Good "hanging out" wine?

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi

Originally posted by: Descartes
Rioja is what you're saying, and it's almost always dry; that is, no really perceptible level of residual sugar.

Something "a little sweet" limits the suggestions quite a bit since so many wines are dry, so I would suggest a German Riesling. You can get a high-quality wine for < $20 without a problem. I would suggest you look for a Riesling that's halbtrocken, or "half dry"; this should have enough residual sugar to suit you. It's also better served chilled, so your lady friend might like it.

Other than that you're rather limited. You could go the Champagne/Sparking wine/cava/etc. route. You can get a nice Freixenet for a reasonable cost, or you could get a legitimate non-vintage Champagne.

Perhaps you didn't really mean dry. A lot of people think that dry wine is somehow still sweet. For example, a lot of people describe Beaujolais as being sweet, but it's [mostly] not. If you further qualify your tastes more suggestions can be offered. Beaujolais is an inexpensive quality Burgundian wine (Gamay grape) that is great served chilled on a summer day. You can get a Beaujolais-Villages for under $20 easily.

I'll echo that Beaujolais Villages is a good sweet wine. Goes good with italian food like red sauces. I can buy a bottle of Louis Jadot 2004 BV for $10.99 at the end of the street. Just for reference....it's a french wine.

You really need to figure out what grape you want. Another good one is a Montepulciano from Italy...like a Valley Reale. That's a decent $15-17 bottle. There are many good Pinot Noirs out there too if you want something a little more complex. Also, check out Luigi Bosca Malbec. It's a GREAT value.....

All great options. A nice, low-bodied Sangiovese can be a wonderful accompaniment to just about anything. The Piedmont region of Italy also produces some great Nebbiolo wines like Barolo and Barbaresco, but the former is a big wine (and now, very expensive). Barbaresco is probably in between a big California Cabernet and a Beaujolais, and there are still some good values.

I love Pinot Noir as well, but I've been drinking more Oregon Pinots than Burgundy for a while now. My favorite producers out of Oregon are: Argyle, Ponzi, Van Duzer, Owen Roe, A-Z, Domaine Drouhin, and others I'm probably forgetting. The Oregon Pinots are probably a better accompaniment to your lighter meals whereas Cali Pinots (particularly in the Russian River area) are typically bigger.

 

[Electric Amish]

I thought "Hanging Out Wine" = Beer...

Turning Leaf is good stuff, IMO...though I am not a wine fan.

 

[Soapy Bones]

I've had a few bottles of the Riesling for just that occasion, although there was no dinner involved. Seemed to be the perfect wine for hanging out and watching a movie. Reminds me I need to get some for the next movie !

 

[gigapet]

well these are all fantastic recommendations for someone who cares about wine.....

OP what kind of girl is she........does she know the diff between wines??? Is she picky???

you dont want to gamble and lose and have her not end up drinking it because she doesnt find it palatable as the goal of the wine is to induce euphoric states and lower inhibitions......You should be thinking a failsafe wine. A wine that any girl will like and drink. Save your show off wine for someone who will appreciate it or someone you've already sealed the deal with.

 

[KB]

I recommend Lambrusco. A bit sweet with some darker red plum/cherry flavor than white zin.

Most chicks also love anything made by Arbor Mist.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: gigapet
well these are all fantastic recommendations for someone who cares about wine.....

OP what kind of girl is she........does she know the diff between wines??? Is she picky???

you dont want to gamble and lose and have her not end up drinking it because she doesnt find it palatable as the goal of the wine is to induce euphoric states and lower inhibitions......You should be thinking a failsafe wine. A wine that any girl will like and drink. Save your show off wine for someone who will appreciate it or someone you've already sealed the deal with.

Hey,
She's an intelligent, witty, and cute girl who works for a food and beverage magazine as a copy editor. So she does have sophisticated tastes but I'm honest and told her that wine is something that I don't have an education in (yet). I let her order the wine the last time we had dinner and asked her today what she'd like - her reply was "anything is fine, i'm not a snob."

Since gigapet is the man when it comes to girl advice, i'll give you some more background:
a) this is a different girl then the "no kiss on a first date" girl..
b) this is the 3rd "date" date. We hung out twice before I had the balls to ask her out using the d word
c) i'm kinda shocked that she agreed to join me at my apartment. The first date was pleasant and all but we didn't kiss, didn't even have an intimate moment but had a very good/intelligent conversation. the 2nd date was very brief since I was ill and just didn't want to stand her up/cancel at the last moment.. so this is more the 2.5 date
d) i don't really care how things end up so I'm not going to over do it with a $50 bottle of wine. I hooked up (make out variety) with this other nice girl last week and there's a 3rd girl who i'm looking forward to taking out on a 2nd date. No, i'm not a manwhore, nor am i bragging (if anyone should brag it's gigapet since i used his advice) - i'm just taking a low-key approach to things and seeing how things develop without getting too emotionally and financially involved..

does that make sense?

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: gigapet
well these are all fantastic recommendations for someone who cares about wine.....

OP what kind of girl is she........does she know the diff between wines??? Is she picky???

you dont want to gamble and lose and have her not end up drinking it because she doesnt find it palatable as the goal of the wine is to induce euphoric states and lower inhibitions......You should be thinking a failsafe wine. A wine that any girl will like and drink. Save your show off wine for someone who will appreciate it or someone you've already sealed the deal with.

Hey,
She's an intelligent, witty, and cute girl who works for a food and beverage magazine as a copy editor. So she does have sophisticated tastes but I'm honest and told her that wine is something that I don't have an education in (yet). I let her order the wine the last time we had dinner and asked her today what she'd like - her reply was "anything is fine, i'm not a snob."

Since gigapet is the man when it comes to girl advice, i'll give you some more background:
a) this is a different girl then the "no kiss on a first date" girl..
b) this is the 3rd "date" date. We hung out twice before I had the balls to ask her out using the d word
c) i'm kinda shocked that she agreed to join me at my apartment. The first date was pleasant and all but we didn't kiss, didn't even have an intimate moment but had a very good/intelligent conversation. the 2nd date was very brief since I was ill and just didn't want to stand her up/cancel at the last moment.. so this is more the 2.5 date
d) i don't really care how things end up so I'm not going to over do it with a $50 bottle of wine. I hooked up (make out variety) with this other nice girl last week and there's a 3rd girl who i'm looking forward to taking out on a 2nd date. No, i'm not a manwhore, nor am i bragging (if anyone should brag it's gigapet since i used his advice) - i'm just taking a low-key approach to things and seeing how things develop without getting too emotionally and financially involved..

does that make sense?

cool man keep up the good work :thumbsup:

 

[slackerinabox]

Hey guys,
Just a quick thanks for the recommendations. I went to trader joes and got a very good tasting german reisling, as suggested, for $9! It was actually delicious. I also picked up some 3 buck chuck merlot and shiraz since I was well below my budget and they were actually pretty good.... Trade joe rocks!

as for the date.. .Eh.. She was a bore. I'll try not to whine - pardon the pun - so i'll just say that she just kept talking about her job and about how stressed she was that it annoyed me to the point of asking her if I could just give her a ride home. yes, that was rude and caught her off gaurd, but she kept on ranting about how she has to write a story before the morning and, well, i just didn't want to deal with her bitching anymore. when i dropped her off she had the nerve to say "we should do this again sometime..." ah huh.. yeah..
so, yeah, the date sucked but i went home to enjoy the wine with my roommates - they were all impressed!

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Hey guys,
Just a quick thanks for the recommendations. I went to trader joes and got a very good tasting german reisling, as suggested, for $9! It was actually delicious. I also picked up some 3 buck chuck merlot and shiraz since I was well below my budget and they were actually pretty good.... Trade joe rocks!

as for the date.. .Eh.. She was a bore. I'll try not to whine - pardon the pun - so i'll just say that she just kept talking about her job and about how stressed she was that it annoyed me to the point of asking her if I could just give her a ride home. yes, that was rude and caught her off gaurd, but she kept on ranting about how she has to write a story before the morning and, well, i just didn't want to deal with her bitching anymore. when i dropped her off she had the nerve to say "we should do this again sometime..." ah huh.. yeah..
so, yeah, the date sucked but i went home to enjoy the wine with my roommates - they were all impressed!

ahaha thats great! :thumbsup: