Ok, I'm a wine whimp, I know. The only kind I like is mellow stuff like Rosé. My dad calls it fruit juice :p

Knowing this, what kind of wine might you suggest I try?

Jacob's Creek Shiraz, Kenwood Vineyards Red are my two favorites; they taste great, are meal versatile and inexpensive. A good port wine is nice, too.

When I am having a little party I like my Sangria, fruit added... Just for a fun fruity wine.

I know Ben'll probably wince at that one LOL!!

J_9, that sounds pretty nice!

It's just kind of fun to have a punch bow full during the holidays.

With reds stick with the low tannin stuff like Merlot, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir. With whites it depends how much on acidity versus buttery taste that you personally like. In whites I like Pouilly-Fussé (made with Chardonnay) or a pinot grigio (Italian) which is slightly more acidic.

I guess Curly isn't around today. :)

Hey what's this talking about wine with out me.
That'll teach me to working rather than spending time here ;)

OK so I'm going to weigh in here, in some sort of order;

Jacob's Creek Shiraz, Kenwood Vineyards Red are my two favorites; they taste great, are meal versatile and inexpensive. A good port wine is nice, too.
Excellent wines, but miles too heavy for what Rick's looking for.
Best suited for big flavoured meals or some dead cow ;)


When I am having a little party I like my Sangria, fruit added.... Just for a fun fruity wine.

I know Ben'll probably wince at that one LOL!!!!
YUKKKKKK *Runs and hides*


With reds stick with the low tannin stuff like Merlot, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir. With whites it depends how much on acidity versus buttery taste that you personally like. In whites I like Pouilly-Fussé (made with Chardonnay) or a pinot grigio (Italian) which is slightly more acidic
Some good ideas here, just to expand a little.
Merlots can be quite high in tannin especially when young and are really well suited to a wide range of food.
Beaujolais (Gamay) would be an excellent choice as they are quite light in style and can even be cooled before drinking.
Pinot Noir, can be a really mixed bag, some are outstanding and some should be left out standing in the field. Best avoided for the novice, but worth further investigation especially South American ones, like Chili.
Pouilly-Fuisse, definitely a serious step for the novice mainly due to the price, French wines in the US can be expensive and give poor return.
Saying that tho' there is a wide range of differing styles of Chardonnay from light and fruit to so oaky that you feel like you are spitting bark. Well worth investigation to see what style suits best.
Pinot grigio, Hmmm, is a bit like making love in a boat. If you need this explaining PM me ;)

So back to Rick's OP:

I'm a wine whimp, I know. The only kind I like is mellow stuff like Rosé.
There is an amzing variety of Pinks available from the washed out to the serious mouth filling styles.
A good place to start if you want to move on to reds, but haven't plucked up the courage to try yet.
Some pink's of note are made from Zinfandal, but not that aweful Blush stuff.
Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as producing some of the world's best wines, lends itself to outstanding pinks.
Bonny Doon makes some excellent pinks, maybe a little hard to fine, but well worth it. Your mouth will love you for ever ;)

NK suggestion of Gamay is great, go looking.
Also I think the fruiter styles may be better suited for you so things like Gewurztraminer and Semilon/Chardonnay's, both whtes, dry(er) in style but bags of fruit, are a good start.

That should give you a few things to think about.
Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

We've got some huge wine shops around here... I'll print this off and go check what's available in my area.

Riuniti is getting old - and the guests laugh at me :p

U can also mix white wine with sprite / lemonade and red wine with coke (I mean coka cola) ;)

*** Heathen Alert ***

*** Heathen Alert ***

Is that addressed to me?
If so... what does it mean?

*** Heathen Alert ***

Giggle ben can you imagine someone saying that at an oddbins wine tasting tee hee

'Fraid so Krs.
I'm using this meaning of the word:
Heathen (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=heathen); 4. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.

Mainly uncivilized

Hey come on I am a bit of a wine snob ;)

Wine should never be mixed with anything apart from good friends and good food, oh and of course MORE wine.

Have u ever tried it?? Before calling me a pikey :p

PIKEY ROFLMAO I like it ;)

Yes I have and it's a waste of good wine.

Have u ever tried it??? Before calling me a pikey :p

I think I just wet myself laughing pikey indeed, Ben's problem is he used to teach wine appreciation and that kind of thing in his book is sacrilege ;)

A pikey I'm not. Im actually from a very posh /snobbish area in Malta, like u ;) :p

I learnt that word obviously when in England LOL...

Well, yes you are absolutely right, but on your poor days, when you can only buy a GBP2 bottle of wine, add coke or sprite lol :D

I say we settle this over a bottle of Boone's Farm.

*hides*

I, for one, welcome our wine expert overlord. I think I understand where Ben is coming from. People don't seem to understand why I don't share their excitement for their new batch of homemade wine. Alas I believe I have become somewhat of a wine snob - damn you dad for having nice wine in our house!! Some say it's the French Canadian joie-de-vivre and it's innate in us. Having said that I've been to a few very large wine-tasting expos and I can assure you that you can indeed taste too much wine in a four hour period; after that the Sprite starts tasting good. :)

Hey all don't get me wrong... jesus should have kept my mouth shut. LOL.

I love wine, expensive wine, who doesn't ;)

Krs, I do serve wine spritzers... to my wife and her friends. Hehe.

Note to Ben: forgot to mention that I indeed did get that "love in a canoe" comment ;) (... close to water). But I like the pinot grigio acid 'bite' and it's a good sipper, goes well with finger foods.

Krs, I do serve wine spritzers ... to my wife and her friends. Hehe.


Cheeky...

Meaning you enjoy the pinot grigio all to yourself ;)
Must admit it love that wine too

It's awesome to have a wine connossieur here on the boards. *Waves large foam finger* Number one!

I love wine period... and some others liqueur... my favorite bottle of ROSE' is Goats do Roam... love a Zinfandel Rose'... had a Francis Coppola Claret in 2005... was just fine... Irish crème in my coffee with cake or cookie bar and almond liqueur with sweet and sour mix and cherry and cherry syrup... on ice... in the summer... Jack Daniels come to visit when, I have a fever and a flu... he is so helpful...

This is the only place on the internet that makes me hungry. Lol.

I love wine period...and some others liqueur ...my favorite bottle of ROSE' is Goats do Roam ...love a Zinfandel Rose'.... had a Francis Coppola Claret in 2005...was just fine...Irish creme in my coffee with cake or cookie bar and almond liqueur with sweet and sour mix and cherry and cherry syrup...on ice .... in the summer...Jack Daniels come to visit when, I have a fever and a flu...he is so helpful....

Jack daniels comes to visit me almost every weekend.. OH HE'S GOOD :D

You know what... I have not had a concord in sometime... I use to like that purple grape... doing the holidays... Looking for some suggestions on concords... or is that too much kool-aid... for the most of you?

Ok, I'm a wine whimp, I know. The only kind I like is mellow stuff like Rosé. My dad calls it fruit juice :p

Knowing this, what kind of wine might you suggest I try?'

I think you'd really like Beau Noir, it's a mellow, red table wine, soft and velvety, and it goes with everything, Quick class:

Sangaria (the good kind) is a preminum red wine blended with fruits; **** Apline burgandy- slightly carbonated semi sweet, good for BBQ and picnics, Carbernet Sauvigon- Dry red wine great smelll good for cheeses and red meat dishes******
Burgundy----dry, robust, sturdy and rich flacor good with steask, roasts and wild game*****
Merlot- Great fruit flavor---mellow taste great for pastas. Check with your wine seller he can match you up for similars in your area.:cool: enjoy

I thought about this thread at the store today, didn't pick anything up but had a few ideas for the upcoming holiday:)

Sangaria (the good kind) is a preminum red wine blended with fruits

my cousin spent a few years in spain in the service. He's pined for sangria ever since. Last summer I made a batch fresh using a recipe id found. He liked the effort, but I don't think it ever matched the flavor of a fresh spanish sangria taken in at a café in barcelona and the beautiful brunettes. Guess it wasn't the same served in the cold midwest by his hairy cousin. =)

first, seek out a wine store and talk to someone. They can suggest good stuff to try as you are developing your taste. The wine they suggested in the beginning was great, but a little while in would bore me... time for something new.

I find merlot to be hit and miss, even though they are talked about as being more drinkable for beginners. Lots of dogs out there. Poured more merlot down the sink than cabs. A nice cab isn't too hard to find... I got a ton of château st michelle... bought 6 years ago for about 8.00... its no great wine, but its still a good way to spend the night.

seriously, as far as reds go, my tastes are probably not going to match yours right now. You can buy a chianti, a common table red, and see it its drinkable...

see if you can find St Francis "red", it's a Sangiovese /Zin blend that is affordable and you might like.

some of the challenge when you're drinking wine and don't favor it, is just to drink it a little to get used to it... then you'll start to discover what you like and don't... soon enough you'll be hooked. I went through some bad bottles when I started to find some things I enjoyed.

Pinot Noir is a nice light wine to try, a cab or cab-syrah blend might be pleasing to you... or just a syrah.

here... I'm never good being brief, but if you're not going to a wine store (do it) start with a chianti, syrah, or pinot noir. See if you can find some that you like. Then move on to other interesting things in time. I never buy chianti now, ill find a syrah now and then to keep around and I still like a nice pinot noir.

when in doubt, get to a wine store or a wine tasting. I have found the service to be comforting and informative when looking for a new wine. Really... when I was starting this was the best thing for me... I had fewer "dogs" and more trips back to buy out the bottles of what I liked.

I'm assuming you're struggling most with reds but...

my favorite white is a graves (said as grahves)... it's a lovely little blend of sav blanc and semillon. There was also a graves red I tried... thought it would be liked by the red wine hater, but it was too boring for me. Found it though a wine club.

many cheaper chardonnays are either too sweet or to oakey for me. Meridian is a chardonnay that runs about $9 as I've found it to be drinkable by a large crowd... not a great one, but fine enough.

then of course my dirty little secret is korbel brut. Yes, champagne. At sams club for $8 and change, when given a choice between drinking some $12 chardonnay out of the grocery store or a bottle of korbel, it's a no-brainer.

I know, I know... its champagne. There's a stigma perhaps. Well, I don't care. Korbel isn't great champagne, but it beats the pants off any $9 white you can find. Its not as sweet as most champagnes people have had at parties/weddings. Its nice enough. My christmas gift to me this year will be arranged childcare, a hotel room with my wife, and two bottles of korbel brut. I'm smiling already.

say what you want... a lovely woman and a bottle of decent champagne is about as good as it gets... though a sultry red would be even better.


It's awesome to have a wine connossieur here on the boards. *Waves large foam finger* Number one!!

wow. A beautiful woman who loves boones and has a foam finger. And I thought I had the perfect marriage. =)

I've got my list and am heading to the Wine Shop today.

I'm curious, Curly: What is your personal favorite?

Wine should never be mixed with anything apart from good friends and good food, oh and of course MORE wine.


I agree Curlyben... but I do enjoy some of my reds with a bit of chocolate... oh and I love wine and cheese.

I am a huge fan of Italian Wines

Bear in mind what I have tried in my career.
I love mature First Growth Claret (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_wine), big Ozzie reds, top Burgundy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundy_wine) and Delux Cuvee Champagne, basically the expensive stuff.
I'm also partial to Good Single Malt Whisky (note the correct spelling ;)) and Real Ale, not the fizzy muck that passes for beer in some establishments.

Magic Hat No. 9 made in Ithaca New York is a really nice brew.

moscato (piedmont region, italy)
Riesling (I prefer alsace region of France), but if you like Rose you may like the German counterpart
Torrontes from the Cafayate Valley in Argentina is very interesting.

Rieslings from the fingerlakes region of New York State are very popular as well.
Check out this month's Wine Spectator for more info on NY state Fingerlakes region wines

AGREED! Love them!

moscato (piedmont region, italy)
Riesling (I prefer alsace region of France), but if you like Rose you may like the German counterpart
Torrontes from the Cafayate Valley in Argentina is very interesting.
Interesting choices there.
Moscato I find is best well chilled on a hot summers day as it is on the sweet side.
German Riesling can be excellent, but there is so much rubbish about I would be very careful on selection. Alsace and Washington State styles tend to be a lot drier and excellent with food, especially oily fish.
The best example of Torrontes I have ever had was from Chile from Central Valley.

Funny Curly I find Rieslings from Washington State a bit to sweet for my taste. German Rieslings (you are right it has to be good ones) to me are drier and much nicer. But I still have to say that the best Rieslings I have ever had have come from the fingerlakes region. Seyvals are also very nice whites chilled on a summer day... I call them boat wines.

Have you ever tried a malvasia/brachetto blend?

No... where is it from?
I am really a red wine kind of gal. Especially the Italian blends