Need wine lover's help

[MoonFaerie]

I'm a big lover of sweet wine and have yet to find any name brand that I enjoy. My husband and I look for local wineries or wine stores that carry local wines and go for a tasting. I'm so hooked on blueberry wines and honey meads.

That could also be a fun date idea.

I second that idea. I finally got around to checking out the local winery, and they have the yummiest blackberry-blueberry wine.

Rieslings are usually sweet(er) but can be dry, so be careful - german rieslings are the best - I will usually get a Dr. Thanisch. The Relax riesling (germany) is also good,

I second the call for the Moscato (as far as fun/good/sweet/easy to drink) - The best are usually the Moscato D'asti - Italian

If you really want sweet, ask for any "Ice" wine (these are grapes who are usually allowed to harvest late, sometimes in the winter time - they're 'iced' over, but they become concentrated sweet because of the timing).. they are very sweet though, so be careful

Yes. Very yum!

 

[Mom21]

Thanks everyone. I have a nice list going of things I should try. And no, I am not a pro nor do I pretend to be one I just want something that tastes good. I just want to be a happy, low class wino.......LOL.

I do have 2 places near me that have wine bars for tasting. I bought my ex gift cards for both from my dd for gifts. He likes wine. I didn't think about it, but that would be a wonderful date idea for my new man and me. I think I will suggest that for next week.

Thanks again. Keep the ideas coming. I want to get a large collection (even if I have to go for the "good" stuff) for him, and my friends that drink, to choose from.

 

[RUDisney]

I am a wine snob.

Having said that, I went to play Bunco with my girlfriends last Thursday night and the hostess served Franzia's sangria out of a box.

She had some lemons, limes and oranges cut so we could add them to our glasses.

I must say, I overlook the Franzia wines ALL the time. There are some better boxed wines, but I prefer to buy bottles. However, having had this sangria, I can see buying it for a cookout or to take to my Mom's house for a crowd of people.

It wasn't sickeningly sweet. It was very palatable. The wine was enhanced with the addition of the fruit. Very drinkable and enjoyable. I'm sure it is reasonably priced, too.

Stay away from serving ice wines with dinner. They are thicker and super sweet. They are served in a smaller wine glass and are typically served after dinner as dessert or after dessert. An ice wine will distort the flavor of what you are eating. Additionally, they are usually pretty pricy.

I second the motion for riesling wine.

Heck, there is no shame in buying a Riunite Lambrusco or a Bianco when you haven't developed your palate yet. Both are sweet and cheap. Another sweet wine that my friends used to like is Canei. Again, cheap and sweet.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hoepfully this will help because we, too, do NOT like dry wines and I don't care for red wines at all (taste and they aggravate my asthma).

I love rieslings and Gunderloch Diva Riesling is probably my favorite (around $16 a bottle). I first tried it in Epcot and was very surprised to find it here at home. Just sweet enough and we have enjoyed it with every entree you can imagine.

Biltmore House American Riesling is another favorite and is just a tad bit less sweet. Great to guzzle on its own. Biltmore Pas de Deux is an excellent sparkling, too. Their wines usually run from $12 to $18, but we are close to the winery, so may be more farther away...

The first white wine we ever really tried years and years ago was Riunte D'oro (about $6 a bottle), which is a sparkling wine. I still really like it when I can find it.

Chateau St. Michelle Riesling is good and is on the less sweeter side (while still being sweet). Good with fish, chicken, etc. and on its own. I always like the Oregon and Washington rieslings like this one; Oak Knoll comes to mind, too.

 

[Mom21]

Wow. Thanks for all the suggestions. I now have a long list. Either I'm going to have enough wine to last for a year or be a very drunk girl for a while.

Whogirl'smom, I bought a Biltmore House wine many, many years ago when I was there for Christmas. It was specially packaged for the holiday. I loved that stuff. Now for the life of me, I can't remember what kind it was. I know it was billed as a "dessert wine". I would love to order more. My parents live about an hour to hour and a half from there. I'm going to try and make a visit next July.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Now to find a place to store all my bottles when I get them.

 

[Mom21]

For those that say they love fruit wines, look what I found:

http://www.floridawine.com/introduction.htm

My dd has a competition in Tampa in a few months. I think I'm going to stop by and check it out. Looks yummy.

Edited to add: I just saw the Coco Polado and they sell a smoothie mixer for it. I'm in heaven.

 

[JessicaR]

Rieslings are usually sweet(er) but can be dry, so be careful - german rieslings are the best - I will usually get a Dr. Thanisch. The Relax riesling (germany) is also good,

I second the call for the Moscato (as far as fun/good/sweet/easy to drink) - The best are usually the Moscato D'asti - Italian

If you really want sweet, ask for any "Ice" wine (these are grapes who are usually allowed to harvest late, sometimes in the winter time - they're 'iced' over, but they become concentrated sweet because of the timing).. they are very sweet though, so be careful

Moscato d'Asti is a good choice.

years ago on the DIS boards someone told me about Icewine. I'm hooked! My favorite is Inniskillin Icewine.

Good suggestions.

 

[RUDisney]

Moscato d'Asti is a good choice.

years ago on the DIS boards someone told me about Icewine. I'm hooked! My favorite is Inniskillin Icewine.

Good suggestions.

Inniskillin is my favorite ice wine, too. I first tried it at the F&W festival in Epcot. Sadly, it is about $40 for a half bottle in PA. I've got a bottle or two in my wine cellar, but it's definitely not one of our every day wines.

Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is very good. For about $10 per bottle in PA (the land of very high licquor prices), I wouldn't call it a "sweet" wine, but a fruit-filled wine. Very crisp and nice. This is a bottle that I recommend to everyone and we often serve it with Thanksgiving dinner because it pairs nicely with fish and foul.

 

[joyjoy]

I prefer a dry or oakey wine myself, but when I have had sweet wine, I liked Gewurztraminer. It is a sweet, floral German wine with spicy flavors.

 

[pixiewings71]

I'm all about sweet wines, don't like them dry at all. We did a wine tasting thing for a Bachelorette party, I tried a Reisling, it was very good, I tried Moscato which was soooooooooooooo sweet and good, dessert wine but very tasty! The only red I've had and enjoyed was a Shiraz. I normally drink white Zin, I LOVE White Zin, it's sweet and smooth and I really like it. My favorite brand is actually Barefoot and it's only $4.99 a bottle around here!! Can't beat that! We also buy Barefoot for DBF's parents and they really like it, DBF's Mom drinks white, his Dad drinks reds so we bring 1 of each and something for he and I (usually a white zin) to drink and everyone is happy. So my suggestions would be a Reisling, a Shiraz, a White Zin and a Moscato.

As for real wine drinkers prefering reds, I'll have to tell DBF's Mom, she easily drinks a case of wine a week and it's never red....LOL

 

[BriarRosie]

I remember when I was younger, not really into wines, so the universal wine of choice was white zinfandel. That wine is not to sweet, not too dry.

Moscato/Muscat wines, port, ice wines...those are truly dessert wines, not meant to be paired with meals.

Rieslings are a good choice, but as someone said, there are different kinds that run from dry to sweet. I think if you get the Kabinett type of riesling, that's the sweetest, and probably would meet the sweet factor.

And I agree that Gewurztraminer wines are a good choice, too. They are sweet but go great with spicy foods, Mexican or Asian.

I am more into red wines now, but I think a middle of the road white that I love is Conundrum by Caymus. It's not cheap, but I bought it at Costco in the low 20 dollar range. It's not too sweet or dry.

If there are wine drinkers here who want a red wine, there a Spanish syrah called Alceño that is very light and smooth. Not recommending it for the sweet wine drinkers.