New Wine drinker looking for some help?

Question

As a new wine drinker I find that I like white wines best-not great but best. I keep trying reds, but they are so bitter! Reds go good (or so I'm told) with many foods. Any suggestions for me? Are there any mild or sweet reds?

Answer 1

Reds take a while to aquire a taste for. I like a mellow merlot because it is single sided. It's hard for a wine drinker to tell another which is the best. All wines are a matter of taste. My mom and I love wines but our tastes are different.

Answer 2

Hi. I'm not going to say much here ,except for the fact that you aren't/weren't any different from the rest of us.New wine drinkers like sweet wine until you get to appreciate why different wines taste the way they do.
Whites are pressed without skin or seeds and are vinted usually in stainless steel for about a year.
Reds are pressed whole(which gives them tannin for body & flavor), and vinted in wood for 2yrs.
Vinters make variations ,but don't violate appelation to keep purity.
Other things to enhance flavor are also added, this is what makes wine Unique.
Aging good red wines are what give them enhanced flavor & body and make them much smoother for the taste-buds.

Answer 3

New wine drinkers will often prefer the sweeter or more fruity wines. For white wines I'd suggest trying Rieslings and Gewurtraminers. For reds.....try some Zinfandel. Zinfandel can be very fruity but full bodied.

Answer 4

A few good beginner inexpensive wines:
Columbia Winery Riesling (sweet white, around $10)
Fetzer Gewurtztraminer (sweet, also spicy heavy white-$10)
Bogle Merlot (red, plum accents, pleasant-$10)
Evolution (off-dry white meritage [made from 9 diff. grapes]--goes with everything, a real crowd pleaser for red and white drinkers-$15)
A Lambrusco is a sweeter red (Italian) worth trying. I'm not familiar with lambrusco brands/wineries, but I'm sure any will do to try.


If you really don't care for the aquired taste of reds, a very cheap wine I'm sure you'll like is Gallo Cafe Zinfandel. (It's NOT the stinky pinky, it's red) It's $5 and actually tastes pretty good (has a little zip to it) and can be drank at room temp or chilled.

Answer 5

The best red wines to try are the wines lighter in tannin. You could start with roses...not sweet white zin, but true rose. For reds try Italian Barbera di'Asti or Dolcetto di'Alba. inexpensive Pinot Noir from Washington or Oregon is also a good choice. For good whites try Moscato di'Asti or viognier.

Answer 6

theres a brand called pelie island that makes a semi sweet merlot. Thats where I started when I hated red wine. Now however that is also WAY to sweet for me and all I drink now are the dry red wines. Give it time, and you will acquire a taste, and YES red wine is SUPERB w/ beef, and also w/ chocolate.

Answer 7

try a chardonay or a merlot.not the cheapest but mid price range. I never liked wine until 1 1/2 years ago and now I prefer it. I also do not like the bitter ones.

Answer 8

Reds are more full bodied than whites. Here are some of my favorites to try:

1. Rodney Strong Merlot
2. Nocetto Sangiovese
3. Barbera
4. Chianti
5. Petit Syrah
6. Zinfandel
7. Valpocello

Answer 9

Hi Jenna
Reds generally take more time ...taste wise. I didn't care for most red wines until I started sipping one with particular foods that complemented the taste.

There is a brief explanation of tasting wines with foods I found particularly helpful if you want to read it.

http://www.real-restaurant-recipes.com/wine-guide.html

Answer 10

For a nice fruity red wine try Cline Zinfandel,Ravenswood zinfandel and Kimberly River Zinfandel.