I forgot to add, if you are drinking red, drink them around 65 degrees. Reds should be served about 10 degrees below room temp. They will present / taste much better that way. Easiest way to achieve this, throw it in the fridge for 20 minutes before you open it.

Wine that is good is pretty much up to you. I've tried some $50 to $75 bottles retail, probably at most 5 times. I've also had "premium" wines in the $12 to $25 range; that's a lot more often. And I've also had $2 to $12 "cheap" bottles of wine.

I had a professor who worked at a winery. She brought several bottles of wines for tasting. The demarcation was between premium wines and cheap wines. Without knowing the prices beforehand, I preferred the cheap wines which was my experience.

When I drink wine, I don't want to have to play a guessing game whether I taste berry, bark, cinnamon, or dog shit which is what people who like drinking premium wines and up go for. I just want to like drinking the wine.

I would suggest going to Trader Joe's; they have plenty of different kinds of wine. You can even ask from help from the person who oversees the cashiers. Tell him what color you'd like to try, bubbly or not, sweet or not, and price range. You really can't go wrong and if you don't like it, you spent $5 to know what you don't like.

Try the Eccentric Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina) $10.99 and the Uro Toro La Enfermera Tempranillo (Spain) $11.99 at Total Wine.

First off I am not a wine guy however see if there any liquor/wine shops that have bottles open for tasting.

One of the big liquor stores near where I live will have several bottles open for sampling along with several kinds of liquor/whisky.

My wife will try the wine while I try the Bourbon.

See if anyone in your area does this for their customers.

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
The Brunello at $19.99 is amazing.

I remember when Costco first introduced their Brunello around '15 or'16, it was priced around $25-29, a remarkable price for a variety that you had a hard time finding under $50 anywhere. Since then they've been able chisel it down to the magical $19.99 price-point; they've got to be taking margin hit on it, while making it up with their box wine. It's not available at all locations as only the high-end locations will carry it but, it's as good a value-wine as there is out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Wine that is good is pretty much up to you. I've tried some $50 to $75 bottles retail, probably at most 5 times. I've also had "premium" wines in the $12 to $25 range; that's a lot more often. And I've also had $2 to $12 "cheap" bottles of wine.

When I drink wine, I don't want to have to play a guessing game whether I taste berry, bark, cinnamon, or dog shit which is what people who like drinking premium wines and up go for. I just want to like drinking the wine.

Way back in college I took a wine appreciation class one semester. The prof teaching it said what matter is what *you* like. He taught a lot, most of which I’ve forgotten. I do recall that the German wine have strict quality standards and qualitzwein (totally misspelled I’m sure) is better than non-rated and qualitzwein mitt pradikat (ditto) is better still. Also how to open a bottle of wine with your shoe if you find yourself stuck without an opener. I know he talked about wine and food pairing, but the joke around our house is that a big red jam ball goes with everything.
Sadly, about ten years ago wine decided that it didn’t like me anymore. Now the wife does most of the wine drinking in the family with an occasional assist from the kids. Oh well, at least bourbon & rye don’t hate me.

I have a wine cellar similar to Holdem’s and have been enjoying wines that I bought a few years ago and have come into their own. It is a very enjoyable hobby.

As he mentioned keep notes as to what you like. I actually use an app called Vivino and found it to be useful especially when traveling to an unfamiliar area. If you travel internationally much you will find that a particular country or region will keep the best wines for themselves so don’t be afraid to try local wines that you may not have heard of before.

Total Wine.

Tasting table.

Buy. What you like.

Ratings are helpful. Whose rating is important.

Buy varietal that you appreciate. That’s the basic flavor. Each vintage is different from the winery. But in general, a varietal from a winery over the years will be reliably good.

Blends of red are very safe. I prefer the blend as someone took time to create a flavor from raw varietals.

I stay at $10-20.

If you are near a Costco that sells wine there is an extraordinarily useful online guide which is continually updated. It should be readily accessible on your cell phone while in the store trying to judge which among the many competing choices have a higher probability of being tasty. I have encountered a few which had Costco's posted tasting scores(points) that IMHO were somewhat 'optimistic' or 'generous'. This link's tasters' choices are bang on with mine for the varieties I prefer.

https://costcowineblog.com/our...ostco-wines-of-2022/

Their recommended list is at https://costcowineblog.com/category/recommended/

Their weekly updated total tastings are here https://costcowineblog.com/

Well, the first trip to a large store was quite overwhelming. I bought a bottle of Cotes Du Rhone, 2019 for 15 bucks. When I did drink wine in my youth I didn't like red. So, that's why I chose a red to start.

It was nice. Very smooth and safe wine. I would serve this to guests. And, I would buy it again, but hopefully I can find something that's a little on the bold side. Something after the first taste you say, "Damn, that's good!" Something you would just want to drink on its own. Next time my wife cooks up Italian I'll try it. Who knows maybe with food this wine just might explode.

I do have to say about 6 ounces of this stuff kicked my ass. What is it about new forms of alcohol?

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Well, the first trip to a large store was quite overwhelming. I bought a bottle of Cotes Du Rhone, 2019 for 15 bucks. When I did drink wine in my youth I didn't like red. So, that's why I chose a red to start.

It was nice. Very smooth and safe wine. I would serve this to guests. And, I would buy it again, but hopefully I can find something that's a little on the bold side. Something after the first taste you say, "Damn, that's good!" Something you would just want to drink on its own. Next time my wife cooks up Italian I'll try it. Who knows maybe with food this wine just might explode.

I do have to say about 6 ounces of this stuff kicked my ass. What is it about new forms of alcohol?

Congratulations on starting down this road!
Of course, everyone’s taste is different but for me in the more affordable category of red wines the wine that had me saying “Damn that’s good” is
A Caymus variety called “The Walking Fool”. You can find it in the mid 20’s if you look carefully..

https://www.wine.com/product/c...0497#closePromoModal

OP, You mentioned German Wine in your post.

You might want to look into Rieslings.
Some of the verities are Kabinnet, Spatelasser ahd Gewurztraminer, the latter being a sweeter dessert wine. There are others but it's been a long time since I was wine snob.

For reds, California wines might fit. Merlot is a mild red that can be paired with anything from red meat to poultry or fish (if it's not a mild white fish) and Canbinet Sauvignon which pairs best with red meat. Both need to breath before drinking but can be had at reasonable cost. Bourdeaxs (french) are more complex in flavor and decent ones will be pricier.

I was at Total Wine and More today, but never got out of the bourbon section. I never acquired a taste for wine, or scotch.

My daughter in law prefers bourbon so I keep a bottle of Maker's Mark on hand. Plus, it one third of my steak marinating recipe. Have to admit I like a bourbon on the rocks once in a blue moon.

Goose, it appears that you never did define “a reasonable price.” If you consider something like $25/bottle “reasonable,” then I would highly recommend NxNW (North by Northwest) from King’s Estate Winery. It’s been our go-to Cabernet—you mentioned wanting something more bold, for a few years. We’ve paid more for wines, at times significantly more, but NxNW is always good, such that my wife joined the King’s Estate Wine Club.

In the beginning I'd go up to 50 dollars until I find what I like. I'll buy a bottle here and there.

Made chicken pharm for my wife for Mother's Day. Had a glass of the Cotes Du Rhone, 2019 with dinner. I must said it did better with food so I'm pleased with this purchase.

I'm not a serious wine drinker; would drink more but wife doesn't drink at all and don't really like to drink alone.

I want to toss in a word about Chardonnays since they're probably the most popular white: California Chardonnays have gotten to be very "Oakey" due to aging in oak barrels. I dislike that flavor. I would look for a non-baked Chardonnay. Had one in Israel that was heavenly--of course also with great company and moonlit night on the shore of Lake Galilee.

I don't like fruity wines, like Gewürztraminer or (IIRC) sauvignon blanc.

I'm going to give that costcowineblog site a try as our Costco has a huge variety of wines.

When I go back to Northern California where I grew up (it was apples and prunes then, not grapes), I will do some tasting to find some favorites.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Well, the first trip to a large store was quite overwhelming. I bought a bottle of Cotes Du Rhone, 2019 for 15 bucks. When I did drink wine in my youth I didn't like red. So, that's why I chose a red to start.

It was nice. Very smooth and safe wine. I would serve this to guests. And, I would buy it again, but hopefully I can find something that's a little on the bold side. Something after the first taste you say, "Damn, that's good!" Something you would just want to drink on its own. Next time my wife cooks up Italian I'll try it. Who knows maybe with food this wine just might explode.

I do have to say about 6 ounces of this stuff kicked my ass. What is it about new forms of alcohol?

I like a lot of Cote du Rhone wines. A couple of notes on CdR... the more specific the label, the better the wine could be. If it just says Cote du Rhone that's the "least special." If it says "villages" or names an actual village, those tend to be more special. This is the same for Bordeauxs.

The northern Rhone makes reds mostly with Syrah which are richer and bolder. Southern Rhones use a lot of Grenache which is a fruitier,less acidic grape.

Just like I do with bourbon, I try to fond it everything I can about the wine to give me an understanding of why it tastes the way it does. That's how you can make educated choices in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Well, the first trip to a large store was quite overwhelming. I bought a bottle of Cotes Du Rhone, 2019 for 15 bucks. When I did drink wine in my youth I didn't like red. So, that's why I chose a red to start.

It was nice. Very smooth and safe wine. I would serve this to guests. And, I would buy it again, but hopefully I can find something that's a little on the bold side. Something after the first taste you say, "Damn, that's good!" Something you would just want to drink on its own. Next time my wife cooks up Italian I'll try it. Who knows maybe with food this wine just might explode.

I do have to say about 6 ounces of this stuff kicked my ass. What is it about new forms of alcohol?

You went with a basic French, which is solid. Run of the mill French wines are quite reliable, and many will say more so than US wines in the table-wine price points.
You may want to stick with US wines just so you get a handle on the grape variety that you like/dislike, the French/European method of naming can be confusing as they tell you region and not, grape variety. You dig a bit deeper into the naming conventions and you'll start to differentiate between the basic and the high-end. Yellow Jackets points this out.

Cote de Rhone = Grenache grapes, here in the US, that grape is usually used for blends, usually with Syrah grapes, although you can find single varietal Grenache bottling's. If you're looking for bold, a stronger or, more assertive taste, consider Cabernet or, a French Bordeaux, Italian a Super Tuscan or Barolo, or, a Spanish Rioja. Keep in mind, these wines are aged quite long so, opening a 2017 vintage today might not get the best taste, ask the wine expert at the shop you're at you'd like to drink it ASAP.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I don't like fruity wines, like Gewürztraminer or (IIRC) sauvignon blanc.

I'm going to give that costcowineblog site a try as our Costco has a huge variety of wines.

When I go back to Northern California where I grew up (it was apples and prunes then, not grapes), I will do some tasting to find some favorites.

You find SavBlancs fruity on the scale of Gewürztraminer?

SavBlancs are reliably crisp and dry, maybe you tried some odd-ball bottling or, confused it with a Viognier or, Moscato...