Wine
 

I haven't messed with with wine for a long time. Since my late teens and early 20's really. Back them my favorite stuff was the original Grape flavor. I tried the Kiwi fruit and Grapefruit but didn't like them as much. Some of my friends liked what was called Boone's Farm in Strawberry but I thought it was kind of girly. My 20/20 Grape had a lot more bite. I've been reading of the health benefits of a glass of wine and figured maybe it was time to try it again.

Since some of you seem to know a little about the stuff, what would you recommend?

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Any old type just as long as its in copious amounts

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Hm, do you like your wine dry or semi-sweet?

That's a good starting point.

A glass of red a day, keeps the doctor away ;)

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Not sure if it's because I'm a yank, or uncultured (or both) but I never drank wine until I met my British husband. They seem to drink a lot more of it over there.

I liked Boone's Farm and Arbor Mist because they tasted good - sweet and fruity. I always thought wine tasted bitter, sour or tangy. But we've just recently had a friend come to stay from the UK and she introduced me to a white chardonnay that was actually really good, it wasn't sour or bitter at all!

Since then I've been buying chardonnay, but I will say that the price of the bottle is reflected in the taste. Yellow Tail is what she had, an Australian wine, at about $8.99 per bottle, when we're just getting pissed, we buy this cheap stuff called Five Oaks that is $3 a bottle. The cheap stuff is soury tasting.

I can't say much for red, it's too strong for me, and I haven't found any I liked yet. Chardonnay is really nice though, especially in the summer on a hot night.

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I'm not sure, I haven't had enough to determine a preference.:o Let's start with dry and go from there.

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I think that difference is what is meant by "dry" or "semi sweet". (I had to google those terms after TT's post.:o)

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If you have to go cheap, try to find one that's bottled at the original vineyard - much better chance of avoiding the hangover. ;)

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I'd take Molly's suggestion and try the Yellow Tail lot. They're not badly priced and you can build up from there as you go along.

I like my S.African and French wines (biased here)- most Californians aren't too bad and then of course you have the Chilean/Australian/NZ ones to choose from.

Can be a tad of a nightmare! ;)

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Thanks! I've seen the Yellow Tail on billboards around here so I know it's available.

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If you want a red that's easily available (living in PA we have limited choice) I would start with a Jacobs Creek Shiraz.
Yellow Tail are good, both red and white and a nice Californian is Valley Oaks Fetzer Pino Grigio, ice cold.
Generally I don't like Californian reds, they always give me a bad headache. That's a sweeping generalisation, I'm sure there is one for me out there.

I love wine (hic) and one of the worst aspects of living in PA is the fact that we can only buy from the state licquor stores. I love Australian wines and in the UK supermarkets they had a fantastic, everchanging range of them. Here it is the same old few.
We used to nip over to France and fill the car with bottles but again the French wine is very expensive here.

I had an independent wine merchant at the top of my road in the UK and they did Wednesday morning tastings:):):)

Open a few bottles and try some. Cheers!

Re: Wine
 

We're pretty lucky in Missouri if you like wine. Wineries all over the place and stores that sell nothing but wine. I just never got into it. Always preferred beer or bourbon for some reason. This place is about 10 miles from me:http://www.theeaglesnest-louisiana.com/ and these are all within 2 hours drive, most within an hour:http://www.greatriverroad.com/all/wineries.htm

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If you like something light, then go for an unwooded.

Or if you like dark and spicy, then try a Shiraz, or maybe a Merlot ...have a look in the bottle shop for something from the SE of Australia :) But NOT a Brown Brothers.
Jacobs Creek are usually pretty good.

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Boone's!! I haven't heard that uttered for a very long time. Save your dignity and stay away from that stuff! Same for blush/zinfs :sneaky:

If I go for wine, I go for reds rather than whites... not a big fan of whites (the hangovers thought aren't as bad but still.. don't like 'em as much) The trick is, if you like it, continue to buy it!

The one's I like and they are nothing special:
Eco Donomi reds
Robert Mondovi (whites)
Coppola's Merlot (his "Table Wine" is good as well as the shiraz)
Carmen cab or merlot (chilean wine)
Jacob's Creek

Except for the coppola's... the ones above should be around $6-8. Can't go too wrong with the french stuff but its taxed so much over here. There are some good spanish and argentinian wines out there... can't remember names. I typically look at the labels... if they look familiar to me, its in the cart and stomach.

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Hardys form australia does boxed wines - forget the fact its boxed and just drink it

the shiraz and chardonnay versions are very drinkable

and its 16 bucks for 4 bottle equivilent.....

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I'm sorry, but I couldn't be any more ignorant about wine. There is wine that is spicy? This is what I used to drink, although it appears that my original "Pure Grape Wine" flavor has been discontinued. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD_20/20It must have been one of the 18% versions. You can probably tell by the external links in the wiki what kind of stuff it was...:o

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Most supermarkets sell a range of South African wines too. They're considered among the best, so once you get a taste, try some, they're very good :)

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Try a bottle of Jacobs Creek Shiraz - a lovely dark red, all warm and spicy.

Was serious about the SE Australian wine ...and not just because I live here....it's great wine growing country in Victoria where many of them come from.

ps...if you don't want a hanover....go for Organic wine. :)

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Nothing but the best in our home...



http://www.lovotti.com/brochures/Ima...rry%20Hill.jpg

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It's been nearly twenty years and as soon as I saw the bottle, I could taste it! That was a not so innocent bystander in much of the mischief of my youth! :rofl: I drank that when I couldn't get the MD.

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:rofl::rofl:

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I used to buy a lovely Australian wine made by, I think, McGuigans. Also Matthews Railroad Red. All from Tesco's. Can't get them here.
I do buy the Jacobs Creek but I just wish we had a bigger variety.

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If you send me a nice fat cheque ... I'll send you crate :)

:sneaky::sneaky:

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Sadly, mean old Pennsylvania won't let it in!:frown:

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Customs ??

Can't be tougher than Australia

(Still shudder at the thought of cleaning my Prada heels with Jeyes fluid :frown:)

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If you want to drink it for the health benefits, you need to drink red wine, darker the better....check out Trader Joe's or Wholefoods as they have some pretty good one's, TJ's won't break the bank either....the house red's a frog wine that's $4 and it's not that shite either.

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or anything with low sulphur....but some of that organic stuff without sulphur will go off in a couple of hours.

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Colt 45 of the wine market? :D

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LOve shiraz, also merlot and cabernet sauvignon or blends of them. I'm not fond of white wine even thinking about chardonnay gives me a raging headache.

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I remember buying when I was 16, in High School. Girls used to love it (and us guys too cuz it got'em drunk easy).

It cost $2.10 a bottle back then... today it still costs $2.10 a bottle.

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Great incentive to drink it all down, now isn't it?

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A nice red Shiraz not sure of the spelling Australian or Califorrnian both very good.:thumbup::thumbsup:

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Shiraz=Aussie, syrah=California.

For relatively cheap wine, I'm currently addicted to Californian Petit Syrah (Sirah) and Marlborough (NZ) Sauvinon Blanc. South African wine (particularly the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) is also an excellent value.

To me, the last great frontier is Italian wine. Everything Italian I've tried is fabulous. By many people's reckoning, Italian wine is the best in the world. The problem for me is the bewildering array of Italy-only varietals, regions, and wineries. It's just overwhelming.

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Sounds like good advice, but how do you know? Or rather, what would it say if it wasn't the original vineyard?

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What kind of wine is kiwi or grapefruit flavored? Is this an American slant on wine?:huh:

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Not if you drink it fast enough!:D

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No. All wines and spirits are sold by the PA Liquor Board. No-one else can sell them. There are some wineries here, so I don't know how they get round it, possibly by only selling their own stuff.
No booze sold in supermarkets, no such thing as an off-license or small wine shop:(
To bring in large amounts you need a liquor license.

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I am not a wine expert but started out and taught myself, by buying an experimenting, as I found I didn't like what 'experts' told me were good etc. Everyone has their own taste, palate, so buy and write down what you don't/do like etc and have fun! :)

Like others here if you are into reds I'd stick to 'new world' wines (think thats the term!) As TT said S African, Croatia, Aus etc, gives better quality general/blended red wine at a cheaper price.

Love a good Cabernet Sauvignon, more full flavoured and complex than Merlot which I also like. The Cab I find goes well with robust flavours, steak, etc and probably is better enjoyed with food.

A good Rioja, Spanish red wine is superb, varies from easy drinking to more complex ones (with food).
And a good chianti with pasta, nothing beats it, easy drinking red.

You do so need to open reds an hour before drinking, that bit is true!

I buy at trader Joes, they have helpful tags etc as well. And you will find it is comparable to 'cheap' arbor mist types.

Whites I don't like, unless semi-sweet, sweet, ie Riesling chardonnay is far too dry for me.

I get nice taste (non vinegary as I'd unexpertly say:o) wine and I don't spend usually more than $10 on anything, in Trader Joes.
Though supermarket shopping is harder to get or find nice wine, you get to know your prices though.

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http://www.ghettowine.com/maddog/

It comes in all kinds of flavors!

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My MIL keeps red wine in the fridge, bleurgh I hate that.

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Went round to a couple here for supper, and she had 3 bottles, red, white, blush, but they were all chilled :ohmy:

Never had heard of anyone doing that before!! She doesn't drink red but think she would know not to do that?!