Comments on: Help Me! I’m a Newbie @ Wine!

By: Sarah White @sarahw79

Sarah White @sarahw79 — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:42:32 +0000

Robin -

To be honest I am in a very similiar place – I love white wine – but until this weekend – have never found a red I liked. I went to a friends wine shop and found an AMAZING Pinot Noir that was great. Downside – $110/bottle. Cheap Pinot Noir isn't very good.

By: imjustagoyle » My Red Wine Exploration, Post 1 – Chilean Merlot

imjustagoyle » My Red Wine Exploration, Post 1 – Chilean Merlot — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:34 +0000

[...] Help Me! I’m a Newbie @ Wine! [...]

By: imjustagoyle

imjustagoyle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:25:25 +0000

Thank you so much, Jeff! There is a great little wine store up the street from me that has wine tastings every week so I think that’s where I shall start. :)

By: Devon Hernandez

Devon Hernandez — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:27:04 +0000

One more thing LOL – especially with American reds (and whites for that matter), I’d tend to make a general buying rule for yourself to stay ABOVE the $8 mark. To be honest, there’s really nothing worth drinking below $8. You’ll find plenty of pretty good wines, but still affordable, at home in the 10-20 range. If it’s 8-10, consider. Below 8, don’t even look at it.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:25:34 +0000

Don’t think that you need to spend a lot of money to find a good bottle of wine. These days there are plenty of wines (both red and white) that are inexpensive and really good. When you’re ready to buy skip the supermarket and take a trip to your local wine shop (these days they’re practically on every corner). While most wine shops can seem intimidating, believe me when I say that there’s nothing to worry about as they’re generally pretty cool, especially when it comes to wine novices.

Tell them your situation (that you’re new), what you may or may not like (here’s where you mention that you don’t like very dry wine) and how much you want to spend (start around $20), and they’ll probably find you something nice.

Aside from the wine shop, another great source for knowledge is the internet. There are thousands of websites out there devoted to wine that will help you on your path of wine knowledge.

The best thing to do is keep an open mind and try everything. I can guarantee that there will be wines that you love and wines that you hate. Wine is subjective, there is no right or wrong. It’s what you like.

Learning about wine can seem very scary, but always remember that every “wine expert” that you meet was in your shoes once. It’s all good! Enjoy your journey!

By: Devon Hernandez

Devon Hernandez — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:15:59 +0000

You’re welcome! Good reds are going to not to be TOO dry, but aren’t going to be “sweet” like a Riesling (and not all Rieslings are sweet, mind you – there are different kinds of Rieslings, and some are very dry and minerally. I forget the German name distinctions for them, one I can think of is a Spätlese, and that’s a sweeter one. Since you do enjoy them, look for German ones, or Alsatian ones, where the grape makes its home – they are usually priced decently too). You want to kind of fill your mouth with a red and “chew” on it. You can taste more fruitiness. To me, the pure ripe berry/cherry/plum fruitiness that comes through in a good red does more for me than the cloying, masking sweetness of SOME whites. There is nothing like a good red wine with a nice steak :) Or, a Chianti or a Tuscan red with Italian…haha.

On a side note, you could try Port as well! There is nothing like a good Port (from Portugal) with some rich chocolate for dessert. It’s got the sweetness you like, but enough to stand up to a sweet dessert so they aren’t competing. But pour a smaller amount – it’s got double the alcohol that normal wine does. I picked up some nice little port glasses at an auction for a dollar. You could also use appertif-type glasses.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:55:05 +0000

Robin I too am a bit if a wine hick but found I actually prefer reds with A plummy oak base. There is one red I found appealing and is usually priced right at your spending range. Look for an Argentinian variety called malbec. I was turned on to this particular wine by wine afficionados some years back. The malbec I buy is Saurus. I found that drinking a red wine is an aquired taste and pairing them with the right foods is important. I usually drink the malbec when I make shish-ka-bobs.

By: Mervyn Dinnen

Mervyn Dinnen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:50:48 +0000

I would echo the Merlot, Robin…definitely think it’s a type you should try.

Haven’t been to FL for years, thrying to rack my brains to think of what I liked when I was there.

Not sure how expensive Spanish wines are, but if you like oaky you should try a rioja.

Thging with wine is…you have fun trying!!

By: imjustagoyle

imjustagoyle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:50:08 +0000

Terry, much thanks for the help! I will certainly do some exploring with Merlot (and no more Sutter Home!). Thanks again! :)

By: imjustagoyle

imjustagoyle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:48:23 +0000

Devon, thank you so much for your help! I actually tried a Merlot for the first time the other day (Sutter Home, unfortunately!) and didn’t like it. I thought if it were just a tad sweeter I certainly would, and I was eye balling the Coppola stuff you mentioned (it’s on sale at Publix this week!) so it looks like I’ll have to give it a try.

Thanks for the advice & I will be looking into Food & Wine magazine! :)