Getting into red wine - where do I start?

HeadPig

I've always enjoyed red wine but never really paid much heed to what exactly I was drinking.

Any recommendations for where to start? As in what kinds to buy?

Slaphead07

HeadPig wrote: »

Any recommendations for where to start? As in what kinds to buy?

Nobody can tell you that (but they'll try! :rolleyes:). Talk to a specialist wine shop and start with what you've liked before. They may even have a bottle open to taste and that provides a reference point. It's a long and enjoyable journey if done right but there's no mystery to it so jump right in.

HeadPig

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Nobody can tell you that (but they'll try! :rolleyes:). Talk to a specialist wine shop and start with what you've liked before. They may even have a bottle open to taste and that provides a reference point. It's a long and enjoyable journey if done right but there's no mystery to it so jump right in.

So basically buy whatever I like the look of and start figuring it out?

Slaphead07

HeadPig wrote: »

So basically buy whatever I like the look of and start figuring it out?

get a bit of advice - there's a lot of muck out there. It doesn't have to be expensive but it does have to be good or you'll be getting a wrong impression.

eltaninsroses

I can honestly say that I've tried quite a few red wines and my taste runs to those with cherry or berry tones in them, and generally the older wines. I've taste some pinot noirs that I like, but there are so many different types out there it is in fact just trying what you like.

Sometimes I buy a bottle just because I like the label and its revolting and sometimes I luck out and its good.

Also another good idea is, when out to dinner, just ask what they reccomend and have a glass, we go to dinner about once a month, so that makes for 12 different wines tasted per year. Find one you like, ask you waiter the name of the wine is and the year(if appropriate)

CelticRambler

There can never be a single recommendation as how you taste any particular wine depends on what you're eating at the time and what you've already eaten. From a purist's point of view (I live amongst them, it's fun!) wine should always be drunk as part of a meal, never on it's own (except perhaps a rosé in summer) and alternated with a white appropriate to the previous course.

I'm not a connoisseur by any means, but getting the right food-to-wine match makes more of a difference than anything else, to the point where my guests have given up being offended by me declining to open the bottle of wine they've brought for dinner because they know that even my budget selection will taste better with the evening's menu. (We've reached a kind of understanding now that I'll use at least some of what they bring when they next visit.)

cdb

I'm not being funny but when you say getting into wine do you mean you want to drink loads of it or you'd like to learn more about wine in general - and get to drinking it of course!!

If its the second one then maybe a wine guide or an evening course would be a decent place to start. If its the first try Montepulciano, St Emillion and Rioja reds, reasonably priced and some of my favourites.

navigator

I like particularly red wines of Piemonte (a region in north-west of Italy). You can try Grignolino, Dolcetto (easy but lovely wines) or, if you want something stronger and more precious, the best (and more expensive... but it is worth) is Nebbiolo.

Bateman

Would say a fairly obvious place to start is to break it up by grape (or roughly, in the case of blends), see which you like, and then go from there to regions/vintages/price ranges...

Blisterman

I'm kinda interested in this myself, but my approach to tasting things is to find the extremes, which can then be used as reference points, to appreciate the balance of flavours. So I'm thinking a very oaky wine, a wine with a lot of tannins etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for cheapish wines that would help me with this?

sf80

There's an O'Briens out Leopardstown direction if you're in Dublin, they usually have a good selection available for tasting. I think it's their main store.

Also there are places doing tastings (like the Corkscrew..I think they're called..in Dublin), you might see offers for them from time to time on the deals sites.

I think the base way to approach it is to do proper tasting, sampling different wines and comparing them, having someone who knows wine describe the characteristics to help you differentiate them.

You can try get some tasting in on holidays too if you get a chance to visit a wine producing country. Best one I've done was in Lebanon, Chateau Musar, amazing!

Here a great wine, good price for the quality: http://www.obrienswine.ie/New-Arrival//12WFRA065/

Wobs

Go to a good retailer and talk to guys in the shop. Tell them what you like or a style you want to try. I find the smaller independents seem to know their wines better and are happy to talk. The main thing is to keep trying different wine and pay a bit of attention to what your drinking, where it comes from etc.

C.K Dexter Haven

A good way to start with wine OP is to state what food you might be eating/cooking over the coming week- it would make for a good thread and you could increase your knowledge of wine.

In France, the local food speciality of a particular region often reflects the type of wine available in that region- for example, duck confit was made for the rustic Cahor wine-or was it the other way round?:D I haven't found another food that Cahor wine can match so well.

grenache

OP, if you're new to red wine, it's best to start off on something soft and approachable, to ease you into the transition from red wine.

Go for a light and round style - Beaujolais from France, Valpolicella from Italy or even New Zealand Pinot Noir.

White Horse

When I getting into wine about 20 years ago, I bought a book (no interweb then) on the best value wines in Ireland.

It was sorted by geographical area and within that by price.

My budget was £5 to £10 per bottle and I'd buy a bottle from a different area each week.

As quality was fairly guaranteed, it was easy to tell the differences between all the styles and which ones I preferred.

biko

Check locally if there's any wine tasting evenings going on.

For some reason I find Australian wines to be more approachable than Spanish or South American, your miles may wary.

Sky King

It seems to be a lottery to me (I'm no expert of course) but reading the back of the bottle is no good because they all are written to sound delicious so that you buy them. I have yet to come across a bottle that says 'suitable with curry or other strong flabvoured food which will disguise the flavour of this revolting wine'.

Price isn't a guide either because I really enjoyed the last two I bought and they ere both E7 - I have bought ones for E12 that I thought were minging altogether. I bought one in Dunnes and I actually couldn't drink it (and that's saying something ha ha!)

But I find it's a lottery... totally. I can't tell if I prefer Merlot, Cabernet Sauv, Shiraz, Malbec, or whatever. I have tasted wines from all of those varieties that I have liked and that I have disliked.

I wish I could say 'I prefer Merlot' or whatever, but I can't. I wish I had a system but my onely reliable one to date has been to try a few brands and keep returing to the ones you like - which is a bit daft because you never get to try new ones but it's easier than wasting a hard earned tenner on a bottle of drain cleaner in my opinion.

If anyone has a 'system' i would love to hear it.

Disclaimer: I am *NOT* an expert in wine but I drink red regularly.

SHOVELLER

Apologies for taking this off topic in a way but I have 2 bottles of red wine and as someone who hates the stuff just wondering would anybody like to swap them for beer please!!

They are a 2003 Castillo San Lorenzo Rioja Reserva and a Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.

Lelantos

OP if you are on Twitter there are people like Tom Doorley & Jim Fleurman who would gladly point you in the right direction & you could engage with some of their followers, perhaps there are some living in your own area & could point you in the direction of good local wine stores.