If you can't ask in your own journal, whose journal can you ask in?

[kitanzi]

Ok, I actually want to know. I do know that a great many people are fussy and particular and knowledgeable about wines. Me, I know what I like - much like art. Can you tell me WHAT you like in wines, and what wines you like, and why? I'm actually curious, and interested in learing more about it. Most of my exposure to "Wine tasting" has been through someone who I have trouble communicating with in the best of circumstances, and this all seems so nebulous and (forgive me) often pretentious that I just don't seem to get it. There are a couple wines I get fairly often, at least when I get wine, but I'm interested in trying something new and a lot of this seems absurdly expensive to me for taking a blind leap of faith on. (I was tempted to buy the Our Daily Red just for the name and label - I'm such a sad sucker for puns!) Are any of you wine drinkers? Feel free to pontificate, even lecture - how ever you can, give me information! Thanks!

EDIT: Cooking wines too, for that matter. I know several of you are accomplished cooks!

Comments

I'm no sommelier; I don't even play one on TV

[poltr1]

Here's what I've learned over the years, through wine tastings and friends whom I've been on wine tastings with.

1) The best thing to do is to go to a wine tasting that is led by a sommelier (fancy-schmancy name for wine steward) or a distributor who knows their stuff. They'll have several types available. Some wine stores have tastings on a regular basis.
2) The old rule is "Reds for beef, whites for poultry and fish". It's worked for me most of the time. ("Bottle of white, bottle of red; perhaps a bottle of rose instead...")
3) Good starting wines: As Persis said, chardonnay is the most popular white wine. It's somewhere between sweet and dry (not sweet). Serve it chilled. For red wines, I'd start with a merlot (great with steaks). Reds are great at room temperature.
4) Between tastings of different wines, nibble on a cracker to cleanse the palate.
5) "Bouquet" is the scent of the wine. Swirl it in the glass. "Legs" is its adhesiveness to the glass.
6) Watch out for sulfites -- preservatives in the wine that give some people headaches.
7) Also beware of wines with sugar added after fermentation. I think that violates some type of purity law.
8) As stated above, shy away from wines whose bottles have a screw top, are on the bottom shelf (Boone's Farm, Annie Green Springs, Ripple, Mad Dog 20/20, Thunderbird), or use a bag in a box (e.g. Franzia). They're OK for parties and filk cons, but not great -- kind of like Domino's Pizza.
9) If you're going to store the wine after opening, use a Vacuvin or a similar device to remove the air from the bottle. Wines get oxidized, and it degrades the flavor.
10) And then there's mead. Fermented fruit juices with honey. Yum!

Do you have a Trader Joe's around? They carry wines from the Charles Shaw winery. Bottles of "Two Buck Chuck" are inexpensive, come in several varieties, and aren't too bad.

Favorite Whites: Riesling, Gevurtztraminer, Pinot Grigio
Favorite Roses: White Zinfandel, Pink Catawba (warning: very sweet)
Favorite Reds: Merlot, Shiraz, Syrah, Burgundy, Chianti (hold the fava beans), Barbera, Pinot Noir, Sangria

Of course, I'd be more than happy to taste wines with you. 8-P