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I think I good starter wine would be Barefoot Pinot Grigio (California). It's nice and fruity and not expensive.
i think that sweeter wines are easier to start with, and then you can work your way to drier. I really eased my way into liking wine and now i love it all. Here is a totally incomplete list of popular wines and my personal opinion of sweet to dry.
white zinfindel and other blush wines (warning: these are considered "not classy" by most "real" wine drinkers... whatevs)
Moscato and Riesling (love love love love... get german rieslings)
pinot grigio (very popular sweeter white wine)
chardonnay (very popular drier white wine. i am not a fan)
red zinfindel (sweeter red wine. Love so much)
merlot (super popular mid-dry red wine)
pinot noir (drier/spicier red wine)
I second the moscato!! I was never a fan of wine, but have recently started drinking moscato d'asti. It reminds me of Welch's sparkling grape juice!
Yeah, I started with sweet whites. Reisling was my favorite.
Now I'm on the other end of the spectrum.. love Cabs, Shiraz & Merlot! Never drink white wine or champagne anymore!
Definitely start with something fruitier. Get the 1/4 bottles if you can as they're just enough for 2 glasses and a little bit so you can test out different wines and see what you like best without having to get a huge bottle of wine you end up not liking.
I tend to like dry wines like Chardonney or Pinot Grigio. If all else fails ask someone who works there what they would recommend.
I just started working for a wine importer and there is so much to learn!!
The fruitier wines are easier to start with if you never drink it, or don't enjoy the other right off the bat. Riesling for sure is one of my fav's, and the pp is right, go German for that type. Clean Slate is a German Riesling that is rated really well.
Reds are heavier, Pinot Nior is very popular, and the right brand is great
Rose is a nice light wine, and you can always get Sangria - chilled it is perfect for summer
This reminds me - our wine store at work is almost open, I have to get some for the weekend!
Corgi has some great suggestions. I just wanted to add that Gewurztraminer (pronounced guh-VOORTS-truh-MEE-nur) is a great starter wine and always a crowd pleaser. I find that Fetzer Wineries produces the best one and it's very inexpensive (most grocery stores carry it).
Trying wine is fun! LOL, seriously though, don’t discount an entire type of wine by one (or two, or whatever) “bad” bottles. There are some great bottles of each type…and some not so great bottles of each type.
Since you don’t know much about wine, I would really recommend going to a larger liquor store, or a wine store, if you have any in your area. Our local liquor store (large, not like a corner liquor store) has a weekly wine tasting every Wednesday. That’s an easy and cheap way to sample a few different wines, and see what you like. At a good shop, they should also be able to recommend wines for you, and give you notes. It’s also helpful if you go to a shop that posts how many “points” a bottle has. There are some great 90+ point red wines for under $11/bottle – and lots of crap wines that are much pricier than that.
A word of dissent on the sweet-wines bandwagon: I know a lot of people say to start with fruity wines, but personally I HATE HATE HATE 99% of sweet, sparkling and dessert wines, always have. Its easier for some people to start on the sweeter end, but if you don’t like those, don’t give up on wine entirely. I sometimes like a real dry Reisling, but that’s sometimes hard to find, if you don’t know what to look for.
A great, easy to drink red wine is La Vieille Ferme, it’s a French Rhone red, and it retails for about $6.99-$9, depending on the shop. I know it’s not available everywhere, but if you can find it, I personally think it’s dollar for dollar the best under $10 bottle out there.
The Robert Mondavi Private Reserve/Selections are also good, and usually right about $10 a bottle.
Do you have any local wineries around you. I'd have a winery afternoon and just go down the list and try some from dry white, sweet white, dry red, sweet red, dessert, and fruity.
The other thing if you don't have a winery near you I'd make a wine and cheese night with friends. Everyone brings a bottle of wine and a kind of cheese or dip. Then you get to try a bunch of different kind of wines.
Cause at least with all my friends we've had different tastes and the only way to figure it out is by trying a bunch.
My favorites are dry reds or sweeter whites so I'd recommend like a Riesling or Shiraz to start out with. One of my favorite whites though is a Traminette.
Start with trying Rieslings (DEF german!) for whites and merlot and Pinot Noir for red.
Now, I have NEVER been a fan of white wines, I've always only loved reds, and now I like really strong reds ;-)
Check for some local wine stores. Sometimes they have "tastings" where you can try tiny samples of wines. Of course, just like beers and other liquors, practice makes yumminess ;-)
OH Beringer White Zin is sweet, light, crisp (kind of like apples and strawberries) and very low in cost. It is great for wine newbies! Please give it a try and let me know what you think! :) I LOVE wine!
beringer.jpg (23.9 KB, 58 downloads) 1 year old
I agree that blush wine is a good starting point, followed by white wine. But if you find you don't like either, give red a try. I never liked blush or white, but I do like red.
Read the back of the wine bottle. It usually has some sort of description of what it is. Also, if you find something you like, take a cell phone picture of the label for future reference. There are so many different kinds out there, it can get a little confusing. Here are a few of my favorite wines at the moment. All of them are pretty affordable too, so you won't be paying an arm and a leg for something you may or may not like.
Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling - Very sweet, pear & cantaloupe flavors
Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer - Sweet, and a little spicy too.
Erath Pinot Noir - One of the lightest reds I've ever had. Goes well with everything. Lots of berry flavors.
Ecco Domani Pino Grigio - Sweet, pineapple flavors, with a little bit of a chardonnay taste.
Red Truck Zinfandel - A very basic red. Heavier, but not too dry. Goes well with red meat.
Big House Red - A red blend, on the drier side.
Francis Coppola's Rosso - Another red blend. Has some richer fruit flavors, like cherry and plum.
Alamos Malbec - A richer, more complex red wine.
I'm not a wine person, per se, (prefer mixed drinks and beer) but I love Blackstone Merlot. That's my favorite. All the wines recommended above are good. White Zin is not considered a "real wine", but I drink it. I like the sweetness. I suggest going to a windery as somebody above mentioned. Then you can sample a whole bunch! That would be fun. :)
Oh, and I am a sucker for cute tags too... but one of the reasons there are so many cute labels out there now is because well, suckers (like me) buy them because their cute... but the flavor sucks. A lot of wines with cute labels are crappy, but here are some of my favorites with cute tags:
Bitch Grenache- super pretty color, super funny label, full of sweet berry flavors. Definitely a girly wine.
Mirabelle Brut Rose - One of my favorite sparking wines.
Cupcake Malbec - Pretty basic malbec, cute little name and label.
The Little Penquin Shiraz - Lighter and sweeter, cutest name ever. But I would stay away from any other wine labels with animals on them. (smoking loon, yellowtail, etc. They are mostly crap.)
A great red wine to start on (when you get there if you go white first) would be Menage a Trois (yup, it's really called that!) by Folie a Deux. It's a red table wine that is three different grapes blended together. It is my go to bottle of red for a dinner party or a good steak.
For specific brands... my absolute all-time fav is Schmitt Sohne Blue Reisling Spatlese (their Auslese is also good but a little pricier at about $15/bottle... stay away from the Kabinett or quattlese). It is a very light sweeter white wine that is just easy to drink.
My other current fav is Ravenswood Red Zinfadel. It is under $10 and its a slightly sweet red that pairs especially well with Mexican or Italian food (imo).
I'm all about trying different brands though. There are so many options out there that I tend to get different stuff all the time. :)
i second sweetpea1031! Beringer white zinfandel is to die for! yumm-o!
for california wines i love beringer or sutterhome, yellowtail has a vast selection of aussie wines, andi love a little italian prosecco for something sparkling! all of these should be easy to find and fairly inexpensive.
german rieslings are fantastic, as are the french wines from the alsace region - gewurztraminer is my fave (its superb with spicy foods!).
Crowd pleasers are vinho verde and reislings- but there is nothing wrong with judging by tags! It's a great way to experiment. Good luck!
I started with Arbor Mist!
Oh yeah =]
Why not go to a wine store? Most let you sample what's open. And restaurants sell wine flights, which you can sample.
Also if you don't like it, try a few more.
I agree with @troubled : If you have any local wineries, start there. Many will do free tastings or charge a small fee to taste.
Another good option is local, independent wine shops. Many of them offer tastings for free. Bigger grocery stores with wine sections, like Trader Joes and Whole Foods, also sometimes do tastings. All of these are great ways to taste a wide variety of wines and to see what you like.
Someone also mentioned sangria, which is traditionally red (but can also be white) wine mixed with fruit and spices. Several of my friends who aren't big wine drinkers loooove sangria. You can often find it at Spanish restaurants. If you have the chain La Tasca near you, they have a huge sangria menu and you can sample all different kinds.
Most importantly, it's about what you enjoy, not what is classy or cool. You don't have to know anything about wine to know what tastes good to you. So just dive on in and start tasting :-)
I could tell you what I like, but tastes are so individual. I agree it's best to do some tastings at local wineries (if you have such things in your area) or the nicer wine shops. That way you can try a little of lots of different wines and get a sense of what you like. Also, the people at the tasting counter are usually very knowledgeable and can help you learn so much. Plus, it's just fun!
Here's the thing to keep in mind - everyone's palate is so different. So, what you like - your FI might not - and so on. The other thing to note - is even if you find a wine that you love, each year brings different grapes that are affected by the growing climate, etc.
What you will discover is what are you favorite varietal (type of grape). I would google your area and look for wine tasting events. That's really the best way to quickly familiarize yourself with different wines and start learning what you like. Then you can start working your way through bottles at your local store (of that type).
The most simple breakdown is whites and reds.
When you taste both, they typically start with the lighter whites and move to the more dry ones. With reds, it's a similar thing - they start with the lighter ones and move to the more bold. There's also a fun world of desert wines to explore.
My FI was not a wine drinker before me and we went to a local wine tasting area and he fell in love with it. Each tasting experience allows you to ask questions and learn more about it.
HAVE FUN ... and, p.s. Wine drinking does NOT make you classy ;) You get to do that all on your own, sans wine.
@JennyChicago: I am in no way a wine snob. My three biggest points of advice are:
1) Cute labels usually jack up a price. Its just marketing. Avoid them as a general rule.
2) There is no need to buy expensive wine.
3) Don't let any one tell you what you should like. If you find something you like, trust your own taste.
Thanks guys for the suggestions!!! So being the girk that I am i went with the cute labeled The little penguin that Robinlinz suggested, I forgot what kind she had suggested so we went with the Merlot OMG it was soooooooo strong. lol I guess I should have listened and started with the white! We will keep trying though until we find one we like!
i also like to try local wines... it is fun to swing by vineyards and just try things. the people who run small local winerys and vineyards are knoweldgeable and always willing to explain the differences!
Yeah try pinot grigio and chardonnay first if you're not used to wine. Have some cheese and salami and crackers and fruits with it. Or chocolate. Chocolate's always good lol. I love a good pinot noir (try mirrassou it's cheap and good...they're chardonnay is good too). Good luck. Go wine tasting. That's the best.
MMMmm... I have to agree with the recommendations above for Gewurtztraminer (esp. Chateau St Michelle and Covey Run). I usually drink really dry Cab. Savs., but this post reminded me how much I love a good gewurtz in the summer!!
For "starter wines", I'd recommended white zinfindale and riesling.
Good brand recommendations above. Mots of the wine I regularly drink has already been mentioned (Ravenswood, Little Penguin, Yellowtail, etc).
I'm currently reading this book, and so far, I'd recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Wine-Made-Simple-Sommelier/dp/0767904788/
She goes over all the basics of wine, teaches you how to taste and compare wine, and even has her own recommendations broken down into various price points (so you can get "good" wine whether your budget be $10 or $100+). I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm really enjoying it!
To start with a sweet wine like Moscoto...which I don't like. It is too sweet. Then a white zinfindal and then chardonnay. Almost all reds are pretty stong compared to whites and pinks. BUT I love cabernet sauvignon and merlot. My favorites!
One thing that really helped FI and myself was to do a tasting at a local restaurant where we were served small portions of food paired with about six different wines. The lady who was hosting the event gave us a lot of background on each wine and started teaching us how to identify the different flavors in the wines, like berries, red fruit, citrus, chocolate, even things like tobacco! She taught us how to correctly smell and taste the wines, and also showed us how things like letting some wines breathe makes a big difference. Learning how to appreciate the wine, and having it paired with delicious treats made it much easier to enjoy.
Maybe check around and see if there are any wine bars or restaurants that specialize in wines near you that do those sorts of events. I'm assuming from your name that you are in Chicago, so I bet you can find something!
definitely start with a white wine. Riesling was my first wine and is still my favorite. I like Willamette Valley Vineyards, but I'm not sure if they distribute outside of Pacific Northwest.
I started with Riesling many years ago and I'm now a red wine person. I'm very picky with my wine, 90% of those I buy are French. They don't have to be expensive at all.
I don't care for wine at all. But on very rare occasions, I like Shiraz (I have only drank Jacob's Creek so can't comment on other brands) and Beringer's White Zinfandel, both of which you can find at any grocery. Most people who are not regular wine drinkers tend to like one or both of those and are not huge fans of other types. But everyone is different obviously.
The first wines I ever drank ages ago were Chardonnay and Champagne and I don't like either one at all. I also don't like Merlot which I have tasted at a winery in the past. Burgundy is commonly used in cooking and tastes great that way but I have never drank it straight.
That said, not everyone likes wine, contrary to popular belief. It is something that you have work into and gradually develop a taste for, and even after wanting to like it not everyone cares for it.
@robinlinz: Chateau Ste Michelle is what we served at our wedding! Everyone loved it. We had to pay the venue a "premium charge" so that they could get it in, but it was totally worth it!
I know this sounds lame but a good few options are:
Gewurztraminer, Viognier, or Pinot Grigio. But really I recommend going to a winery or wine bar on tasting night. Or have a party and ask everyone to bring their favorite wines. My local farmers market even has a local winemaker that offers samples at a stand. Most of my favorite brands are local and you will probably get much better wine if you do that - it's unlikely Target to going to offer a great wine experience.
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So FI and I aren't classy people lol. We don't drink wine with dinner and really don't know much about it. We want to get into the habit of trying some out and see if we like it or not. Question is where do we start? I was browsing in Target and they have so may wines with such cute tags (hahaha my only criteria so far!) ...so as you can see I am clueless.