Real winenerd wines

[Phil_T_r_o_t_t_e_r]

A while back I purchased at auction two cases of Zyme Oz (2002 and 2004). I always found them to be somewhat unheard of but maybe it’s just my ignorance…

2002 was really good and they’re all gone. 2004 is still a little too rustic to this day. 100% Oseleta and now aptly named Zyme Oseleta.

Txakolina can be enjoyable… can it be considered geeky? How about 100% Gamay de Bouze that tastes like freshly mowed lawn? Vajra N.S. della Neve with its Nebbiolo bubbles?

Edited to add: Ferrer Ribière 100% Grenache gris sans ouillage?

[Mattstolz]

what about Sake?

I know nothing about it but it seems like an entirely different side that can be dove (diven? dived?) into

[Chris_Seiber]

I’m not sure if it’s weird enough in the glass, but Koshu Gris from Japan can be really good. It’s a unique Japanese White grape. I’m opening a bottle tonight in fact.

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The wine was really good last night. Subtle, complex, elegant. Really a nice wine, completely independent of the novelty of being a Koshu from Japan.

But not really a strange wine in the glass for this purpose.

[Pau1_M3nk3s]

Check out the Enderle & Moll skin-contact whites from Baden. They will satisfy your taste for different.

[John_Morris]

Check out the Enderle & Moll skin-contact whites from Baden. They will satisfy your taste for different.
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White Grauburgunder/pinot gris has a touch of pigment, but how on earth do you get something that red? Are the grapes that red?

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

Scholium Project

[Pau1_M3nk3s]

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[Pau1_M3nk3s]

Check out the Enderle & Moll skin-contact whites from Baden. They will satisfy your taste for different.
IMG_20200828_171107894_PORTRAIT.jpg

White Grauburgunder/pinot gris has a touch of pigment, but how on earth do you get something that red? Are the grapes that red?

I’ve seen a number of red skin-contact Pinot Gris/Grauburgunder. Vincent from Oregon is one of my faves.

[Jim_Stewart]

Would Corsican (Corse) wines be a possibility.? I have enjoyed a “regular” Clos Canarelli Corse Figari Blanc and they also make an “Amphora” version which might up the nerd/geek level.

[Robert.A.Jr]

I find it interesting when a well known winemaker/producer puts out a wine that is a bit out of conventional expectations of what that winemaker/producer is known for. Not a new trend or current “in” thing, just quirky. It’s like a successful artist trying something new. Of course, my quirky may be someone else’s yawn. I couple of wines that I had this year that fit in with my idea of quirky: Domaine de la Pepiere Cot and Patricia Green Dry Muscat Ottonel. Both delicious by the way. Cheers.

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I ordered some of the Cot from Chambers, looking forward to trying it!

[alan_weinberg]

Pinot Gouges. A “white” Pinot Noir, as it has lost the color gene.

[Otto_Forsberg]

Would Corsican (Corse) wines be a possibility.? I have enjoyed a “regular” Clos Canarelli Corse Figari Blanc and they also make an “Amphora” version which might up the nerd/geek level.

I don’t think Corsican wines as a whole are any geekier than any other French wines, but they do make some geeky wines there - like that Amphora wine you mentioned.

[Otto_Forsberg]

Pinot Gouges. A “white” Pinot Noir, as it has lost the color gene.

I.e. Pinot Blanc.

We’ve had this discussion before. Pinot Gouges is just a distinct clone of Pinot Blanc, but it still is Pinot Blanc.

Edit: although, due to it being a unique clone, IMO it definitely classifies as a geeky wine.

[alan_weinberg]

Pinot Gouges. A “white” Pinot Noir, as it has lost the color gene.

I.e. Pinot Blanc.

We’ve had this discussion before. Pinot Gouges is just a distinct clone of Pinot Blanc, but it still is Pinot Blanc.

Edit: although, due to it being a unique clone, IMO it definitely classifies as a geeky wine.

true, but still interesting and true.

[Steve_Costigan]

Lacrima di Morro d’Alba from the Marche is a really really interesting variety. Introduced to me by Tom Hill. Sort of like an exotic PN flavored with gardenas, or maybe your grandmother’s perfume. Unti makes a good one from dry creek I think.

If I had the space I’d really be exploring orange wines a lot more. Cheers.

[Christopher_Dunn]

I love my German rieslings and spätburgunders, have 6 vintages of BAMA, absolutely adore sherry and my cellar has quite a few quirky Italians (Granato from Foradori!). So I think I do pretty well on the wine nerd-o-meter and can at times struggle finding anything more “moderate” when entertaining less nerdy folks. Still, I feel there must be more quirky stuff out there…
Do you guys have any suggestions a proper winenerd should definitely try?

Obscure, perhaps, but nothing “nerdy” here. A wine nerd, to me, is someone who overly obsesses on details of wine glass selection and the like.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Domaine Glinavos Paleokerisio Semi-sparkling Orange Wine

Definitely one of the weirdest wines I’ve ever tasted, and I thought it was good. Also, it’s cheap, so not financially painful to try.

[mmarcellus]

I hesitate to mention it here, but Alice Feiring’s newsletter, and wine club, is a good source for unusual and distinctive wines. She’s controversial, but if your palate aligns with hers you’ll find plenty to like. You can ask for a sample copy of the newsletter and see what you think. (No relationship other than as a customer)

A smattering of some she has featured that I’ve found to be distinctive in one way or another:

Pheasant’s Tears Mtsvane Amber
Azienda Agricola Monte dei Roari Pinot Grigio Vigne de Nello Tribola
ViteAdOvest Terre Siciliane Rina
Herrera-Alvarado País Oro Negro

And pretty much anything from:
Milan Nestarec (I can’t guarantee you’ll like it, but I can guarantee it will fit your criteria)
La Garagista (A Vermont winery doing great things with hybrid grapes)

[K_N_Haque]

Luis Pato’s Fernao Pires. A red wine made with 94% white grapes (Ferna Pires aka. Maria Gomes) plus 6% Baga. I know of red wines made with the addition of white grapes of course (N. Rhone and its imitators, plus long ago Chianti) and of course red still wine is added in some Rose champagnes, but I am unaware of another almost wholly white grape wine that ends up red.

[Otto_Forsberg]

White Grauburgunder/pinot gris has a touch of pigment, but how on earth do you get something that red? Are the grapes that red?

The grapes can range from pale grayish-white to deep pinkish-red. The former produce coppery skin-contact whites while wines made from the latter produce wines that can be mistaken for deep rosés. Same with Gewürztraminer. Just like Paul, I’ve had multiple reddish-pink skin-contact PG wines.

I’m not sure if it’s weird enough in the glass, but Koshu Gris from Japan can be really good. It’s a unique Japanese White grape. I’m opening a bottle tonight in fact.

Just to clarify, it’s just Koshu. There’s no distinct variety called “Koshu Gris”. But yes, that particular Gris de Koshu you have there is a nice wine - although, despite its somewhat misleading name, just a normal white wine.

true, but still interesting and true.

Not arguing that!

Luis Pato’s Fernao Pires. A red wine made with 94% white grapes (Ferna Pires aka. Maria Gomes) plus 6% Baga. I know of red wines made with the addition of white grapes of course (N. Rhone and its imitators, plus long ago Chianti) and of course red still wine is added in some Rose champagnes, but I am unaware of another almost wholly white grape wine that ends up red.

I’ve tasted the wine twice, both times blind. The first time I tasted I managed to baffle the person who brought the wine by venturing a guess: “Is this some sort of lighter Baga?”

I wasn’t correct there (well, unsurprisingly, nobody in the tasting guessed a “red wine” would be made from a white variety) but I was commended by being able to pick up the variety responsible of only 6% of the blend.