Suggest a good wine?

Red or white? Or does it not matter to you which?

What a great question! Do you prefer red or white? Or either?

@tanti: Jinx!

@EP – I was just about to say SNAP!!! You know what they say about great minds…

I’m really not sure! :/

German Rieslings are especially sweet, a fun wine to drink. Ice Wine is even sweeter and is best meant to act as a dessert.

I am also new to the world of wine. My mum suggested I keep a wine journal to help sort out which ones I like and which I don’t. Peel off the bottle’s label and glue it into your Wine Journal book (or transcribe the details), write your impressions of the wine, and rate it. Soon you’ll be able to see what styles of wine you like and what you don’t, which can be used to determine what other wines you might like.

@dynamicduo, thanks! I like the wine journal idea. That’s a creative way to go about figuring it out!

It sounds like your taste is similar to mine. For white wine, I quite like a good aussie riesling, I find them to be just right, not too sweet and not too dry. Reislings vary from dry to sweet depending on who makes them and how old the grapes are, so I’d suggest asking the people who work in the store, quite often they are very knowledgeable.

Here are the latest weekly wine columns from the NYT; entitled br /> Wines of the Times

Reading wine.woot.com can often give you some wine-like insights. The folks there are really helpful. Even if you don't actually buy the wines, you can ask lots of newbie questions and they don't seem to mind or get upset. You also get to ask the winemakers questions fairly regularly if you like. (They show up as regular commenters when their wines are up for sale.) I also second talking to someone at your local wine shop. It can be totally intimidating (I did it this past Friday) but helpful.

I’m pretty new to wine as well (I haven’t developed wine-ese to talk about what I like yet). Like you and Tanti, I enjoy Reisling. I also enjoy Cabernet Sauv. for times when red wine works better (in my opinion: heavier meals and sometimes with chocolate).

What I’ve found to be most effective, was going to the store, telling the guy what I’d had before, what I liked and didn’t like of what I’d had, that I wanted to try something new, and what I was having for dinner. This past Friday it lead to me Petite Syrah, which was totally new and almost overwhelming in flavor and something else I can’t identify yet but good and generally what I was looking for. (Alone, it was too much, but with dinner it was very nice.)

I recommend joining one of the wine clubs that mail you a couple of bottles a month. It’s a great way to try a variety of wines, and they do a good job of screening out the ones that don’t taste good.

I prefer white, as it goes better with most of the food I eat. One of my favorite whites is an Austrian wine called Grüner Veltliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grüner_Veltliner

My fav is Chateau St. Michelle Reisling. You might really like it! Label is kind of boring. My next fav is Mad Housewife Chardonnay.
That has a great label!!!

As for good labeling (and cheap but decent wine): Three Bandits. It comes in tetra-paks and the labeling is pretty fun. It also runs like $7 or $8 a box and is pretty decent. I think Bon Appetit liked the Chardonnay especially.

Oh! I went crazy over the Mad Housewife labels! I bought one of those.

Thanks sooo much for all of the suggestions, everyone! I can’t wait to try all these out…not in one sitting, though. :)

Layer Cake – An Argentine Malbec. YUMMY.

I like white as well, goes with most what I eat/cook so I like to drink Santa Margherita.

White Zinfandel, Reisling and Pinot Grigio are my favorites in the slightly sweet category. If you want really sweet, go with a Lambrusco.

Well you can’t go wrong with d’Arenberg wines.

If you can find it, the Dead Arm Shiraz is pretty damn fine (so named because the vines that provide the grape have been infected with the fungus Eutypa Lata which has turned half the vines to dead wood. The grapes on the other side, while low yielding, display amazing intensity.)

Any kind of Reisling will do you well… I would also encourage you to branch out a bit though, and try to add things to your palate. A lot of people stay away from rich red wines and such because they aren’t sweet like juice, but you should definitely try some things!

The Reisling sounds good.
I wish I wasn’t at work & I’d go shopping right now!

A delicious white and sweet wine is Chenin Blanc. It has a hint of kiwi and pineapple that have made it my new favorite. It seems to be hard to find at least for me. I live in the southeast and have found a good one from Biltmore Estates otherwise just try what you can find. Good Luck.

Reisling is a good backup to order at restaurants, I am partial to ones from California though!

Sauvignon Blancs from new Zealand are always good and really drinkable. I recommend Cloudy Bay :-)

I find riesling a bit too sweet for my taste. I prefer a sauvignon blanc (New Zealand’s are good) it is dry but still very fruity and refreshing.

If you do like riesling try one from Alsace, (France) and possibly a little older (maybe 4–5 years). The aroma develops some very interesting minerally notes.

Also: look for late harvest varieties. Generally, the later the grape is picked, the sweeter it is. Try Cotes du Rhones with Marsanne grapes or Marsanne-Roussanne mixes.

franzia white merlot

Cune Rioja, red wine from spain… excelent taste try the bottles from 2003 or 2004…

ferreira. a nice bottle of port.

@all: I’m so very proud of all the answers here.
@wondersteph: For sweeter whites your best bet is Riesling. Luckily German wines are labled according to their level of residual sugar. Look for the words “Kabinett” or “Spatlese”. I would avoid an Alsace Riesling. They are generally much drier (but my favorite!).
You might also try Chenin Blanc from Loire (as in Vouvray, or Montlouis sur Loire). They can have a touch of residual sugar but you will need to ask the store clerk to point out those which do.

Sweet red wines are somewhat harder to find. You could go with a Lambrusco (if you want something with some sparkle) but I’d probably suggest a juicy Pinot Noir from the west coast or South America. They will generally have riper fruit with lower tannins (that drying, pucker quality). Again, talk with the store clerk and tell him/her that you’re looking for the juiciest, least earthy, new world Pinot.

Good luck in your quest!

@Newcomers; Breed is our resident oenophile and has or is about to open his own wine bar in Brooklyn.

Is about to. Damn the NYC department of buildings. :)

Skål!

I had no idea, breedmitch, congratulations! And best of luck with the NYC dept of buildings!!

@breedmitch: When you do open your place, let me know! I’m so very close to Brooklyn and I so very enjoy a great glass of wine…

@original question: Something else I thought of! Muscat is sweet, sometimes even floral. My favorite comes from a small California winery called Bonny Doon . You could also try Mourverde if you like red. It’s sweeter than most reds.

@breedmitch: me too me too! I am very close to Brooklyn and would enjoy a great glass of wine the next time I go there!!

Therre’s always Manechevitz. Going to Breedmitch’s bar is probably a better idea.

wondersteph, please let us know what you find, you could end up educating us.

Penfold’s (any of their’s) from Australia. Our favorite is their charddy

@Tantigirl I will definitely let you guys know what I find! :)

I may be late in the game, but for some other good starter reds, you can try Waterbrook Melange, Foris Fly-Over Red, or Ravenswood Zinfandel. They’re all really round, so they’re easy to drink. They’re also the kinds of wines that aren’t too complicated to pair with and are as good with a complex, high-end meal as they are with a burger.

Have fun!

Another one I really liked, very similar to a reisling is a German wine called a Gewürztraminer

@dalepetrie: Pronouncing it is also fun.

Thought I’d update everyone.
I went to dinner last night & ordered Reisling. I loved it!! (to those of you who suggested it, thanks!)
I plan on doing grocery shopping this afternoon, so I’ll buy another kind to try. I’ll let ya’ll know what I get!

Update:

I have yet to find any red wines that I like. Does anyone know of any red wines that are sweet? I’ve tried some Pinots and I haven’t been impressed.

So far, Reislings are still my favorite.

Sweet red wines – try a Port (more of a dessert wine than a meal wine), a Shiraz would also be nice. You could give a red Marsala a try, though I’ve never consumed it myself, I’ve seen Gordon Ramsay cook with it and he mentions how it is nice and sweet.

Lambrusco, trust me, if you like Riesling, you’ll like Lambrusco. It’s almost like juice.

Thanks @dynamicduo and @dalepetrie! :) I’ll let you know the results.

My wife does not like dry wines, and Shiraz is just about the only red wine she likes.

Shiraz is the only red wine I like, I am partial to whites myself. You should go on a wine tasting. That is the best way for you to find out what wines you do like and don’t like.

And you can always split the difference and go with a rose, something like a White Zinfandel.

mmmm, this is making me want to go out and get wine right now!!! All the different varieties!