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can someone explain the basics of wine, the different types, things to know, and etc.

S

skim milk

Diamond Member
I'm developing some interest in wine tasting and I'd like to learn

There are obviously different types such as white and red, then there are more variations such as merlot and chardonnay

Over dinners, I get a glass of wine and have been trying different types. Then if I like it, I may go buy the bottle.
 
One quick thing to get out of the way:

Nearly all wine is dry. Stop asking for something a little sweet. There is dry & drier. Small exceptions obviously.

If you want to know something specific, please ask.
Otherwise, just look up wine in wiki. 🙂
 
Google!

There are tons of websites about wine.

There are good wines and crappy wines, wines better with meals or without meals, wines that are better with Fish, Beef, Pork, or Pasta etc. Many wines will recommend the best way to consume it right on the label, but there are websites that'll recommend wines for you as well. The best way to find a wine you like is to just buy a different bottle every week or so(depends on how often you are going to drink wine) and keep a recod of the wines you have had. Those that you like, buy for special occassions, but keep experimenting for regular occassions.

Damn, you're in California, go on a Wine Tour! There are plenty of excellent California wines and many wineries will have a wine tasting room.
 
white wine: served cold and drunk as a cocktail or with pork, poultry or fish

red wine: served cool and drunk with meat

White wine is usually lighter and sweeter and red wine is usually richer and more complicated.

MWilding's oversimplified guide to red wine:

drink Merlot if you think you are cool
drink Cabernet Sauvignon if you like good wine
drink Burgundy if you like headaches
drink Pinot Noir if you saw Sideways and you think you know wine now.
 
don't go too deep into the technical terminology, or you'll sound like one of those pretentious wine snobs.

just learn enough to be able to explain to a normal person what a particular wine would best suited for: what foods it would be good with, whether it's drier or sweeter, or a good year for a particular region, etc.

best thing to do is to keep tasting. and take notes (something i never do unfortunately). if it tastes good, then buy it!
 
Tip: White Zinfandel goes good with pizza. All other wine/food combinations are nasty. In fact, all other alcohol/food combinations are nasty. Stick with White Zinfandel and pizza and you can't go wrong.
 
Originally posted by: fritolays
I'm developing some interest in wine tasting and I'd like to learn

There are obviously different types such as white and red, then there are more variations such as merlot and chardonnay

Over dinners, I get a glass of wine and have been trying different types. Then if I like it, I may go buy the bottle.
Click to expand...


Go rent Sideways😉
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
white wine: served cold and drunk as a cocktail or with pork, poultry or fish

red wine: served cool and drunk with meat

White wine is usually lighter and sweeter and red wine is usually richer and more complicated.

MWilding's oversimplified guide to red wine:

drink Merlot if you think you are cool
drink Cabernet Sauvignon if you like good wine
drink Burgundy if you like headaches
drink Pinot Noir if you saw Sideways and you think you know wine now.
Click to expand...

I actually prefer red wine just below room temperature rather than "cool", but maybe that's just me.

One time I was flying first class and we were offered free drinks. I asked what red wines they had and was told, "MerloT", with the 'T' pronounced. I had a little internal giggle but some jackass in the row behind me looked up from his all-important cellphone conversation and laptop to redicule the server right in front of everyone. I snapped around and told him "it will taste the same regardless of how it's pronounced". His face got all red and people started chuckling at the guy. What a fscking toolbag.

Anyway, they served the wine chilled... I swear it was about one degree above freezing; the worst wine I've ever had that wasn't expired.

Pinot Noir is very good IF you get a good batch of it. Bad Pinot Noir is BAD, but when it's good, it's my favorite of the red's.

I'm not much of a white wine drinker, but occassionally I'm in the mood for a smooth buttery Chardonnay.

The funny thing is that my favorite food is salmon, and I order it about 80% of the time we eat out... but that conflicts with the "proper" wine type, but I don't give a ******. I'll eat my salmon with my Pinot Noir and anyone who thinks it's stupid can cram it up their asshole.

 
Originally posted by: jbourne77Pinot Noir is very good IF you get a good batch of it. Bad Pinot Noir is BAD, but when it's good, it's my favorite of the red's.
Click to expand...
We'll be having it with our Turkey on Christmas. It's very versatile...

 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: jbourne77Pinot Noir is very good IF you get a good batch of it. Bad Pinot Noir is BAD, but when it's good, it's my favorite of the red's.
Click to expand...
We'll be having it with our Turkey on Christmas. It's very versatile...
Click to expand...

And you live where? PM me directions.

We're going to my sister's for Christmas where she's baking a ham (who makes ham when you could have TURKEY?!). I'm no wine expert, but I'm thinking that a Chardonnay is my best bet. I eat ham once about every incarnations, so I have no idea what to bring for it.

Of course, the rest of my family, wife included, only drinks those Pink Zin concoctions, so whatever I bring is strictly for myself (which is fine by me... I can polish a bottle off no problem).

We went to a wine tasting event over the summer and it was a blast. I highly recommend that to anyone who has even the slightest interest in wines. It's so much fun to get to try everything under the sun.

Of course, my wife got absolutely sloshed and what began as a wine tasting excursion ended up turning into one of those stories that "we'll laugh about later in life"...

Basically, the event took place right outside a real nice steakhouse, which we were going to eat at after the wine tasting (this was our 4th anniversary). Long story short, she was puking up organs between the appetizers and main course. I felt really bad for her because she was absolutely humiliated. Here we are, in one of the nicest restaraunts in the STATE, and she's yacking into an ice bucket in front of a about a hundred other people. Our tab was $300 and I tipped them about 35%. I took out a second mortgage for the bill, but the way the staff handled it was amazing.

Good times.
 
I have 2, 42 gallon barrels fermenting as we speak. Consisting of mainly Cabernet grapes with a touch of merlot and sangiovese grapes. Cant wait until spring.
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77And you live where? PM me directions.
Click to expand...
We are having 19 people stay in my house for X-mas. 14 adults and 5 small children (1-8 years old). It will be a mad house that you wouldn't want to be a part of if you didn't call some of those people "family".

We have about 8 bottles of pinot noir (two types) and 2 bottles of Gewurztraminer for the white wine lovers. If that doesn't cause enough mayhem or make everyone love each other, I will break out the big gun: Chateauneuf du pape. If that fails, it is on to the single malt whiskeys...

 
One good suggestion I read in a wine-aging article was to buy 3 bottles whenever you purchase wine. Wait about a year in between drinking each bottle, this way you'll learn how the same batch of wine tastes after it has aged after 1 and 2 years.


Unfortunately due to our societies devotion to soda, it seems everyone wants a sweet wine (my wife especially). What is sweet for a wine is still bitter to her 😛

If you also like them sweet, go with dessert wines. There are some good fruit based wines like blackberry/peach/etc. However not all dessert wines are sweet, one that I liked (and my wife hated) was herb based (I believe it came from germany).
 
To drink Wine is much like to taste a girl. Some are fruity, some are bland, some taste like skank fish, but they'll all get you blitzed.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
white wine: served cold and drunk as a cocktail or with pork, poultry or fish

red wine: served cool and drunk with meat

White wine is usually lighter and sweeter and red wine is usually richer and more complicated.

MWilding's oversimplified guide to red wine:

drink Merlot if you think you are cool
drink Cabernet Sauvignon if you like good wine
drink Burgundy if you like headaches
drink Pinot Noir if you saw Sideways and you think you know wine now.
Click to expand...

i got into Pinot Noir before Sideways came out and I like it the best. Although I have to admit that I never tried Cabernet Sauvignon
 
Put your whole nose in the glass when you smell it!

Also to impress the persons around you, state the wine has a slight taste of leather, types of wood, and other stuff that you would not normally taste.
 
Originally posted by: tw1164
Put your whole nose in the glass when you smell it!

Also to impress the persons around you, state the wine has a slight taste of leather, types of wood, and other stuff that you would not normally taste.
Click to expand...
Try to stay away from adjectives like feet and ass and fromunda...
 
If you like sweet wine, Florida Winery makes some good ones. They make it from different types of fruit, like mango, peach, etc. I did some wine tasting down there a while back and ended up buying 3 bottles to bring back home.

Check them out at this site.
 
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