No one has mentioned port yet. My favorite is Taylor Fladgate 10 year old Tawny Port. Reasonably priced, and tasty with a rich oaky flavor. Some consider it to be a dessert wine (I don’t).

Port is a “fortified” wine – brandy has been added to increase its alcohol content. That also enables it keep good longer after the bottle has been opened. That’s a real advantage for me because it takes me two or three days to finish a bottle.

At my store it sells for $32.21 per bottle. A bit less if I buy six.

Visit any local wineries that are within a reasonable distance. You can tell them what you like and they will offer a flight sampler so you can see what you like there.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
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.

I would agree with sjtill on this. I'm not a fan of oaked chardonnay. I am now only drinking unoaked chardonnay - that which is matured in stainless steel vats. Also, the Germans drink their Reisling dry; the overly sweet stuff is exported.

We buy most from Costco.

Once in a while for holidays I like reds from Stag's Leap winery in Napa. Their cabs, merlots and red blends are quite good. But everyday stuff from Costco.

If you simply want some adult kool-aid, Costco's 1.5l bottle of sangria is hard to beat. Their Kirkland prosecco ain't bad, either; especially with Aperol.

"Drink what you like."

I've learned that there are wines that are made to be consumed immediately. If you keep them you are not going to get anything more out of them. And, wines that are meant to be aged in the bottle for the fullness to come out. How can you tell the difference?

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I've learned that there are wines that are made to be consumed immediately. If you keep them you are not going to get anything more out of them. And, wines that are meant to be aged in the bottle for the fullness to come out. How can you tell the difference?

Most normal, everyday wines on the US market are meant to be consumed immediately, or within 3-5 years of purchase. This will include most stuff in your price range of under $50.

The exception are some (but not all) French and Italian wines. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Barbaresco, these are all wines where aging benefits the wine. There are of course others, but these are the big ones.

In short, wine that benefits from aging are wines that have lots of tannin. Tannin comes from the skin of a grape. When you eat a grape it is the dry feeling your mouth gets as you chew on the skin. Aging wines allows the tannin to soften and therefore increases the pleasure (feel, taste) of the wine.

Most winemakers know people do not want to have to age their wines for 20 years, so they make the wines in a way to reduce those tannins immediately and allow the wine to be consumed quickly.

I've been getting into Spanish Temperanillo wines. Yum.

My favorite wines come from Italy and I especially fond of Brunello di Montalcino .
They are not cheap, the blends are around $20+ with the better ones I buy are around $60-$70.
They can even go higher.
The blend or Rosso is a very good table wine.
I generally buy a Renieri after being gifted a bottle from one of my IT clients that owned a Italian restaurant.


https://www.decanter.com/premi...alcino-wines-428479/

https://www.totalwine.com/wine...-montalcino/c/000742