WINE! Help! What tastes good? Health question.

[Beauty]

John and I both went to the Doctor yesterday and one of John's cholesterol numbers needed to increase (yes increase ) Anyway the Dr. suggested a glass of wine a day to increase the number. He went on to tell us that if people would drink ONE glass of wine per day...JUST ONE! that it would GREATLY reduce the risk of them EVER having a heart attack or a stroke.

Well we don't drink, never have but decided we would try this. So what is a wine that tastes good? We have no idea where to start or what to buy. All I can remember is Strawberry Hill from my teenage days and I don't even know if that was wine...ROTFLOL....all I know is it was cheap

 

[zulaya]

I am not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a glass of wine now and then. I really like some from a local winery in MN (Saint Croix Vineyards), so I can't really help you with national brands too much.

Did the doctor suggest red or white wine? Or just wine in general?
I tend to prefer white or rose wines. Red wines are just too bitter for me to enjoy. I don't like real dry white wines, something between sweet and dry.

You might want to go to a store and ask for recommendations if you truly have no idea what may appeal to you.

Although I do think it's odd that the doctor actually recommended drinking wine for cholesterol that's too low (I didn't even know you could be too low for that).

 

[Beauty]

Yep he sure did. There were 3 different cholesterol type readings he was going by....all of them were wonderful except the one that he said needed to be raised a bit...whatever that means.

He suggested ONE GLASS and ONE GLASS ONLY per day. No more! He also said he would never recommend this to anyone who had a history of alcoholism or where drinking was against their religion. He knows us very well and knows we don't drink at all.

This is going to be fun though...just trying to find something we can stand to drink. LOL!

 

[olena]

You're really going to have to taste your way through this. Trial and error. There are so many wines and so many flavors. You need to establish a few basic preferences....red or white, dry or not, etc. Do y'all like muscadines, Beth? There are some great tasting wines made from muscadines and they might even be available locally. If you go that route, check with the doctor to make sure it will suffice as a substitute. Sangria is a nice fruity wine, if that's John's thing.

 

[Beauty]

Are there any that taste like Amereto Sours???? ROTFLOL! YUM!! I'm afraid if there were I would have to drink more than one glass. Thats the one mixed drink that I love!!!

My grandmom used to make homemade muscadine jelly and from what I remember it was really good.

I think the fruitier the better for John....he likes "girly" drinks on the rare occasion we go out......really girly.....Strawberry Daquiri's, Pina Colados, and the girly mixed drinks too....Amereto Sour, Shirly Temple etc....

 

[Lars624]

Beringer makes a good mid-priced wine. For red wines I enjoy their Merlot & their Pinot noir. Their Chardonnay isa good white wine. Blaskstone also makes a good Merlot.
Coppola wines are another of our favorites.
It'll just take you some time to decide what you prefer.

 

[December99]

Beringer was one I was also going to suggest. Their wines are very tasty. My favorite is a White Zinfandel. Another is Arbor Mist. They have a Strawberry White Zinfandel that is AWESOME!!!! I don't like dry wines, they just have too much of something that I don't like. If you have any wineries in your area that would be a good suggestion. Go and do some tasting and see what grabs your taste. You can usually find something close to that elsewhere.

Here are some reasonably priced wines that I would suggest:
Beringer
Earnest & Julio
Arbor Mist
Sutter Home

Alot of wine makers now sell smaller bottles, mostly found at liquor stores, that you can buy and then be able to taste and find what you want. They are usually about the size of a glass.

 

[Dodie]

If it doesn't have to be red wine (which is what I've always heard for health benefits), I would suggest White Zinfandel. We like Sutter Home. It's cheap (usually cheaper than Behringer's) and kind of sweet. It would be a good thing to taste at first.

 

[RUDisney]

OK, Newbie...

This is right up my alley. We have a wine cellar in our house that can store 900 bottles, but I've only collected 200+ so far.

The suggestions that have been given are good ones. I'd suggest, as a newbie, you stick with the sweeter wines. Buy Riunite Lambrusco (personnally, I think this is Blech, but it will help to develop your palate and some day you may turn your nose up to it, too.) It is more like soda with alcohol in it. It is girly tasting, as is Arbor Mist. When I was just starting to appreciate wine (and I was too poor to buy expensive bottles) I liked Black Tower, for a white wine.

I can't drink those anymore. I like fuller bodied wines and ones that are perhaps fruity, but not sweet. Sutter Home is a better white zinfandel, and on the sweeter side.

Once you graduate to better wines, I'd suggest a Riesling from Chateau St. Michelle, a Washington State Winery, for a white, or Rosso or Blue Label Merlot from Francis Ford Coppola. December 99, you'd probably like these two dry red wines. They aren't high in tannins and are very smooth. The tannins are what gives the wine some bitterness until it is aged out of it. Once we don't feel the need to boycott things from France, I'd also recommend any Reisling or Pinot Gris from Alsace, especially from the Trumbauch estate.

The doctor has opened a new and wonderful door for you. Enjoy your exploration. As your palate develops and broadens, you'll return to some of the newbie wines and say to yourself, "what was I thinking?" But, alas, it is all part of the wonderful journey into wine.

 

[WilmaBud]

I'm a wine drinker, after many years of preferring beer over wine. Your taste does change over time. I started out drinking "Blue Nun" which is a semi-sweet white wine. "Black Tower" is also a sweeter white wine. A Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio are nice choices, too.

Red wines are definitely an acquired taste. They are more "heart-healthy," but they're a lot drier. I love a good Merlot or Cabernet. There are some great Australian Shiraz (sp?) wines, too.

A lot of wine-newbies enjoy White Zinfandel. I used to like it, but I can't drink it now. It's weird, but once you acquire a taste for the dry wines, it's like you can't go back to the sweeter ones!

Have fun trying all these new wines! Funny to see this topic today because I'm headed to a Wine-tasting dinner tonight at a local restaurant!

 

[RUDisney]

Originally posted by WilmaBud
A lot of wine-newbies enjoy White Zinfandel. I used to like it, but I can't drink it now. It's weird, but once you acquire a taste for the dry wines, it's like you can't go back to the sweeter ones!

I'm glad someone agreed with me on this. I was afraid that someone might think I was being a wine snob about what I posted. Wine IS an acquired taste and the more you taste, the better the wines are that you want to drink. Take the Rosso, for instance, it is only about $11 or $12 per bottle, but it is excellent, so wines don't have to be expensive to be good.

Have fun at your wine tasting! (I'm so jealous!)

 

[maleficent1959]

Originally posted by RUDisney
I'm glad someone agreed with me on this.

I'm with you too. Sweet wines are a good way to start drinking wine, but I don't really like them much either. MY FIL has a sweet tooth for them and he is forever bringing them over for us to drink. It drives DH crazy.

A woman I work with started drinking sweet, boxed wines because the alcohol content was lower on them. DH says they are like drinking Kool-aid.

 

[Blondie]

Try a nice Merlot....can't go wrong! (IMHO) I just recently decided to add the wine like you and John...although I don't drink a glass every day, working three 3p-11p shifts per week puts a damper on that!

DH's Italian/Portuguese Grandfather swore by a glass of red wine with every meal except breakfast...he lived a nice long life so it must've done something right!

 

[December99]

You are right. It is truly an acquired taste. I've tasted many wines and no matter what brand or how full they are, I just can't drink white wines - no matter who sweet they are, there is just something there that I can't handle. It is possible that I also might have an allergy to the whites because everytime I try one - my nose plugs up so that might be some of it.

We went to winery in Tennessee a couple of years ago near my cousin and they have the most incredible wines!!! OMG....I got a bit tipsy cause I just kept trying....they were SOOOOOOO good!!!! I tend to like wines that are made with grapes from Canada - they are a bit sweeter and the taste is a bit milder...that's what these were - Niagra - OMG!!!!! I think I know what I'm having tonight!!!!

 

[Serena]

My ex - bil used to own a very nice liquor store. He would bring home the bottles that couldn't be sold occasionally. He would bring home these expensive wines and all kinds of stuff. He would always get upset with me because I like the newbie wines. I haven't developed the mature taste buds yet. lol

He's french and his family owns a winery in france. We were there a week and they served wine at every meal, all day long. They were having a engagement celebration that lasted 2 weeks.

 

[snake_eyes]

I am a wine maker so I may add a little to what everyone has said so far.. Start out with the miscadine wine (sorry about spelling) and then go to the white Zin... After that experiment, go to a good wine store usually they have wine tasting on the weekends.. For something that would help your heart go with the dry reds.. A good Washington Pinor Noir, a austrialian Shiraz and cabernet (which is my favorite) and a New York Zinfindial...
Good luck..

 

[catsrule]

snake_eyes! I have tasted one of his homemade wines, he is an expert. Tell him to send you a bottle of one of his wines, Beth.

 

[suzannen]

It really is a matter of taste. You need to start tasting different ones to see what tastes good to your palate. I personally can't stand any of the zinfindels or any sweet wine. I prefer dry wines.

For white, you might want to start with lighter whites like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc; others prefer stronger whites like Chardonnay or Pouilly Fuisse.

For red, as others have mentioned Merlot is a good starter choice as is a great Chianti (particularly if you have great Italian food with it!) You can then branch out to Pinot Noirs and Cotes du Rhones, the list goes on and on.

It's like candy bars, no one can say which is best, we can only say which we like the best (3 Musketeers, no question, but that's just me, and a whole other question to be asked on the DIS!)

Have fun with it!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Liebfraumilch! Yummy!!!!! It's a nice fruity wine. I've never heard of a doctor saying drink a glass of wine a day! When my brother-in-law needed to raise one of his cholesterol levels, he was told to exercise and took up walking.

 

[Pin Wizard]

"For something that would help your heart go with the dry reds."

Figures! Yuck...I like neither dry nor red!!