any wine fans here?
 

My wife and I are always trying to get into wine, but as much as we try we just can't. We're not even sure what we like, are there any good wines out there for "beginners"?

Maybe we're just beer people, I dunno.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

You know I've recently gotten more into wines over the past year or so.

If you haven't already, try to finding a low cost wine tasting in your area. It's a good way to sort of find out what you like and don't like.

I'm starting to like Shiraz. It's an Australian wine and you can get a good bottle for around $10-$15. Not bad.

[url=http://www.shirazwine.com/]Shiraz Wine, Australian Shiraz, Australian Wine, Barossa Shiraz, Fine Wines !! Australian-Shiraz.com[/url]
[url=http://www.wineskinny.com/wine_review_archives/archive_australiashiraz.htm]Australia Shiraz -- Wine Review Archives WineSkinny.com[/url]

Re: any wine fans here?
 

There are plenty of people who like to whine around here.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=FRPLG;438794]There are plenty of people who like to whine around here.[/quote]

hahaha

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Your best bet would be to watch the newspapers for wine tasting events. I took my wife to one 3 weeks ago. I don't like wine personally, but my wife wanted to do it. We learned alot. Some liquor stores have wine tasting days. Its best to try before you buy because wine can be expensive.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Wine's alright. I like pinot grigio. But in the end, I always come back to beer.

I try to enjoy a cocktail or some wine every now and then, but I almost always take a sip and then wish I ordered a beer. It's just what I like, I guess.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Be ahead of the curve and jump on the beer-matching train now. Some high-end restaurants are starting to match beer with their food much like they already do with wine.

If you really want to get into wine, most people I know started with whites, just get a few bottles see what you like.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=12thMan;438793]You know I've recently gotten more into wines over the past year or so.

If you haven't already, [B]try to finding a low cost wine tasting in your area[/B]. It's a good way to sort of find out what you like and don't like.

I'm starting to like Shiraz. It's an Australian wine and you can get a good bottle for around $10-$15. Not bad.

[URL="http://www.shirazwine.com/"]Shiraz Wine, Australian Shiraz, Australian Wine, Barossa Shiraz, Fine Wines !! Australian-Shiraz.com[/URL]
[URL="http://www.wineskinny.com/wine_review_archives/archive_australiashiraz.htm"]Australia Shiraz -- Wine Review Archives WineSkinny.com[/URL][/quote]Low cost? Do they usually charge for these events?

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=gibbsisgod;438796]Your best bet would be to watch the newspapers for wine tasting events. I took my wife to one 3 weeks ago. I don't like wine personally, but my wife wanted to do it. We learned alot. Some liquor stores have wine tasting days. Its best to try before you buy because wine can be expensive.[/quote]

Especially now that Spring is here, a lot of places are introducing there Spring selection.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=12thMan;438800]Especially now that Spring is here, a lot of places are introducing there Spring selection.[/quote]Thats exactly what the one I went to was doing. It tasted pretty good but I just don't like drinking wine. I went with the BIG bottle of Crown from the liquor store:)

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=gibbsisgod;438799]Low cost? Do they usually charge for these events?[/quote]


Yes some place charge...it depends. You can find some down in Maryland for $35 for two folks. That 'aint bad.

There's a spot here in D.C. that holds free wine tastings -more like sippings actually - free of charge during certain hours.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=Schneed10;438797]Wine's alright. I like pinot grigio. But in the end, I always come back to beer.

I try to enjoy a cocktail or some wine every now and then, but I almost always take a sip and then wish I ordered a beer. It's just what I like, I guess.[/quote]

Yeah me too. Like I said we keep trying to get into wine, but to me you just can't beat a quality beer. We love to try microbrews and we love hitting up a good brew pub. Maybe we should just stick with what we know and like.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Wine tasting is a good way to find out about wines in general, and to try a wide variety of what the vineyard, store, restaurant has. Not sure how many vineyards are up in that part of NY, but they are generally the best places for wine tasting. See if any restaurants in your area has reduced price wine nights. There is one place here that has 1/2 price bottles on Tuesdays, which is great to try something you wouldn't normally try because of expense. There is also a liquor store here that has 10-15% off wines on certain nights as well.

Wine is definitely a personal preference type thing. I generally prefer the drier reds, while my wife has always likes whites but is slowly starting to like more reds. The whites tend to be sweeter while the reds are drier. If you are beginning, I'd recommend something along the lines of a chardonnay or pinot grigio and go from there.

The Australians are making some decent quality, low cost wines. Yellow Tail, Little Penguin, Lindemans are good Aussies and for the most part are less than $15 a bottle. But other than that, stick with the more known types of wine like merlot, the pinots (Grigio and Noir), the cabernets, shiraz, riesling, etc. and you'll be fine.

My wife and I had an awesome wine the other night. Mapreco Vinho Verde 2006. Very light, slightly sweet white wine that a very light carbonation to it. Very good when paired with food.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

I've definitely become more of a wine fan over the past couple of years, Connecticut has a couple of wine trails with several vinyards that my fiancee and I like to go to. And I actually took a wine tasting class down in Baltimore a few months back. It was pretty good, except I have a horrible sense of smell so I was kinda like the dumb kid in class. Still, it's on my resume now :)

Guertzaminer is a pretty good white wine. And I love capping off the night with a nice port.

(goodness I really am nothin' but niles)

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;438822]I've definitely become more of a wine fan over the past couple of years, Connecticut has a couple of wine trails with several vinyards that my fiancee and I like to go to. And I actually took a wine tasting class down in Baltimore a few months back. It was pretty good, except I have a horrible sense of smell so I was kinda like the dumb kid in class. Still, it's on my resume now :)

Guertzaminer is a pretty good white wine. And I love capping off the night with a nice port.

(goodness I really am nothin' but niles)[/QUOTE]Where was the wine tasting class in Baltimore?

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[QUOTE=ArtMonkDrillz;438823]Where was the wine tasting class in Baltimore?[/QUOTE]

[url=http://www.bin604.com/binology.aspx]Bin 604 :: News & Events: Binology[/url]

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Cool. I was asking because my landlord owns a restaurant, The Wine Market, where they have that sort of thing every once in awhile.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Don't feel bad SS -- it's hard to smell anything through the stench that is Baltimore!

Re: any wine fans here?
 

I'm a big fan of April Wine,she's a roller

Re: any wine fans here?
 

From a servers perspective, I usually try to sell people "La Crema" pinot noir... most people seem to love it.

Personally, I'm a cabernet fan. One of my favorite things to do is eat cheese and grapes with some cabernet... but I always end up feeling like a huge douche when I do it.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=RobH4413;438909]From a servers perspective, I usually try to sell people "La Crema" pinot noir... most people seem to love it.

Personally, I'm a cabernet fan. One of my favorite things to do is eat cheese and grapes with some cabernet... but I always end up feeling like a huge douche when I do it.[/quote]

Rob, stop it with the Cabernet bull. Last time I spoke to you you were sipping on some Mad Dog 20/20.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Speaking of bad wine I had a nasty experience in college with a bottle of Night Train.

Worst...

Hangover...

Ever.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;438916]Speaking of bad wine I had a nasty experience in college with a bottle of Night Train.

Worst...

Hangover...

Ever.[/QUOTE]I couldn't drink any wine (mainly red) for about 5 years during and after college because one night we ran out of beer in the middle of a party so we played beer pong with wine. I'm getting a headache just thinking about that night.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;438922]I couldn't drink any wine (mainly red) for about 5 years during and after college because one night we ran out of beer in the middle of a party so we played beer pong with wine. I'm getting a headache just thinking about that night.[/quote]


ewww...man, that just sounds like hangover all day long.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Not much of a white whine fan, but I do love a good red. I'm typically into a full-bodied merlot with a nice piece of red meat, but lately I've been into shiraz. It's smooth and a bit fruity (kinda like Niles). I had a glass of Ravenswood shiraz last night. Very smooth, only about $14 a bottle. As far as merlot goes, Coppola is very good, and I like Blackstone too. I've been sampling reds from Washington state lately as well. They call it the new Napa Valley. Had a delicious merlot from out there called 14 Hands last week.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[QUOTE=12thMan;438923]ewww...man, that just sounds like hangover all day long.[/QUOTE]I forgot to mention that it was a big BOX of wine.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=12thMan;438910]Rob, stop it with the Cabernet bull. Last time I spoke to you you were sipping on some Mad Dog 20/20.[/quote]
hahaha... I've got a broad range I guess.

You just inspired me to pop in "Ready to Die" while I write my 3 papers that are due tonight at midnight. I'm going to pour a little 20/20 orange out for you while I celebrate finishing these damn papers.

F... procrastination

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=RobH4413;438934]hahaha... I've got a broad range I guess.

You just inspired me to pop in "Ready to Die" while I write my 3 papers that are due tonight at midnight. I'm going to pour a little 20/20 orange out for you while I celebrate finishing these damn papers.

F... procrastination[/quote]

Hahaha...pour a little on the curb for me, bro.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;438933]I forgot to mention that it was a big BOX of wine.[/quote]
Worst hangover of my life was from wine.

I was drinking jug wine out of a coffee mug all night (classy)... The headache was so bad it woke me up at like 7am. I literally got up, drove to the store, bought a gallon of water and took something like 6 ibuprofen. I couldn't get back to sleep. It was god awful.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

My wife and I started drinking wine a few years ago. We did wine tastings and the whole nine yards. One wine expert said something that made the most sense. His statement was any wine that tastes good to you is a good
wine, regardless of price.

Since then that is the rule of thumb I use. If I like it, then that is all that
matters. Couple years ago had the chance to visit couple of wineries in
Napa. Some very good wines, but can't say worth the extra $$.

Take your wife and hit some local wineries. You may be surprised in what
you find. I live about 30 minutes from Williamsburg Winery. They have some very good wines, IMO.

Matty, best thing to do is start trying different wines. I try to find a wine that wasn't bottled same year as purchased. And definitely not one that
has a born on date like Boones Farm. :laughing2

Like others have said...hard to beat a good beer. Think it's time to brew another batch.

Cheers!

Re: any wine fans here?
 

ahhh yes. 3 papers finished and submitted at 11:59pm.

If only I had thought ahead and bought the alcohol before the stores were all closed. All I've got now are a couple 60min IPA and 1 blue moon. It will suffice.

One more good wine for you to try Matty. When I get a table of all women (not implying anything about you) and they ask me for a wine recommendation, (after the La Crema, because it's more expensive) I'll recommend the Jewel "Un-oaked" Chardonnay. Because it's un-oaked, aged in stainless steal barrels, it has a much smoother tasted.

It seems less acidic too. I don't usually drink white wine because the acid upsets my stomach.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

You're not too far from my neck of the woods. You could drive a couple hours and do a wine tour around Seneca and Cayuga lakes and try a little bit of everything. That's what I ended up doing a couple years ago and really found out quick what I like and don't like. There are a couple of local wineries that also have micro breweries as well as the wine so if you don't find any wine you like, you might end up trying a new beer you really like. I think Wagner has a micro brewery but I'm not positive (it's been a few years).

Re: any wine fans here?
 

Matty, take your wife out and get a bottle of red wine. Swish it around in
the glass and say, "nice legs". Your wife may not be familiar with this
wine terminology, which could make for a fun response.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[quote=skinznut;439232]You're not too far from my neck of the woods. You could drive a couple hours and do a wine tour around Seneca and Cayuga lakes and try a little bit of everything. That's what I ended up doing a couple years ago and really found out quick what I like and don't like. There are a couple of local wineries that also have micro breweries as well as the wine so if you don't find any wine you like, you might end up trying a new beer you really like. I think Wagner has a micro brewery but I'm not positive (it's been a few years).[/quote]

I actually grew up in Penn Yan so I know the area well. Someday I'd like to get out there again for a wine tour.

Re: any wine fans here?
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;438807]Yeah me too. Like I said we keep trying to get into wine, but to me you just can't beat a quality beer. We love to try microbrews and we love hitting up a good brew pub. Maybe we should just stick with what we know and like.[/QUOTE]

If you're used to drinking more bitter beers, red wine is a very easy transition. I never used to drink wine, but I've recently become a bit of a wino. My girlfriend and I have really gotten into it recently, also, one of my friends and I go to a wine bar in our area on a regular basis.

I am a really big fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and (my new favorite) Malbec. Malbec is an Argentinian wine that has a rich flavor to it, I highly recommend it. It's also nice because it's high in alcohol content...

Re: any wine fans here?
 

So we opened up a bottle of Merlot last night... it was alright. One glass was enough.