Wine

[Susan]

Here's a new topic.  Today i bought a bottle of Frances Coppola Merlot. I figure if you are bold enough to put your name on the label it better be good.

Anyone have any absolute favorite wines? I always get lost in the wine section, admittedly i've had some fantastic $5 bottles and wasted $40 on sour grapes. I'm more of a red wine person although I sometimes like a little reisling or blush. Never had pinot so not sure of the taste.

I don't like anything bitter or too oaky that leaves a lot of aftertaste. Just a very mellow rich fruit. So - now is the time to make your recommendations

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

I actually like the Charles Shaw (two buck chuck) shiraz and chardonnay from Trader Joes.  They are good table wines, and cheaper than thunderbird!!!  They get good reviews too, I'm not just being a chapskate here. 

More expensive ones are the Toasted Head reds, about 10 a bottle.  I'll think of more and post as I do.
-Ed

[Andrew]

I do not drink very much wine, but we used to get a type from Long Island when we lived up there.  I cannot remember the name of the stuff, but it was a zinfandel with cranberry added.  Pretty sure that I'd recognize the name if I saw it again.

Besides that, I tend to like burgundy-types or a Chianti.  Merlots always seem too musty for my taste.

[Snivelly]

That Coppola merlot is a decent one.  That vinyard also makes a red table wine that is my absolute favorite, although it must be drunk slowly and with food or else it will come back to bite you.

I'm a red wine person, whites are usually to sweet and crisp for me.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I'm in no way a wine person. 

I work on computers as a bit of a side business.  I go to customer's houses and work on their PCs on my own time.  There is a great older couple, who are in their 80s who I do regular work for.  They are quite wealthy (the husband used to play tennis with Alan Greenspan!) and they are huge wine fans.  They always offer me a glass of red wine to drink while I'm working on their PC and I always take up the offer out of courtesy.  Along with the money they owe me each time, they've started throwing in 50 dollar bottles of wine which I give to a family member.

Maybe it's the rural upbringing but I'd rather have a glass of beer more than I would a glass of wine.  I'm not much of a drinker, and the wine always has too strong of a taste for me.

I guess I'm just not refined.   

[trekgeezer]

I don't drink at all (at least for the last 17 years), but I was never a wine person (except for all that Boone's Farm apple stuff and MD 2020 I drank as a teenager). Wine always gave me a huge headache.

[Susan]

ok what is this "table wine"...i hear this term used but not sure i fyou are referring to red or what.

I look forward to trying the Coppola. I tried Chianti once (the popular kind that comes in that little basket) and it was god aweful. Maybe it was just the one i had but too bitter. Now, our office used to have X-mas parties and served woodbridge which was pretty good.

I'm not a huge wine drinker but I enjoy it more than beer. Must be all the barley or something but beer always tastes the same to me, perhaps it's because american beer is so watered down. When i'm at a party and i have to drink something it's usually a Heinekin which is tolerable. But wine has so many different flavors, is always a different experience depending on if you are simply drinking a glass or drinking it with food. And i'm so damn picky tho that it's very hard to find a really good wine and you almost hate trying new ones as an experiment because it can be a waste of a bottle.

I guess i can never go wrong with hard liquor..lol But i'm always looking for recommendations on wines - particularly any that are very fruity, and do not have a bite to them. Some people say they don't like any wine, but I have to say that I bet it just takes finding that right bottle. Or maybe you aren't a red person but you might like a zinfindel...etc.

Then I go to my liquor store and the way is all divided by country. Oh how frustrating that is, it's fun but omg. Having to decide if France is better than Italy? lol  And anyone had South african or australian wine? So many choices

[CheezeFlixz]

Schmidt Sohne a really good Germen wine ... yes germen. Not to pricey either. Yes drink a lot of wine around here both dinner wines and your good ol wine and cheese wine. I'm not the wine expert of the house, I just open and drink what ever bottle I'm handed.
Not big on dry wine, prefer whites, blushes or sweet reds.

[Snivelly]

ok what is this "table wine"...i hear this term used but not sure i fyou are referring to red or what.

I'm by no means a wine expert, so I Wiki'd the subject for you:

n the United States, table wine is used as a legal definition to differentiate standard wine from stronger (higher alcohol content) fortified wine or sparkling wine[1].

In the European Union it is meant to designate the lowest quality level of wine produced, one that qualifies for neither an appellation nor even a broad regional designation. In France and Luxembourg it is called vin de table. Similar in nature are Spain's vino de mesa, Romania`s vin de masă, Portugal's vinho de mesa, Italy's vino da tavola, Greece's epitrapezios oinos, and Germany's Deutscher Tafelwein and Deutscher Landwein (though this last does in fact receive a broad regional designation, that of its Land of origin).

European Union guidelines stipulate that all wine produced must fall into one of two categories: table wine or the superior quality wine. Table wine typically is not permitted to disclose even its region of production (in France the producers must use postal codes to prevent the name of an appellation from appearing even in fine print on the label) or its vintage date (though "lot numbers" which can bear a striking resemblance to dates are permitted).

In other words, table wine is a wine that's neither sparkling nor fortified.

In the United States, the official definition for table wine is a wine that contains a minimum of 7 percent alcohol and a maximum of 14 percent. This definition does not define quality in any way, although some connote table wine with lower-quality, inexpensive wine. That's a mistake because many wines that simply say "Red Table Wine" or "White Table Wine" are excellent and not at all inexpensive.

Calling the red I mentioned a "table wine" in this case is just a way of the vineyard saying "this is just a blend of red wine grapes and not any special type", such as merlot, cabernet, etc.

I've tried wines from all over the world.  I like Australian chiraz, and you can find lots of good ones for less than $20 a bottle.  And as for whether French or Italian or Californian is better, that's really just a matter of taste.  I've had expensive wines that I didn't and cheap bottles that were wonderful, so just try something new here and there are find something that suits you.

BTW, I can't stand beer, I don't know why.  I prefer hard liquor if I'm going to drink, or wine.

[Derf]

For RCMerchant:

           
        I don't drink. . . . . . .wine.

[Torgo]

I used to have a severe drinking problem and have been sober for about 3 years now.

But prior to that whenever I drank wine I usually drank red wine or merlot.  Didn't really matter what brand it was as long as I could get sloshed.

My mom has tried that Coppola stuff and her and her husband said that it was really good stuff.

[Shadow]

I'm not really a wine person, but am more of a scotch enthusiast. Even then, I rarely sample any from my small collection more than once or twice a year, which marks the limit of my alcohol consumption. I cannot even remember the last time I had wine or beer.

[RCMerchant]

I don't drink at all (at least for the last 17 years), but I was never a wine person (except for all that Boone's Farm apple stuff and MD 2020 I drank as a teenager). Wine always gave me a huge headache.

For RCMerchant:

           
        I don't drink. . . . . . .wine.

True! When I was a kid...I used to drink home made cherry wine made by an old Russian farmer down near our place-Nickolia Siskaninitz-MAN! That stuff packed a wallop! But it gave me massive headaches afterwards!

    As a recovering alki...I never dink wine is right! 

[Susan]

maybe you need something like Arbor Mist..lol

[RCMerchant]

 Actually...'I need a bottle in front of me like I need a frontal lobotomy"!