Wine recommendation

[richw]

A co-worker of mine recently returned from a visit to his doctor with orders to begin drinking a glass of red wine daily.

Here's the dilemma. He doesn't drink wine (or any alcoholic beverages) and if he must drink wine he prefers sweet whites. In an effort to follow the doctor's orders he is in search of a widely available sweet red wine. All I could think of were Manischewitz and Port. Does anyone know of sweet dessert wines that are produced in large quantities and would be available at a large wine retailer?

TIA,

Rich

Edited October 14, 2005 by richw (log)

[Daniel Rogov]

Unless your friend has a special passion for (a) cough medicine or (b) Passover, I suggest he/she skip the Manischewitz. Consider some of the Vin Santo wines produced in Tuscany. Sweet but not coarse, well balanced and often delicious.

[SBonner]

Unless your friend has a special passion for (a) cough medicine or (b) Passover, I suggest he/she skip the Manischewitz.  Consider some of the Vin Santo wines produced in Tuscany.  Sweet but not coarse, well balanced and often delicious.

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Does the wine need to be red? If not give some of the Australian Muscats or Tokay's a try. There's nothing wrong with a glass of decnt olorosso sherry as well.

If you want a red with a hint of sweetness try an Italian Amarone or ripasso style.

Cheers,

Stephen

[carswell]

Mavrodaphne is an affordable sweet red from Greece; it's pretty widely available, too. Both California and Italy make red (sometimes called black) muscat wines. There's also a number of off-dry to sweet fizzy red wines; the best known is Lambrusco (e.g. Riunite).

Late-harvest reds (zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, etc.) are often less than bone dry.

That can also be said for some low-end "dry" wines, especially from the New World (e.g. most of the reds from California's Delicato winery). What many people who say they don't like reds really don't like is the tannins, so suggest choosing a low-tannin variety like zinfandel, merlot, shiraz, charbono or gamay (the first three can be made in a more tannic style but usually aren't at the low end in the New World). Also, many are available in boxes, an advantage from both a price and reduced spoilage standpoint.

Native American varietals other than concord are often made sweet to hide their "foxy" flavour. If your friend can find a local winery or an East Coast winery that ships, he'll be all set, because the prices are usually low, low, low.

And why rule out the classic fortified reds like Port, Banyuls, Maury and Riversaltes? Port comes in all price ranges; vintage character, crusted, ruby tend to be the least expensive, late-bottled vintage a bit pricier. One advantage of fortified wines is their longevity once opened; they tend to taste good even after being open for a week, something to bear in mind if your friend intends to drink only one glass per evening.

Edited October 14, 2005 by carswell (log)

[cdh]

Sweet reds are a tough thing. Your friend may be best advised to try to shed the sweet tooth.

There are a few sweet reds I've run across, but none of them are exactly common...

There is a fine sparkling red Gaillac that is a spectacular pairing with chocolate... not available any more at the shop that I know that occasionally gets it...

There are Banyuls wines... not cheap, but interesting.

There's port... not cheap, but interesting.

There's cheap not-from-Portugal port, which isn't usually very good... except some South African wines... Stick with the ruby ports since the good-for-you stuff may settle out in the aging of the tawneys.

I'd bet there are Australian sweet reds... but I've nver run across one.

[richw]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. I'll try to get some tasting notes once he buys and drinks some wine.

Cheers,

Rich

[Brad Ballinger]

The thing about sweet red wines is that they are hard to come by and not always the cheapest option for someone who is simply having a glass daily on doctor's orders. I bet, with not much resolve at all, your friend could find a cheap red wine that he could tolerate.

[Daniel Rogov]

Another option - your friend might seek a second medical opinion, for when speaking of the positive impact of moderate consumption most research these days indicates that although red wine has a slight edge, health benefits come from any alcoholic beverage and not, as was originally thought, only from red wine.

Edited October 14, 2005 by Daniel Rogov (log)

[cdh]

Just had another thought for sweetish reds-

I recall a doctor I know socially mentioning that the wine with the highest concentration of red-wine-is-good-for-you stuff in it is Bully Hill's Love My Goat... an upstate New York winery with a fun story and an irreverent streak.

Don't know if you can get it near you, but might be worth a shot. The wine is nowhere near dry, but not exactly sticky either. Much better than Manischewitz.

[HerndonJake]

I recall a doctor I know socially mentioning that the wine with the highest concentration of  red-wine-is-good-for-you stuff in it is Bully Hill's Love My Goat... an upstate New York winery with a fun story and an irreverent streak. 

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Most of the red Bully Hill offerings I have had in the past are on the sweet side and could be had for under $10 a bottle.

[LOS]

It's just about the right time of year for Beaujolais Nouveau. That might work.

[VenerableBede]

larry king suggests welch's red grape juice - at least that's what i hear on the radio every so often.

[KatieLoeb]

The antioxidant in grape skins is reservatrol. It undoubtedly exists in pill form by now.

Interesting article HERE states that Pinot Noir has the highest concentrations of "good stuff".