STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

If you log onto Reidl glassware site, you will notice that they have a specific glass for each kind of wine. Which, is incredibly silly. You can get by with 2-3 glasses. A champagne flute and a large goblet. The third would be a slightly smaller bowled glass, which would be for white and the larger for red, but most people would agree that if you get a nice big glass you can use it for whatever wine you choose. (Word to the wise, don't get your everyday glasses with a stem so long that they don't fit in your dishwasher unless you really like handwash!). The reason red wine usually goes in the bigger glass is so you can swirl it around and let it breathe, which makes it open up and taste better than if it was poured and drank right away.

The thing I would suggest figuring out is whether you favor a dryer wine or a sweeter wine. Dryer wines seem to take longer for people to appreciate in my experience.

For whites:
A chardonnay is kinda dry and tastes oaky. A Sauvignon blanc is dry and a traditionally a little grapefruity. A Pinot grigio is in the middle, dry-wise, imo. A riesling is sweet. Chardonnay is what you get for a white at most open bars that only have one white wine selection.

For reds:
I really like a shiraz. Merlot is the traditional red served at open bars when you only have one red selection. It's a good place to start but isn't too special. I love a beaujolais and a rioja. Pinot Noir is good too. I'd leave Rhone and Bordeauxs for later in the tasting game.

People like to take wine really seriously, but don't buy into all that. You can make the experience as hoity-toity or as laid back as you like. There are plenty of wines under $10 that are drinkable.

See if bars or restaurants do occasional tastings. Some community colleges offer wine tasting classes at their learning extenstion sites. Or, throw a party and have everyone bring a bottle and see what you like.

Hey! I love wine (which you know) and tend to just pick up random bottles at the liquor store and try them. The one by your house does tastings so you can try the different types before you buy them.

Aurora has a good idea. Fayetteville has a wine bar and you buy a card and then try different types of wines and they punch your card. We (I, B, you and me) should go have dinner some night and then go there! =)

Here is a brief summary of wines: http://www.frenchscout.com/types-of-wines

I buy from wineexpress quite a bit bc they have a bottle of the day (if you sign up for their email list) and .99 shipping. You can order great wines for fairly cheap on there. Let me know if you have questions!

there is so much to learn and know about wine... it gets overwhelming. i'm a big fan of go to the store, and buy a few bottles, like what you like and move on to the next one. 

a wine diary has helped me.  i remember i like such and such cab, but what was the vintage?  get that label off and write it down.  it's stupid but there is so much out there its hard to remember what you liked!! 

also, i used to work at a wine heavy restaurant, so i learned alot there.  but they made us watch a cute/goofy movie with john cleese that helped alot of people out.

i think the bottom line is ( for me at least ) is you can like whatever you  like, cheap, expensive, sweet, dry, blah blah blah...  and most of the time i could care less what i'm eating with the wine.  it's what you like and what you want at that time that makes me happy. 

i heart wine.

Suasoria wrote:

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I actually like wine/food "pairing" in the sense that the same wine before dinner can taste totally different with dinner. Not that there's a right and wrong way of matching food to wine, but it's interesting to note. Some wines are really good on their own and some are enhanced a good deal by food. It's just another way to play around with flavors and preferences. E.g., we might open a lighter red wine before a meal but then have something heftier with food.

We also go through phases where we try a lot of one kind (New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are trendy in my house at the moment), then burn out, and get into something new and different for a while. Or we open something we used to love and haven't had in a long time and remember how much we missed it, or go, "eh, not so much anymore."

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suasoria, you're right.  i should have said that differently...  what i was trying to say was that i don't really care what wine "should" go with a certain food.  it's more like what i want at that time.  you could have the same bottle of wine 10 times and 10 times it will taste different.  depending on the food, how long the wine has had to breathe, and all kinds of differnt things. 

those wine vacuums are great. 

So I'm sitting here craving a glass of wine and got to thinking about this thread... I meant to thank you all for all your advice. I have tried a couple different kinds and am finding that I do enjoy a stronger taste, not too strong though. I had a glass when me and dh went for Vday dinner called Layered cake (it was a zinfandel) and it was good but not quite strong enough. Oh and I got one of those vaccum stoppers and really like it. So thanks again for all the suggestions!

Suasoria wrote:

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How fun! Maybe try a Bordeaux-style blend - generally a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, sometimes Malbec and Petit Verdot.

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Oh, I just tried a Cabernet Sauvignon this weekend, love it!  It's actually the black box one, I'm hoping it'll actually keep as I'm generally the only one around here that drinks (unless we have guest) and end up wasting half a bottle, even with the vaccum stoppers.

And the Menage a Trois by Folie a Deux is a bordeaux blend and I love it!  Any other brand suggestions for a bordeaux blend?