I am trying to acquire a taste for red wine. What would be a nice, mild wine to start with?

Answer 1

Pinot's are nice and light, but a good merlot can be soft and easy to drink too. Pinots make a good lunch wine, a little like half strength cordial, but with out the sugar.

A good merlot should generally be soft.

Perhaps try merlot that is full in summer fruits. Below is an extract from an Australian wine site (note the merlot entry):

When starting out, the crucial thing for most drinkers is the grape itself which is why Australian wine has become so popular – it is easy to understand. All Australian wines show clearly on their labels (often front and back) the varietal(s) used and the character of the wine. Many will also suggest the best foods to complement the wine, or the other way around!

Different grapes provide vastly different characters and flavours and it’s a lot of fun exploring to find out what you like best. Once you know what grapes are supposed to taste like, your choice is all the easier.

Learning about wine is easy when you are judging just by the grape variety itself. But remember that in Australian wine, often more than one variety may be used so that different varietal characteristics complement each other to provide a better overall wine. For example Shiraz Cabernet is a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, but Cabernet Sauvignon is simply a grape with a double-barreled name).

To help understand what to look for, we’ve compiled a list of the major varieties used in Australian wine and their most obvious characters.


Red Varieties

Shiraz

Shiraz is the most important and widely planted grape variety in Australia where it consistently produces outstanding medium to full-bodied wines deep crimson in colour and with rich, ripe plum and pepper flavours.

Most Shiraz wines benefit from oak maturation and may be kept for many years. The Barossa Valley and Hunter valley are home to Australia’s greatest Shiraz. The synonym ‘Syrah’ may often be found in other wine producing countries.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is the classic red variety of Bordeaux and second only to Shiraz in importance in Australia. Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be medium to full bodied, typically leafy with ripe cassis like flavours and are always well structured and elegant.

Australia is famous for blends of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Cabernet Sauvignon structure giving elegance to the ripe fruit flavours of Shiraz. Coonawarra and Langhorne Creek are both famous of their Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

Merlot

Merlot, another of the famous Bordeaux red varieties, has only recently become popular in Australia. Merlot wines are characterised by soft ‘rose petal’ like flavours and lovely subtle palate. Historically, Merlot has been blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to produce a softer easy drinking wine, however straight Merlot red wines are now becoming increasingly popular and are a great style of wine to introduce people to the enjoyment of red wine.

Grenache

Grenache is a variety that when grown in a warm climate like Australia, produces wines that are highly perfumed soft, round and very flavoursome. It is for this reason that Grenache is usually blended with Shiraz to create a better-balanced wine. Grenache blends can be an ideal accompaniment for highly spiced foods, especially when served chilled. In fact these wines are often most appealing when consumed chilled.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is unusual in as much as it is used to produce base wines for sparkling or light bodied, elegant dry red wines. When grown in the cooler areas of southern Australia and blended with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir produces some of Australia’s greatest sparkling wines. When grown to make dry red wines, the variety needs to be grown in slightly warmer areas, generally speaking. Pinot Noir wines are best accompanying light red meat dishes or gamy poultry.

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All in all, you will find a favourite - I hope it's not as expensive as mine (Pepperjack shiraz at AUD $20 per bottle - LOL)

hanalla

Answer 2

When I started out, I found Chilean Merlots the easiest to drink. Partially because they were easy on the pocket book and partically because they are so simple.

I also found Raymond's Cabernets very easy to drink. They aren't incredibly tannic like some less expensive CA Cabs and are a great way to get your cab fix every once in awhile. Their 'reserve' label is just under $30 at my local trader joe's.

Right now, there are some incredibly cheap and drinkable blends and syrahs out there.

Six Prong Red
House Red
Montes Syrah
Cycles Gladiator Syrah

Are some great ones to look for. All are under $20, but drink like twice their price. If they had a Beringer label, they would be $25-$30 bottles of wine.

Two other good cabs that are inexpensive but tasty are

Amberhill by Raymond
Casillero Del Diablo by Concha Y Toro

These are under $10 and offer decent cab taste. They aren't supreme wines by any stretch of the imagination, but they are good 'sit at home with a glass of wine' wines.

Answer 3

The normal development of a wine drinker is usually from a sweet white (botrytis, ice wine) , to a drier white (Riesling, SauvBlanc) to a dry white (Chardonnay, Viognier).

From there some people like to try Rose style (sweet and dry).

Then usually a Grenache, as this is a lighter wine.

Then a good GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro blend - if you are in Australia, try a Glaetzer "Wallace", very easy to drink blend).

Then usually a Cabernet Sauvignon blend. This is starting to becom a bit more complex.

Then graduating to Shiraz - Barossa Shiraz (Aus) is big and bold.

Generally then different varieties are experience with.

At the moment I am loving a Dolcetto Lagrein blend from Langhorne Creek, it is not a big wine, but full of berry flavours. Loving it.

I hope you find a wine that you like, there is nothing like a good glass of red at the end of the day, or with a great meal.

Cheers!

Answer 4

How old are you? If you are old enough see if there are any wineries nearby and go there for tastings. That's a good way to taste a different range of wines, generally for free. Otherwise try wines that are described as fruity or semi sweet. If you find them too sweet (like you are drinking grape juice) move to the "dryer" wines. Again, a winery or a wine festival are great ways to get a good idea of what's out there. BTW, if you are not old enough, ask your parents. They may just be willing to work with you on this.

Answer 5

I have 2 recommendations:

Pinot Noir (Pee-no Na-wahr)
Pinot Noir is a smooth silky red wine that is extremely fruity. It is characterized with aromas and flavors of black cherry or rose petals along with hints of spiciness or herbal qualities. Pinot Noirs are enjoyed for their soft velvety texture. High in alcohol, they are full bodied but not heavy.

Sangiovese (San-gee-oh-ve-zee)
Sangiovese is a medium bodied dry red wine with earthy aromas and berry, plum, spicy, or floral flavors. It has a smooth texture. Sangiovese is the main grape used to produce Italian Chiantis.

Don't just try one bottle of either because the tastes and quality do vary greatly. One good way to discover wines that you like is to go wine tasting in a wine region near where you live. Many wineries offer free wine tasting.

Answer 6

red or white which by the way has a light pink color "Zinfandel "nice flavor not sweet. Has a body that goes with any meal as long as it does not include pork. excellent with cheese and crackers like a nice veggie tray/cracker its a nice way to introduce your self to the different tastes. I have enjoyed wines from $3.00-$90.00 I have a nice collection But haven't enjoyed the taste of any in 4 months or so. Depends on the occasion.

Answer 7

Depends on if you like sweet or dry. I'm doing some Red Bicyclette French Rosé as I type... not too harsh, not too light. (I entered Wine Appreciation by way of White Zinfandel which *serious* wine folk don't even qualify as Wine...)

Answer 8

Not sure but the best secret I've found is that if you get one that is bitter or too dry - add some sprite to it! For real, it makes it taste so much better.

Answer 9

Any Pinot Noir.

Answer 10

If you are going French, Beaujolais (not nouveau) is good. Nice and fruity.