i don't like wine

[dankphishin]

It's weird, i simply don't like wine, except maybe champagne. I really can't chalk it up to not having drank the right kind, since my dad is sort of a conisseur (sic), andsome of the few names i can remember having drank (brunello di montalcino, gaja) (in italy, even!), were apparently good, i really can't drink the stuff. i enjoy good beer, good vodka, and good food, but wine is wine is wine to me. is there a red that anyone could suggest, or should i just say "f' it"?

[Mark Sommelier]

Wine is white, too. Why don't you start with a good quality Riesling Spätlese from the Mosel Valley? Bernkasteler Doctor 2002, Dr. Thanisch is quite delicious, very well made and extremely food friendly. Worry about red wine later.

[Verjuice]

I once lived with a woman who had a similar, er, quirk.

She drank huge amounts of the following, all of which are widely available:

1) Quady Essencia black muscat dessert wine

2) Manischewitz Concord Grape wine

3) Half Beaujolais Nouveau, half Coke

4) Port

5) Bonny Doon Big House Red and Sprite or 7Up or Tonic Water

6) White Merlot or White Zin with a shot of Framboise or Creme de Cassis

7) Mateus

Of course, none of these are drinkable

[Arey]

Forget the wine and work on the beer. There's a beer to go with everything. If beer is not available ask for tap water. Mind you, I'm not talking Millers or Bud when I say ask for beer.

Arey

[torakris]

It is so nice to know I am not alone....

I want to enjoy wine, I really do, but I just don't care for the taste of it. I have friends who are very big wine drinkers and they always tell me, oh you'll love this one, but I never do.

I actually can't drink most alcohol, only heavily sweetened cocktails with very little alcohol, my alcohol of choice is amaretto but only when it is cut with a lot of lime juice....

Keep suggestions coming, I always walk into a wne shop and then walk out empty handed because the selection is so overwhelming and I don't even know where to start.

At least whatever I do buy doesn't go to waste because my husband will drink anything.

[prasantrin]

I don't like wine, either. I don't even like champagne, though I do like ice wine and fruit wines. I do like kir, though...does that count?

[Jeffy Boy]

Why don't you start with a good quality Riesling Spätlese from the Mosel Valley?

I would agree that a fruity German Reisling would be a good wine to start with. There's a natural progression of taste preferences from sweeter whites, through drier whites, then fruity reds, and finally big dry reds. This may be heresy on this site, but White Zinfandel is an easy wine to drink too.

Wines are generally much more palatable with the right food than on their own, so make sure you pair a wine with a food you like. One of my favourite combinations is Sauvignon Blanc with a simple white fish, like halibut (no strongly flavoured sauces, but a good squirt of lemon). It's also great with raw oysters.

I also suggest chilling your wine a little more than might otherwise be suggested. A room temperature red can be unpleasant if you haven't developed a taste for it. If you are keen to try a red, Beaujolais (chilled!) is a good one to start with.

Don't give up! I'm personally working on developing a taste for Sherry at the moment. On that I'm starting with training wheels!

[docsconz]

There is no question in my mind that wine is an acquired taste. I didn't like any wine when I was a kid. As a teenager in the days of 18yo drinking age I could drink Boone's Farm andsuch then Mateus and Lancer's then white zins before graduating to kendall-Jackson chardonnay (I feel like this is true confessions!), merlot and ultimatley a wide range of wines. With each graduation, the wines I had graduated from became less and less palatable.

[Mark Sommelier]

There is no question in my mind that wine is an acquired taste. I didn't like any wine when I was a kid. As a teenager in the days of 18yo drinking age I could drink Boone's Farm andsuch then Mateus and Lancer's then white zins before graduating to kendall-Jackson chardonnay (I feel like this is true confessions!), merlot and ultimatley a wide range of wines. With each graduation, the wines I had graduated from became less and less palatable.

Yikes! I started with Bali Hai, then graduated to Boone's Farm Apple Wine. From there it was straight to Lafite.

[ludja]

For a good lighter style wine that might appeal to someone easing down or exploring wines, how about dry style roses?

(sorry I don't know how to add the accent on the 'e').

Although a few CA wineries are starting to make more of these, I can't remember any now offhand. It would be safest to stick with French roses.

I usuallly drink these at a cooler temperature than most wines and more in the summer, but...

Edited January 19, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Mark Sommelier]

ludja wrote:

"(sorry I don't know how to add the accent on the 'e'). "

Assuming you are using a Windows PC, hold the ALT key down and type 0233.

[ludja]

ludja wrote:

"(sorry I don't know how to add the accent on the 'e'). "

Assuming you are using a Windows PC, hold the ALT key down and type 0233.

Thank you Mark; for some reason I can't get it to work; but you've gotton me on the right track.

[Coop]

I once lived with a woman who had a similar, er, quirk.

She drank huge amounts of the following, all of which are widely available:

1) Quady Essencia black muscat dessert wine

2) Manischewitz Concord Grape wine

3) Half Beaujolais Nouveau, half Coke

4) Port

5) Bonny Doon Big House Red and Sprite or 7Up or Tonic Water

6) White Merlot or White Zin with a shot of Framboise or Creme de Cassis

7) Mateus

Verjuice she must have had some other quality that made up for this, right?

Edited January 19, 2004 by Coop (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

I agree with the Riesling suggestion, I don't like most wines, but I like most of those.

ludja wrote:

"(sorry I don't know how to add the accent on the 'e'). "

Assuming you are using a Windows PC, hold the ALT key down and type 0233.

Thank you Mark; for some reason I can't get it to work; but you've gotton me on the right track.

Even though it is possible to add accent marks within eGullet, the preferred method is to not use them to simplify the search indices.

[JohnnyH]

There is no question in my mind that wine is an acquired taste. I didn't like any wine when I was a kid. As a teenager   in the days of 18yo drinking age I could drink Boone's Farm andsuch then Mateus and Lancer's then white zins before graduating to kendall-Jackson chardonnay (I feel like this is true confessions!), merlot and ultimatley a wide range of wines. With each graduation, the wines I had graduated from became less and less palatable.

Been a while since I thought of Lancer's -- anyone remember those old tv commercials from the '70s?

[project]

Gee, the remarks of Jeffy Boy

Posted: Jan 18 2004, 02:54 AM

are terrific!

If you like Champagne, then you should be in line to like a lot of nice wine!

I started in graduate school with Beaujolais and some cheese and crackers!

Years ago I settled on the dry reds and whites of Burgundy in France when I am willing to spend money and the dry reds and whites of Italy when I want to spend less! I drink them only with food.

To me, the whites of Burgundy are a nice bright refreshing combination of dry, crisp, and clean: The dry means low sugar; the crisp means some acid; and the clean means delicate flavors. A few sips of that, nicely chilled (at home, I just put the bottle in a big bucket of ice water for about 30 minutes) with an appropriate appetizer is a great start to a great meal.

Beers tend to be bitter and to have less subtle flavors -- if you like beers, then you should be able to like a nicely chilled glass of French white Burgundy. For most foods beers stand up to, a French white Burgundy would get lost.

My experience with the dry Italian whites is that the acid tends to be lower and the flavors even more delicate -- not a lot there not to like.

My experience with US whites is that they have too much sugar, too little acid (taste flat), and have too many too strong and too complicated flavors (don't taste good). I gave up on them years ago.

For the dry reds, say, from Burgundy or northern Italy, do have them slightly chilled, say, down to 50 F, and let them warm a little, say, to 60 F, in the glass. While 50 F is too cool, warming is easy.

A big deal about the big reds is that the flavors go through rapid riots of change as the oxygen first hits the liquid. So, have to open the bottle maybe 30 minutes ahead, 'decant' the whole bottle, or wait a few minutes after the wine is in the glass. But, as the oxygen takes effect, you are in line for some marvelous flavors and aromas. If you have some beef, game, or strong cheese, then you can have one of the crown jewels of civilization!

But, gee, why am I telling you this! You will just raise the prices for the rest of us!

[MobyP]

Yes, it's true, I am the shame of my family.

My uncle, a Master of Wine, has been trying to lead me through some of the finest wines the last 30 years has had to offer, but to no avail. It's only been in the last few months that I've found ways in to certain wines, and then only because of their relationship to food. Sometimes, if I know a wine is well thought of, and has been chosen carefully, I'll just have a glass to smell, and appreciate it that way. More recently, I've started drinking. Good experiences with Red have included a couple of different chambolle-musigny (one a prem. cru), and also a "Super Tuscan" (I don't know the vintage). Also, recently with wild duck, a 'Corton Bressandes' Grand Cru. With the Whites, a NZ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc was a wonderful and fragrant wine. Not aggressive at all.

For desert wines - an Hungarian Tokaji had at Ramsey's with a Tarte Tatin, was phenomenal.

[britcook]

Contradictory as it might sound, if you're a beginner or "don't like" wine then the last place to go is to a wine expert because almost certainly the kind of wine you'll find approachable will be frowned on by somebody with a developed palate. Why? Because to an uneducated palate the wine needs to be soft, unstructured, slightly sweet, relatively low alcohol, really not significantly different to a soft drink which is the starting reference point for most beginners. On the other hand the more experienced wine drinker is looking for structure, balance, complexity and other nuances which they have come to appreciate over the years. Like everything else start simple and work up complexity to a point you feel comfortable with at your own pace. If you don't like "sophisticated" wines then don't start there (which is why a MoW makes a rotten teacher for a beginner!). If you were learning the violin you wouldn't start with a Stradivarius.

[MobyP]

(which is why a MoW makes a rotten teacher for a beginner!). If you were learning the violin you wouldn't start with a Stradivarius.

Damnit, you should've told me that when I was 12!