You whine, I wyne, we all Wine

Seed, I like wine but I'm in your boat. I know precious little about it, and am greatly aided by always being with people who know a lot about it and whose recommendations I trust ("trust" as in I drink what I am poured anyway and it's a good thing they know what they are doing).

So I wanna piggyback on your thread (if you don't mind) and I think some of the wine experts can help us by telling us more about the different types of wine. I know a little bit about this but would love a good walkthrough.

I think this is how a lot of people start. I loved white as a kid, long before acquiring a taste for red and lots of beginners to wine I know prefer white. I think it's just generally a more accessible wine. I like white too, but now think it's usually boring compared to red.

This guy will tell you all you need to know.

http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

He has a weekly video and he is not a snob.

$5

Wrong, sir ... wrong! You can't miss with Fish Eye.

Franzia chillable red?

I like this "review":

As I recall, Ragman is quite knowledgeable about wines.

Is it primarily White and Red as far as categories go? That's about as far and as much as I know on the subject.

Oh and P.s. I eat hot pocket because, well, when you're in the army, and you're single and you come home for lunch and you open the fridge and all you see is 3 week old left over take out or a jar of pickles, Hot Pockets in the freezer look mighty good.

My years of living in Spain left me with a taste for Tinto Rioja, a common red table wine also described as 'crianza' which meant it had been aged for 2 years in an oak barrel.

Nowadays I buy Australian Cabernets(3 for $10.00) to accompany dinner and if I'm out and having wine I'll order Leaping Horse(Merlot=$5.69 Shiraz $6.69 a bottle at the store)
I don't have a discriminating palate so I tend to go for "The bully of the vineyard" and I never drink white.

Had a good chuckle over that, Seed! Can't help much with the wine. I prefer beer.

There are also roses. Rose (rosay) used to be considered a kind of junk wine, but in recent years I hear that there are some very good ones out there - I haven't tried those. Here's a link with a short explanation - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-rose-wine.htm

There is a great deal of self-serving hype in the wine producing and wine drinking universes. Recent blind tests have confirmed the lack of consistency and reproducability of the scoring and judgements of even well-known "experts".

However, most of us can reliably tell good wine from bad; what we like and what we don't like. The difficulty comes in distinguishing the good from the great, and there is a lot of hype and myth there - along with some real truth.

You like whites, better than reds - a not uncommon reaction for those just getting used to wine. My suggestion there (among American wines ) is to stick with Savingon Blanc. You generally get much better quality for the money than with more ubiquitous Chardonnays. There are many excellent, crisp & light, Savignon Blancs out there costing less than $15/bottle. If you want to really splurge, try a Duckhorn at about $40/bottle.

Over time most folks naturally develop a taste for reds. Among American varietals Merlot and Cabernet Sauvingon are dominant, though Zinfandels are often very good. Many like Pinot Noirs, which are lighter and different in character - I don't. With all of these wines some very good products are available for under $15/bottle (Try Bogle Cabernet or Merlot, for example).

In general I can reliably detect a difference in taste and quality between the average (say) $15 bottle of American red (or white) wine and one costing around $35/bottle. After that the "differences" become uncertain and often hard to detect. There are, exceptions and a few truly great wines out there, but very often the marginal return for the cost is very small.

The names for wines are confusing. In this country they are named after the variety of grapes used. In Europe wines are named after the region in which they are produced. Other countries use a combination of these systems and, increasingly, new contrived nanes are being used for some popular wines.

However, for all, the best rule is drink what you enjoy. Like many of life's pleasures the enjoyment of wine takes some persistence and exposure.

Have you been to the Bogle vineyards? A lovely place and a great trip.

Cycloptichorn

No but I have enjoyed their product. Where is it? Napa or Sonoma?

BTW I happened on a very dusty, forgotten bottle of 1993 Stags leap Merlot in the cellar (concrete floor type) yesterday. Opened it not knowing what to expect. It was wonderful.

Yes, I am a beer drinker as well. Though Paps Blue Ribbon does not scream "class" quite like it should.

Neither - Clarksburg, CA. I stumbled across it one day while road biking with a group of friends. We decided to stop in and had a great time.

Great place, zero pretentiousness.

On a related note I've been considering spending a weekend in the Russian river valley, they apparently have a budding industry there as well.



Wow!

I'm glad that someone else likes Merlot besides me, so many snobs turn their noses up at it around here.

Cheers
Cycloptichorn

Nice place - try Guernville or Monte Rio. There is a great deal of grape cultivation around there, at least where the redwoods end - the wine merchants often call it "The Alexander Valley" (don't know why).

I remember the first bottle of wine I ever bought. It was a modestly priced red wine from Australia of all places to go with a lobster dinner I had cooked for a friend.

Wish I could tell you the winery but I believe it was a Pinot Noir.

Did it have a pretty yellow label with a kangaroo on it?

No kangaroos or any noticeable mascots.

Negative on the very popular brand of Yellow Tail wine. They do a lot of street advertising here in NYC.