wine tasting... how do i know which is good and which is not???

Question

what is considered good wine? what does it suppose to taste? what is a good wine that is under $20... input please....

Answer 1

Do you have a Trader Joes nearby? They carry Charles Shaw which is only $2.99 a bottle with many choices and is very good table wine. They also have other excellent wines which they post ratings nearby. Take the time to read the tasting notes and you'll be able to find something under $20 that is still complex and unique.

Answer 2

good wine is whatever the drinker thinks it is. and isn't the same thing to everybody. It is all personal preference. Kind of like if you asked which is better coke or pepsi. As far as what it tastes like that is very tricky to answer. some people just think it tastes like alcohol. I had a zinfandel one time that literally tasted like black berry jam. It is all subjective. It is about sensory perception through both taste and smell.

I work in the wine industry and have a many favorites, and not one is like the the other. Of my faves the following are all in the $20-ish category

Reds

Wild Horse Zinfandel - $18.00
Silverado Sangiovese - $22.00
Cambria Julia's Pinot NOir - $21.99
El Felino Malbec - $19.99 (this is from argentina)

Whites

Luna Pinot Grigio - $12.99
Silverado Sauvignon Blanc - $16.99
Cambria Katherine's Chardonnay - $17.99
Wild Horse Viognier - $19.00

Answer 3

wine is a tricky product. whats good to one person may not be good for another. if you are a beginner you might want to ease into the world of wine. if you start with sweeter wines eventually you can work your way to the more dry full bodied wines. Start with a riesling or maybe a sauvignon blanc. If it is red wine you want then start with a pinot noir, or maybe a blend of some sort. some hints I will give you. German riesling is generally regarded as the best in that category. with sauvignon blanc know that if grapefruit is a prevalent quality it is probably from New Zealand, the California sauvignon blancs are generally less acidic. Chile is making some really good wines right now. just remember that a good wine isn't necesarily an expensive wine. if you like to drink it then it must be good.

Answer 4

The rule of thumb is simple. Buy what you like to drink. Wine used to be pretentious, now it's just something to enjoy with food. wine spectator.com can help you tremendously if you are new to wine drinking. They have a whole section on wines by the price and editor's picks, etc. Their magazine is even better with best buys section that is a little tear out card. I use it all the time. Good wine does not have to be really expensive. I also would visit a wine shop and chat with the owner. They love to talk about what they like. They will ask you what flavors you like (cherry, oak, dry, full bodied). Just tell them you are new and could they recommend a few to try. Good luck and have fun. p.s. Bad wine tastes like rubbing alcohol or vinegar. Send it back!!

Answer 5

Whether or not a wine is good depends entirely on each person's taste. You need to drink wine that you like.

One of the best ways to discover what your tastes in wine are is to go wine tasting at wineries or wine shops in your area. Taste lots of wine. Ask questions, taste more wine, and eventually you will know what you like and do not like.

Some wines get rated by various reviewers. These ratings can be used to select wines to taste. Wines rated 90 and above are generally considered excellent. While you won't always agree with a particular rating, ratings do give you some indication that at least someone thought the wine was good. However, there are some superb wines at there that have not been rated.

A few good wines (my opinion) that are under $20 are:

De Martino 2005 Organic Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Maipo Valley are blended with Malbec and Carmenère grapes to produce a deep red wine with violet hues and an intense aroma of blackberry, cherries and truffle. Great volume and cherry flavor. Aged in oak barrels for 12 months. Ideal served with pasta, red meat, and aged cheese. ($11.99)

Renwood 2003 Old Vine ZinfandelThe 2003 Old Vine Zinfandel is medium ruby in color. The bouquet consists of brown sugar, caramel, sage, eucalyptus, and bursting with dark berry fruit. The flavor is a sumptuous blend of warm blackberries on the entry, with a hint of dried fruit, finishing with sweet fleshy tannins.($19.49)

Rosenblum 2005 Heritage Clones Petite Sirah This wine is amazing both in aromatics and flavors, not to mention the color, which is jet black. It exhibits a bouquet and flavors of ripe blackberries, plums, chocolate, black pepper, violets and spice. ($18.49)

Answer 6

Everyone will give you the PC answer, which is that if it tastes good to you, it is good. That's not a very fun answer, though, is it.

The first thing is to move past the propensity to exclusively enjoy sweet wines or dessert wines. The appeal of these wines is obvious (they taste like juice to a novice), but enjoying them on this level is not really a good financial investment.

Good wine should evoke taste sensations that you would never expect. A great pinot grigio will often have strong hints of pear and grapefruit. A smooth merlot will have hints of currant and mushroom.

When you are tasting, try to find these notes. If they aren't there, it's not because you are ignorant, it's because you are drinking lousy wine (or you are drinking wine that doesn't agree with you). There is tons of terrible wine out there.

In general, Chile and Spain are known for inexpensive, robust wines. However, many makers are taking advantage of this fact to offer swill. Argentina is becoming known for their Malbecs, which are earthy and complex at a very affordable price.

Some recommendations from my end. All should be easy to find.

Mark West Pinot Noir - Fruity but smooth, a people-pleasing wine for about $11.

Greg Norman Cabernet - Doubt he has much to do with making the wine, but this is another accessible wine, which runs about $17.

Dynamite Cab-Sav - Super-popular, easy to locate, a good starting point.

Omrah Unoaked Chardonnay - Turned me on to Chardonnay. Australian wine with lot's of honey and almond notes.

Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio - A lot of cheap white wines taste like unsweetened lemonade. Ecco Domani does a decent cheapy that is a good intro to this varietal for bottom of the barrel prices.

Answer 7

You just know. The wines are made for the people, and when they like it, the wine is good. And I got to tell you that different people have different taste, and you can't make a wine that will be good for everyone. Or you can?

Answer 8

It's a very individual matter. What is good for one might not bee good for another.It's all a matter of taste and preference. You just have to taste wines before buying and see what you like. Some people like easy drinking, fruity, light wines, others like them complex and earthy yet silky and yet others like them big, bold and tannic. The only "bad" wine for most people would be wine that was corked, oxydised, too acidic and unbalanced or overoaked but some people enjoy thioe qualities.

Answer 9

There are hundreds of good wines for under $20. Go to a "nice" liquor or wine store and ask someone who works there.

As far as wine tasting, I really don't know what the experts are looking for - I just know what tastes good to me.

Answer 10

Some people claim that a good wine has specific qualities, but I say a good wine is a wine that YOU like. some people prefer sweet over dry or red over white. You just have to sample and find what works for you. Start with inexpensive but generally consistently good brands. I suggest Berringer, Yellowtail, or Barefoot. They all make different varieities that are inexpensive and represent the different varieties well.