Have been thinking about exploring the Pinot route but could use some guidance. Can you provide a few recommendations (everyday wines and splurges) for Somona &/or Napa valley?

Much appreciated.

Try Thompson 31Fifty. Aggie owned Russian River Pinot and Chard. It's fantastic wine. There's a few places that serve it in college station otherwise they are pretty much winery and direct order only. Great husband and wife team and if you're able to visit while they're in town they will host you at their house overlooking the Russian River.

Other Sonoma recs:
Big Fans of MacRostie, Croix, and Merry Edwards. Sonoma Coast Winery is another good one for the price. Gary Farrell is good if you can find it for a deal but personally I think overpriced for what you get compared to the above.
Rochioli is a fantastic grower who produces a small amount under their own label. It's another good visit but in my opinion their wines were less spectacular than others who used their grapes. (Their sauv blanc, on the other hand, is great).

SupermachJM said:

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Try Thompson 31Fifty. Aggie owned Russian River Pinot and Chard. It's fantastic wine. There's a few places that serve it in college station otherwise they are pretty much winery and direct order only. Great husband and wife team and if you're able to visit while they're in town they will host you at their house overlooking the Russian River.

Other Sonoma recs:
Big Fans of MacRostie, Croix, and Merry Edwards. Sonoma Coast Winery is another good one for the price. Gary Farrell is good if you can find it for a deal but personally I think overpriced for what you get compared to the above.
Rochioli is a fantastic grower who produces a small amount under their own label. It's another good visit but in my opinion their wines were less spectacular than others who used their grapes. (Their sauv blanc, on the other hand, is great).

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Thanks SupermachJM!

Whoa Nellie said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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Yea there comes a tipping point where people are going to start moving some of that $ to other wines. Why buy 1 750ml from Napa for $375 when you could get 2-3 great wines from somewhere else at the same cost?

Example: If Napa loses a customer to Pinot, for example, that customer could go right next door and get stellar Sonoma Pinots at a fraction of the cost.

I am glad that my favorite wine is Pinot, personally. I can get great stuff all the time at good values, and there are also splurge opportunities as well.

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Chipotlemonger,

I am mostly a fan of Napa Cabs but have found it almost impossible to find good value for money as of late. Have been thinking about exploring the Pinot route but could use some guidance. Can you provide a few recommendations (everyday wines and splurges) for Somona &/or Napa valley?

Much appreciated.

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Anything in the $80 range from BDX may be more to your liking than Pinot.

cecil77 said:

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Whoa Nellie said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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Yea there comes a tipping point where people are going to start moving some of that $ to other wines. Why buy 1 750ml from Napa for $375 when you could get 2-3 great wines from somewhere else at the same cost?

Example: If Napa loses a customer to Pinot, for example, that customer could go right next door and get stellar Sonoma Pinots at a fraction of the cost.

I am glad that my favorite wine is Pinot, personally. I can get great stuff all the time at good values, and there are also splurge opportunities as well.

---

Chipotlemonger,

I am mostly a fan of Napa Cabs but have found it almost impossible to find good value for money as of late. Have been thinking about exploring the Pinot route but could use some guidance. Can you provide a few recommendations (everyday wines and splurges) for Somona &/or Napa valley?

Much appreciated.

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Anything in the $80 range from BDX may be more to your liking than Pinot.

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cecil77,

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into it.

Today is my first day on this forum as I usually hang out on the Premium board talking football. Lots of great information on this 15-yr thread. As somewhat of a wine cheapskate, some of you guys scare the hell out of me. You sir might be out of my league.

That said, I am willing to move into the deeper waters with caution.

Whoa Nellie said:

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cecil77 said:

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Whoa Nellie said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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Yea there comes a tipping point where people are going to start moving some of that $ to other wines. Why buy 1 750ml from Napa for $375 when you could get 2-3 great wines from somewhere else at the same cost?

Example: If Napa loses a customer to Pinot, for example, that customer could go right next door and get stellar Sonoma Pinots at a fraction of the cost.

I am glad that my favorite wine is Pinot, personally. I can get great stuff all the time at good values, and there are also splurge opportunities as well.

---

Chipotlemonger,

I am mostly a fan of Napa Cabs but have found it almost impossible to find good value for money as of late. Have been thinking about exploring the Pinot route but could use some guidance. Can you provide a few recommendations (everyday wines and splurges) for Somona &/or Napa valley?

Much appreciated.

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Anything in the $80 range from BDX may be more to your liking than Pinot.

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cecil77,

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into it.

Today is my first day on this forum as I usually hang out on the Premium board talking football. Lots of great information on this 15-yr thread. As somewhat of a wine cheapskate, some of you guys scare the hell out of me. You sir might be out of my league.

That said, I am willing to move into the deeper waters with caution.

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Throw caution to the wind!

I agree with Cecil that left bank Bourdeaux may be more your speed. I'd also look into other warmer climate wines that tend to be fruit forward. If I'm in a situation where the wine list is Napa heavy, I like zins from the area. Central American wines could also be a good place to look.

While you're branching out, it may be worth giving some cooler climate wines a try. Pinot from Occidental on the Sonoma Coast or Dundee Hills in Oregon are both generally pretty good. For a cheaper entry, Drouhin Rose Rock pinot can be had for $30, and it's a great bottle from a QPR standpoint.

I've always heard Three Sticks was a good Sonoma winery. We didn't have time to go there during our most recent visit.

Any one have any experience with their pinots?

The Thompson 31Fifty is on tap at Napa flats bistro in south college station. I had it the other day on happy hour. Pretty good!

I haven't had it in a while, but check out Roth Estate from Alexander Valley. It's around $25 a bottle. It was a great daily drinker and I think you can find them on good discounts at grocery stores and Costco maybe. They are/were a sister winery of Lancaster, which was one of the few "clubs" that I belonged to that sent automatic shipments.

They brought it back? Good to hear! I went by over the holidays and they had run out.

One of my favs in the under 40 range is Buehler. They're on Howell mountain in Napa but can't designate the vineyard as Howell mountain due to being at barely too low of elevation (the AVA requires you to be above a certain altitude to call it a Howell mountain wine)

It's excellent and you can find it at Specs. Proposed to my wife there and they sent us a 6L bottle of their reserve cab for our wedding. Highly highly recommend!

Hit enter before ready...will follow up

I'm not a big pinot drinker but I had a very nice one recently from Fess Parker Winery in Santa Barbara.

Yep, ol' Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone ... that Fess Parker.

IIRC, it was in the $60 range.

Bought in at Empouria, the wine shop in Galveston's Evia development. I've never seen it at the Total Wine near me.

SupermachJM said:

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One of my favs in the under 40 range is Buehler. They're on Howell mountain in Napa but can't designate the vineyard as Howell mountain due to being at barely too low of elevation (the AVA requires you to be above a certain altitude to call it a Howell mountain wine)

It's excellent and you can find it at Specs. Proposed to my wife there and they sent us a 6L bottle of their reserve cab for our wedding. Highly highly recommend!

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I have been meaning to try that one.

Thanks SupermachJM.

Chipotlemonger said:

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Hit enter before ready...will follow up

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(Okay here is my follow up)

Nice discission going on! I will go ahead and add my input. Just remember though, there are hundreds of Napa and Sonoma wineries...everyone's recs or personal experiences are going to differ. There is a lot out there to explore!

Napa
For Pinot this is tough. I have had Pinot from Napa wineries for appellations outside of Napa itself. Most of Napa is too hot for Pinot. Carneros, down south crossing between Sonoma and Napa, is the main place for any Napa Pinot. I personally have not explored too many Pinot centric Napa wineries...although I am sure some do exist that make stuff from Carneros.

Sonoma
Lot of great stuff already mentioned here. I was going to list out a lot of stuff, but as others have said, and based on your feedback, just diving straight into Sonoma Pinot if you are truly a bigger style red fan may not be the most logical step. If you did want to try a few out just to see what it's all about, here are just some, ranging from most accessible to the more revered: La Crema, BloodRoot <gap> Cobb, Reeve, Auteur

I could ramble on a ton of other places, but if you were to try stuff from each of these places it would be a great snapshot of Sonoma (and Anderson Valley) Pinot Noir.

Other
I will second the recommendation to look at some Bordeaux wines. Also, try out some Super Tuscans. This is just a term for some wines grown in Tuscany outside of the strict Chianti, etc. appellation restrictions. Sometimes they incorporate Sangiovese, sometimes they don't. Essentially they are Bordeaux-ish wines from Tuscany. I just had one the other night that was very nice and delivered good value for the $50ish it cost. 50% Merlot was the leading player but it even had 10% Syrah which I found interesting.

ZINFANDEL
In terms of other domestic wines that won't break the bank but deliver big body and flavor akin to Napa reds...go for Zinfandel! It is truly our country's most "original" grape, and it should be talked about more. I won't go too much into the history of it, but I am surprised it's not a big deal in America. Seems to hit all of the things that would fit American palates. You can get a stellar range of them for decent price. For big reds in this space, there are producers from multiple areas that I like. T-Vine (Napa), Turley (Mix of sources), Kokomo (Sonoma, Dry Creek), Unti (Sonoma, Dry Creek), Williamson (Sonoma).

On a budget Cores du Rhone are flavorful wines that might appeal to a Napa drinker.

cecil77 said:

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On a budget Cores du Rhone are flavorful wines that might appeal to a Napa drinker.

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Good call. I have the same budget and I've had good luck with CdR and other Rhne wines. For under $40 wines I have had some great QPR big reds from Paso, Tuscan cabs and blends, and Red Mountain in Washington. I know both have been mentioned, but you can't go wrong with Turley and Ridge, and most of their wines are under $100 and many are $30-40.

cecil77 said:

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On a budget Cores du Rhone are flavorful wines that might appeal to a Napa drinker.

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.

Campo de Borja Grenache is another that might be a good fit without breaking the bank.

Chipotlemonger said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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Hit enter before ready...will follow up

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(Okay here is my follow up)

Nice discission going on! I will go ahead and add my input. Just remember though, there are hundreds of Napa and Sonoma wineries...everyone's recs or personal experiences are going to differ. There is a lot out there to explore!

Napa
For Pinot this is tough. I have had Pinot from Napa wineries for appellations outside of Napa itself. Most of Napa is too hot for Pinot. Carneros, down south crossing between Sonoma and Napa, is the main place for any Napa Pinot. I personally have not explored too many Pinot centric Napa wineries...although I am sure some do exist that make stuff from Carneros.

Sonoma
Lot of great stuff already mentioned here. I was going to list out a lot of stuff, but as others have said, and based on your feedback, just diving straight into Sonoma Pinot if you are truly a bigger style red fan may not be the most logical step. If you did want to try a few out just to see what it's all about, here are just some, ranging from most accessible to the more revered: La Crema, BloodRoot <gap> Cobb, Reeve, Auteur

I could ramble on a ton of other places, but if you were to try stuff from each of these places it would be a great snapshot of Sonoma (and Anderson Valley) Pinot Noir.

Other
I will second the recommendation to look at some Bordeaux wines. Also, try out some Super Tuscans. This is just a term for some wines grown in Tuscany outside of the strict Chianti, etc. appellation restrictions. Sometimes they incorporate Sangiovese, sometimes they don't. Essentially they are Bordeaux-ish wines from Tuscany. I just had one the other night that was very nice and delivered good value for the $50ish it cost. 50% Merlot was the leading player but it even had 10% Syrah which I found interesting.

ZINFANDEL
In terms of other domestic wines that won't break the bank but deliver big body and flavor akin to Napa reds...go for Zinfandel! It is truly our country's most "original" grape, and it should be talked about more. I won't go too much into the history of it, but I am surprised it's not a big deal in America. Seems to hit all of the things that would fit American palates. You can get a stellar range of them for decent price. For big reds in this space, there are producers from multiple areas that I like. T-Vine (Napa), Turley (Mix of sources), Kokomo (Sonoma, Dry Creek), Unti (Sonoma, Dry Creek), Williamson (Sonoma).

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Chipotlemonger - Thank you for the time you put into this. There is a lot here to think about.

Time to go wine shopping!

BigAg95 and jh0400 - Thanks for the suggestions. I'll pursue.

cecil77 - I knew from the jump I was justified in being respectful from a distance. Your wine inventory must be a beast!

Whoa Nellie said:

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BigAg95 and jh0400 - Thanks for the suggestions. I'll pursue.

cecil77 - I knew from the jump I was justified in being respectful from a distance. Your wine inventory must be a beast!

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I have a nice collection, but I don't think anywhere near some of those on this thread.