Good Wine in Gainesville, FL
But before we went to eat, we had to visit my Dad’s favorite wine shop in Gainesville, FL – Dorn’s Liquors & Wine Warehouse. It’s one of my favorites too. They focus almost exclusively on value wines – lesser known varietals, regions, and smaller wineries where you can get amazing flavor for less because you’re not paying for a name. Its how I started learning more about Spanish wines as well as broadening my knowledge of Australian regions.
But what I like best about the shop is that prior to my visits my Dad could walk in and ask what he should get for me. Armed with only vague descriptions of my tastes, his contact would recommend several bottles and at least 3 of the 4 I would wind up enjoying. Rarely did a bottle cost more than $20, usually it was under $10, but would taste like a $30 bottle from California, etc.
So armed with my new-found “expertise†in wines from Mendoza, we stopped by to see what they carried. It’s a small store, but they had several shelves devoted to that region. I wanted my Dad to try a Malbec like the Mendoza locals prefer, bright, fresh, cherry, to compare to the dark oaky fruit versions typically found in the US.
They didn’t have many names I recognized from my trip, but the prices were excellent, so we got a few to try:
Recuerdo Malbec – this one seemed promising because it was produced by Vines of Mendoza, whose Chardonnay I’d really enjoyed at their tasting room, in conjuction with Santiago Achaval, who I hoped was affiliated with the Achaval Ferrer winery I’d really liked (he was). This bottle wound up being my favorite, it wasn’t quite the bright fruit I’d hoped for, but was only $20 and silky and complex.
Trapiche Malbec Reserva – This one had cherries in the description and also hailed from Luyan de Cuyo, so I thought it was worth a try. It was also only $7.99. Definitely let this wine open up for 30 minutes, and then you will start to taste some of the bright cherry flavors. It definitely lacked oak, so was nice for a summer red wine. Beware though, as could be expected from a $7.99 wine, it did have a bit of an alcoholic bite on the finish.
Tapiz Malbec – at $15 and claiming plums and cherries in its description it was worth a shot. And if I couldn’t purchase one of the other two, I’d happily but it, but it had neither the value of Trapiche or the flavor of Recuerdo.
—–
Did you know you can subscribe to Heels First to keep up on new posts?
You can also follow our twitter feed (and say hi!) or like our fan page on Facebook.
Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle mileage runs, elite status, and of course–the perfect travel accessories.
Dorn’s staff is very helpful.. and usually have personal opinions about most of the wines… and at least know others that have experienced various varietels.