Wine for beginners

Zascar

OK a bit crazy I know, but I'm 30 years old and up until very recently I've pretty much always hated wine. I would absolutely love to really love wine like others, but I simple did not like the taste. However, recently I've been trying bits here and there and then did a wine tasting course the other day, and for the first time really really enjoyed it!

Now I know very little about it and I'm going to try to learn a bit more, but the first thing I want to know is, what are the easiest wines to drinks? In the past I did not like a lot of wine because of a sharp nasty aftertaste. I'm getting used to it but some wines are much more mild and easy to drink. So, what I'm wondering is what type these are, and what I should start off trying?

Any advice appreciated.
<hopefully soon to be wine aficionado>

gollem_1975

go along to one of the wine tasting evenings in Sweeneys of Glasnevin..normally on a thursday evening, you get to taste a load of wines, cost is typically €15.

drkpower

Try a Pinot Noir; they arent as heavy as your typical deep powerful French red, which is often the type of wine that turns beginnners off (but, which are superb at their best).

Pinots have a unique flavour of their own (quite differnt to may reds) but they are very easy drinking. There are loads of them, Chile and NZ are always solid; Califrnian ones are great but usually more expensive - try one called Trio, you can get it in Oddbins for about €9-10 (or <€8 when you buy a mixed dozen).

FruitLover

Zascar wrote: »

In the past I did not like a lot of wine because of a sharp nasty aftertaste

You may have been drinking crappy wines. I'd recommend splashing out a bit for exploration purposes, then once you get more of a feel for what you like in a wine, you can tone it down. Try some bolder (e.g. Amerone) wines and some more subtle (e.g. Pinot Noir) for contrast.

Tesco do some nice reasonably priced wines (e.g. their 'Finest' ripasso, chianti classico), handy for experimentation. I'm not really a white wine man myself, but I tend to prefer Australian or American whites over European (more flavour IMO). I haven't met an Australian or American red I liked though.

drkpower

FruitLover wrote: »

(e.g. Amerone)

+10000000000000000000000.

Amarone is definitely the nicest wine ive ever tasted; smooth as a baby's bottom too.

Mind you, it is seriously expensive; ive never found a bottle here for cheaper than €35-40. Even when i was visiting the region that produces it, €20 was about as low as they go.

Probably a subject for another thread, but has anyone ever seen a bargain on Amarone in Ireland?

MattKane

Everyone gets started on wine in their own way. I fell in love with Sauvignon Blanc while travelling New Zealand, and I started on the heavy reds first (Barossa Valley, Australia).

Ten euro and over and you're in the safe zone, although there are still some great buys under the 10 euro mark. Stay curious and keep trying new things and you'll suss out your preference for grape/region fairly quickly.

BaZmO*

MattKane wrote: »

Stay curious and keep trying new things and you'll suss out your preference for grape/region fairly quickly.

Best advice really. People can recommend wine until the cows come home but it'll just be their tastes that they'd be recommending. My favourite wine are Red Corbières but they're not as easy to get as they other more popular styles.

Even though I'm going against my own advice above, a nice wine that everybody seems like when they try it is Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon, available in most places too.

FruitLover

Some pretty good cheap wine recommendations:

(Gran) Sangre de Toro (in fact, I've never been disappointed by any Torres wines).
Tesco Chianti Classico
Tesco Finest Ripasso
Faustino Rioja (VII is cheap but good, I is very nice)

r0nanf

It's all so subjective but in the interest of thread propogation:

- Try some modern Spanish wines. You'll know they're modern if they have funky labels! Look for regions like Jumilla, Castilla, Carinena etc. Spain is really where the fire is at the moment as they've the perfect match between "Old World" grapes & soils and "New World" modern winemaking techniques. If you want to spend more look for Ribera del Duero, Rias Baixas, Bierzo, Toro and Rioja

- Look for lowest common denominators. Some people think they're boring, but Chilean Cabernet, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Argentinian Malbec, Australian Shiraz are popular for a reason

- On that note, really get to know Argentinian Malbec

- As MattKane said €10+ is safe, below this mark the quality is amazingly variable. Go to a good wine shop with €15 and you'll be amazed at what you can get for that money

- Italy is a lot of fun but full of indigenous varietals - look for wines from the south: Puglia, Campania, Sicily and you'll often find remarkable values

- French "Cotes" wines! Cotes du Rhone, Cotes du Bourg, Cotes du Roussillon, Cotes du wherever! They're usually less expensive wines from boundary regions of famous places, and often cracking quality

muckety

Follow Ronanf's advice! and go to your local wine shop at the weekend or whenever they do wine tastings. Most will have a couple open for tasting so you can try before you buy, a good way of expanding your range of wines .

iPlop

If you drinking red wine try blossim hill california fruity red ,as this goes down easy and doesn't have that very strong after taste that you won't be used to.I started with this until my taste buds matured.Now I would not touch the stuff.I love austrailian cabernet or merlot! watch out for shiraz ,it has a bit of an after taste:)

Zascar

Thanks for the advice. At the weekend I was drinking Malbec and also Valpolicella - really liked them both. Tonight I got a cab sav but its way to strong/harsh for me.

With that in mind any other suggestions?

muckety

Try some south of france (eg Lanquedoc) syrah blends. Syrah (aka Shiraz) usually gives a big, fruity wine with a bit if spice to make it interesting! Lanquedoc wines are often less expensive than the better known french wines - ask for a recommendation in your local wine shop. You can get appellation controlee (AC) wines (which means they have to meet certain rules and characteristics, a kind of 'guarantee of quality') but there are some really good 'vin de pays d'oc' which are just as good, don't be put off if its not an 'AC'.

MattKane

I compiled a number of Ireland's wine courses for those who are interested FYI - http://www.curiouswines.ie/blog/2010/09/the-low-down-on-irelands-wine-courses/ Covers most of the country.

Heroditas

Zascar wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. At the weekend I was drinking Malbec and also Valpolicella - really liked them both. Tonight I got a cab sav but its way to strong/harsh for me.

With that in mind any other suggestions?

Try the La Croisade Cabernet Syrah in Superquinn - it's very cheap but should appeal to you. It's a good cheap everyday wine.
Sounds like you have a similar palate to me.
I can't drink Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. However, you might be able to drink a blend of the two.

Also, try a Pinotage. If you like Malbec or Valpolicella, you should like a Pinotage.