Red wine help?

[Zero102]

My G/F and I are looking at trying to find a red wine that we like, but I know very little about them. I've tried a couple in the past, and every time I find one I like, I try to remember the name, but my memory is failing me.
Perhaps somebody on here knows more about it than we do, and can help us out with some reccomendations.
Personally I don't like dry wines, and neither does my G/F.
Other than that I haven't tried a lot of them, but it would be nice to keep the cost per bottle reasonable (I'm not saying I want the cheapest wine, but I don't want to pay $200/bottle).

Any advice?

[~Leah~]

I really enjoy Merlot, those can be extremely affordable, however you may find it to be a little bland or dry. (You do get used to it after a few sips.) Chianti is also pretty good, about medium dryness as well. A bit fruitier is the Beaujolais, which goes down a bit easier.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by ~Leah~
I really enjoy Merlot, those can be extremely affordable, however you may find it to be a little bland or dry. (You do get used to it after a few sips.) Chianti is also pretty good, about medium dryness as well. A bit fruitier is the Beaujolais, which goes down a bit easier.


Telling them varietals of wine wont help. Thats like saying cars are nice. There are thousands of wines available to us, and every one is different. If you are looking for something a little easier to drink for a red, grab a bottle of j-lohr wildflower. Its a californian wine, that is super smooth, without the harsh bite of a dry red, goes good with anything, and is an awesome starter wine that doesn't come in a box or with a screwcap:) Goes for less than $20 a bottle.

[~Leah~]

Telling him different varieties isn't completely useless... each type has a different kind of taste/dryness/sweetness to it. I don't stick to one specific brand, but they tend to taste relatively similar in my opinion, when you buy within the same price range.

[w3apon]

I have started to really enjoy Chilean Reds; try the Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlots.

Australian Mad Fish Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlots are also very good.

I'm not a fan of Shiraz reds.

It's hard to say what a "good" wine is as everyone has their own tastes. But that's the fun part, I love trying different types of wines.

If you are looking for industry top rated wines, doing a goolge search for "top red wines under 20" will get you some specifics.

[w3apon]

Originally posted by jdmakkord
that doesn't come in a box or with a screwcap

Just because a wine comes in a screw cap does not mean it's cheap or bad. A lot of excellent European and other foreign wines come with screw caps.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by ~Leah~
Telling him different varieties isn't completely useless... each type has a different kind of taste/dryness/sweetness to it. I don't stick to one specific brand, but they tend to taste relatively similar in my opinion, when you buy within the same price range.

When you have actually tried 1000's of different wines like I have, believe me....they dont taste the same. Hell, I only have a couple of hundred different bottles on my wine rack, and no two taste the same either. So trust me, your information is useless.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by w3apon


Just because a wine comes in a screw cap does not mean it's cheap or bad. A lot of excellent European and other foreign wines come with screw caps.

Its a joke in the wine industry. I know lots of wine companys have moved from cork>synthetic>screw cap due to bottles going bad.

[~Leah~]

Originally posted by jdmakkord


When you have actually tried 1000's of different wines like I have, believe me....they dont taste the same. Hell, I only have a couple of hundred different bottles on my wine rack, and no two taste the same either. So trust me, your information is useless.

To a new wine taster, they are pretty similar. He and his girlfriend obviously haven't tried 1000's of wine either. So you can come off your high horse anytime, wow, good for you. I'm so happy you have so many bottles of wine. I'm the first to admit I don't know much about wines, but he asked a question and I gave him my opinion, which isn't useless. :drama: :whocares:

Sorry Zero102, back to your original question. I don't want this getting hijacked by a completely retarded arguement.

[Zero102]

It seems like everybody who likes wine likes the really dry ones. I tried a couple highly reccomended ones and was really disappointed. I was hoping to get some feedback about them, and that's what I'm getting here :)
It's nice to have a few specific ones reccomended, I'll go take a peek for them later tonight.

Medium dryness might be okay, I honestly have no idea how dry medium dry is. My G/F is a little less open to dry wines, so we're hoping to get something that is on the low end of the dryness scale, but I don't want sugar water either.

Thanks guys!

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by ~Leah~


To a new wine taster, they are pretty similar. He and his girlfriend obviously haven't tried 1000's of wine either. So you can come off your high horse anytime, wow, good for you. I'm so happy you have so many bottles of wine. I'm the first to admit I don't know much about wines, but he asked a question and I gave him my opinion, which isn't useless. :drama: :whocares:

Sorry Zero102, back to your original question. I don't want this getting hijacked by a completely retarded arguement.

I came into this thread and recommended a wine that would work for what he had requested. You admit that you dont know about wine, why would you give advice on it? Go slam some smirnoff ice barstar, I'll sit here on my high horse and talk wine.

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by Zero102
It seems like everybody who likes wine likes the really dry ones. I tried a couple highly reccomended ones and was really disappointed. I was hoping to get some feedback about them, and that's what I'm getting here :)
It's nice to have a few specific ones reccomended, I'll go take a peek for them later tonight.

Medium dryness might be okay, I honestly have no idea how dry medium dry is. My G/F is a little less open to dry wines, so we're hoping to get something that is on the low end of the dryness scale, but I don't want sugar water either.

Thanks guys!


The wildflower I posted, is very fruity with a soft finish. Not dry like most reds, very easy drinking, without tasting like grape juice. This was one of my best sellers friday nights for the ladies that had grown out of white zinfandel:rofl: and wanted to try real wine.

[~Leah~]

Originally posted by jdmakkord


I came into this thread and recommended a wine that would work for what he had requested. You admit that you dont know about wine, why would you give advice on it? Go slam some smirnoff ice barstar, I'll sit here on my high horse and talk wine.

Hmmmm... right, considering I don't drink (only wine occasionally) and I don't go to the bar, your comment is almost accurate.


Hope you find a good one Zero!! Let me know if you do find something good so I can try it out too, I'm not a huge fan of super dry wines either.

[googe]

Originally posted by ~Leah~


Hmmmm... right, considering I don't drink (only wine occasionally) and I don't go to the bar, your comment is almost accurate.


Hope you find a good one Zero!! Let me know if you do find something good so I can try it out too, I'm not a huge fan of super dry wines either.

werent you the beyond drinking team? :) :hijack:

[~Leah~]

Originally posted by googe


werent you the beyond drinking team? :) :hijack:

Yes from last summer, and part of the Santa Hat Alliance, I don't change my sig ever, but just for you guys, I have changed it. On with our lives now.

[Darkane]

Hmm sweeter wines go for a sherry style. Im not good with sweet wines. But one of my favorite Dry's is Gato Negro. Pretty cheap and good :drool: Steak :drool:

[sputnik]

I enjoy Italian reds and am a big Zenato fan. Here are my picks (you can get them at Safeway liquor stores).

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore (~$14/bottle)
Zenato Valpolicella Ripassa (~$22/bottle)
Zenato Amarone (~$40/bottle)

All three are incredibly smooth and obviously get better as you go up the price scale.

If you cant find Zenato try a bottle Masi. Their Valpolicella is reasonable at $15/bottle and you can pay well over $100/bottle for their better Amarones.

[core_upt]

Originally posted by sputnik
I enjoy Italian reds and am a big Zenato fan. Here are my picks (you can get them at Safeway liquor stores).

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore (~$14/bottle)
Zenato Valpolicella Ripassa (~$22/bottle)
Zenato Amarone (~$40/bottle)

All three are incredibly smooth and obviously get better as you go up the price scale.

If you cant find Zenato try a bottle Masi. Their Valpolicella is reasonable at $15/bottle and you can pay well over $100/bottle for their better Amarones.

Word - those are some of my favorite reds. Amarone =
:drool:
I strongly recommend Dancing Bull Zinfandel - easy drinking red, not too dry so you don't have to have it with a meal all the time. its a good all purpose red wine and at less than $13 a bottle, its great! It's the house red at Joey Tomato's if you want to try it.

At the $40 range I would go with Chataeuneuf Du Papes La Gardine - great wine. My fav at La Chamiere if you're feeling like a fancy boy.:bigpimp:

[legendboy]

Originally posted by ~Leah~


Hmmmm... right, considering I don't drink


Originally posted by googe


werent you the beyond drinking team? :) :hijack:


Originally posted by ~Leah~
Yes

you poser

[~Leah~]

Okay, honestly, you guys are worse than a bunch of little high teenage drama queens. Not that it's anyone's business on here, but I haven't drank since September. Like I said, yes, last summer I drank. I suggest you grow up, and stop hijacking Zero's thread just to try to cause shit. Like I always say, you wanna say something or give me shit, come to a meet, and do it to my face, I'd be happy to discuss your Leah issues in person. Stop causing useless fucking drama on this forum.

:drama: :drama:


Back to the wine recommendations.

[Zero102]

Hahaha, this thread became surprisingly entertaining.
I have a list of about 7 or 8 wines that I will be looking for tonight. I'm in canmore right now, taking a few days away, so I don't know how the local liquor stores are, but I'll try to pin down one or two of them.
Thanks for all the advice guys, even that from 'amatuers' like me :)

The poster above is right, we haven't tried 1000's of bottles of wine. I've tried 8 or 9 reds, 5 or 6 whites, and my G/F has tried probably 4 different wines. That is why I am yielding to the advice of you guys. Honestly I am no wine expert, and I probably won't notice the subtle differences between the similar wines.
We are hoping to get into wine a little bit, and are going to try to drink 1/2 of a glass a day, it's supposed to be good for the heart. However I don't want to pay for a bottle of wine then regret it every single time I drink it, I want to enjoy it some.

[HRD2PLZ]

For red wines, I personally enjoy the Austrailian, Chilean and Italian wines. I try to avoid the wines from Canada or the US.

I find the fun thing about wine, is trying the different types, brands, Countries, etc. Keeps things interesting :) I have my favorites, but I do like trying new ones.

[Boost Infested]

Originally posted by ~Leah~
Okay, honestly, you guys are worse than a bunch of little high teenage drama queens. Not that it's anyone's business on here, but I haven't drank since September. Like I said, yes, last summer I drank. I suggest you grow up, and stop hijacking Zero's thread just to try to cause shit. Like I always say, you wanna say something or give me shit, come to a meet, and do it to my face, I'd be happy to discuss your Leah issues in person. Stop causing useless fucking drama on this forum.

:drama: :drama:


Back to the wine recommendations.

Beyond dramas are created by people like you who don't know how to shut the fuck up.

[~Leah~]

Originally posted by Boost Infested


Beyond dramas are created by people like you who don't know how to shut the fuck up.

Excuse me, but I really don't see what I did wrong here. Apparently I'm not even allowed to say what type of wine I like?

[A790]

Originally posted by ~Leah~
Okay, honestly, you guys are worse than a bunch of little high teenage drama queens. Not that it's anyone's business on here, but I haven't drank since September. Like I said, yes, last summer I drank. I suggest you grow up, and stop hijacking Zero's thread just to try to cause shit. Like I always say, you wanna say something or give me shit, come to a meet, and do it to my face, I'd be happy to discuss your Leah issues in person. Stop causing useless fucking drama on this forum.

:drama: :drama:


Back to the wine recommendations.
Oh no, you don't start/promote/participate in shit.

Drama... you feed off it. :thumbsup:

[l8braker]

Sputnik's selection is bang on!!!!! :thumbsup:

Hey Leah.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/rmkf550/bananas1.jpg

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :goflames:

[~Leah~]

Yeah, I feed off it, yet you guys are the one's feeling the need to keep posting shit.

He asked for a suggestion, I gave him my opinion, then got told my opinion was useless. And that's me starting drama? Forget it.

[dezinr]

Anything Australian is good...most you will find here are from the South or Southeast region. They are currently the top wine producers and leading the industry in wine. Just got back from Western Australia and toured a number of wineries. The Shiraz's were spectacular so were the Merlots. If you can find Mad Fish here then try that. Wolf Blass is also a safe bet. Best of luck!!

Cheers.

[Vagabond142]

You know, I really have to say this... Leah didn't give out any incorrect, bad or false information. She had a formulated opinion from her own experiences, which is exactly what the OP wanted. Why attack her? Jeezus... and people wonder why beyond is getting a sour reputation. I'm not saying or supporting Leah, or saying or supporting her attackers. I'm a neutral party here with a fed up opinion of thread hijacks and personal attacks that take place on Beyond.

But let's stop this hijack. This is a wine thread, not a bash-Leah thread. Bashing of Leah should not take place in here. If you really have that strong an opinion against her... write it down on a notepad. Go hug your pillow. Play a video game, listen to some music, get all that pent up aggression and negativity out and THEN come on here and recommend a nice wine, leaving Leah the fuck alone. This is not a bash-Leah thread, so don't turn it into one

And if you want to flame me for posting this, then my PM box awaits your messages.

Anyways, for wines, I wouldn't have the first clue as I've sworn off alcohol (personal choice). But, my parents and bro seem to like BC reds, especially Zinfandersomething (will get exact name later on) that comes from one of the wineries in Summerland in the Okanagan.

[FlySi]

Originally posted by ~Leah~
Yeah, I feed off it, yet you guys are the one's feeling the need to keep posting shit.

He asked for a suggestion, I gave him my opinion, then got told my opinion was useless. And that's me starting drama? Forget it.

shut the fuck up, seriously. your turning into another ludegirl but an overweight version. fuck :banghead:

[Vagabond142]

I think EVERYBODY needs to take a step back and calm down. Come on guys, this is a thread about wine. Talk about wine.

[Ben]

All I have to say is that jdmakkord knows his shit when it comes to Wine, so take what he says seriously.

That said, if you're looking for something decent and realativly cheap, pick up a bottle of Wolf Blass Black Label Shiraz. The others listed by jdmakkord and Sputnik are also a great option.

Leah, who cares...it's a wine thread, not a whine thread. No need to always get the last work, its the internet.



Back to the game:goflames:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Oookaaaay, maybe I missed something here, but what's with the random Leah bashing? It seems like every time she posts, 4 or 5 people are all over her with the insults. This may be the Internet and all, but that's pretty harsh. I don't think she really deserves that kind of treatment. :dunno:

What the hell is going on here? :confused:

[Zero102]

Ben, the Wolf Blass black label shiraz, is it a dry wine?

I returned from the liquor store bearing 2 bottles of wine... However, I had a technical difficulty with one of them.


I picked up a bottle of J lohr wildflower, it is definately fruity, it isn't very dry, but it does have some bite to it.
Unlike most other wines I've tried, it doesn't need to go with food, which is a big plus. However, I tried it after eating, and it went well with what I had.
Priced pretty well at $14/bottle, and I honestly rather like it. It's just my G/F who does not, but she's starting to come around. It's very... purple :D Would hate to spill that wine!

I also picked up a bottle of Chataeuneuf Du Papes La Gardine. Priced at $38/bottle we decided to take a chance on it, however we made one small oversight.
It wasn't until we returned to our hotel room/apartment that we discovered that in our trip to the liquor store/safeways we forgot to pick up a corkscrew! Luckily there is a small dinky one provided in our unit.
It worked for the wildflower, which had a thinner, shorter cork, but on this one it just ripped a hole out of the center of the cork :(
At least it's not leaking, it wasn't that long.
Tomorrow I'll head out and pick up a decent sized corkscrew and we'll see how this wine is.
After talking to my G/F's mom, she is a big fan of this wine. She does not like dry wines at all, and hates the taste of alcohol (Why does she even drink?....), and she likes it, so I hope my G/F will.

We looked for Zenato Valpolicella Superiore, and the two other higher priced wines from this winery, but could not find them. We were at the safeways liquor store in canmore, so I had hoped to locate them.
We did fine the Miso Valpolicella, but after picking the other 2 bottles, we decided to take it easy for the night and only take the first two.

I look all sophisticated sitting here watching the flames game with a glass of red wine ;)

[Zero102]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
Oookaaaay, maybe I missed something here, but what's with the random Leah bashing? It seems like every time she posts, 4 or 5 people are all over her with the insults. This may be the Internet and all, but that's pretty harsh. I don't think she really deserves that kind of treatment. :dunno:

What the hell is going on here? :confused:

I question that as well. She gave her opinion, just like about 10 other people on here. That is exactly what I asked for.
End of argument I thought.
People will act how they like. I don't know Leah, but she seems alright, and I am completely lost on this feud.
:dunno:

[RC-Cola]

Zero, you may want to consider going to a few lower priced wine tastings as well.

Once you find a bottle or two that you like write it down or take the bottle back to the liquor store and tell them this is what you liked about the wine you drank. They should be able to find you something else similar to what you liked.

Judging by what you spoke about above you may want to try a bottle of George Duboef's Beaulios Village (poor spelling there sorry). It's about $13.

[Evro]

pass on wine - your woman wants a big bear

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by RC-Cola
Zero, you may want to consider going to a few lower priced wine tastings as well.

Once you find a bottle or two that you like write it down or take the bottle back to the liquor store and tell them this is what you liked about the wine you drank. They should be able to find you something else similar to what you liked.

Judging by what you spoke about above you may want to try a bottle of George Duboef's Beaulios Village (poor spelling there sorry). It's about $13.

Stay away from beujolais...its underaged crap. Basically taking young wine that has no body whatsoever, and bottling it.

[SwitchBlade]

Little penguin

Ecco Domani

Beuajolais Nevoueax

[Clever]

I have the same preference as Zero102 when it comes to wine, and it sounds like some of you on here know your shit, good because I'd like to expand my wine collection too. I only drink red and mostly shiraz, Wolf Blass Black seem to be consistent regardless of what year(if that matters), but the one wine that I think you'd like is a spanish red called Ermita Gray(sp?) it used to be my wine of choice when I ate at Mescalero's, and the only place that I know of that sell it is the Liquor/wine store on 4th St, who I think has a really good wine selection, it's across form the petro gas station( i think). Good luck with the hunt.


EDIT: It's right beside James Choice, on 4th.

[Zero102]

4th street... NE?
I am trying to think of where this liquor store might be...
Doesn't matter for a couple more days anyways, lol.

I honestly never thought I could get a decent bottle of wine for under $20, but there have been many reccomendations on here to the contrary. I have a big list now, and slowly but surely I am going to work through it, marking down the ones I like.

I finally got the cork free on the other bottle, but the problem is now that it is in the bottle, along with lots of little bits of cork. I now own a big honking corkscrew however, and I don't expect this to ever happen again.
I've got a few ideas on how to seperate the cork and the wine, so I think it will be okay.

Moral of the story, not all corkscrews are made equal.

[dino_martini]

Go and get the wine "Fat Bastard" it has a little picture of a pig on the bottle, its a french red wine. its around $14.00. My parent seemed to like it..they have a wine closet type thing filled with wine..

[snade831]

I enjoy Yellow Tail, it's an Austrailian wine... you can find it for under $15 I believe

[Zero102]

For those who are reccomending wines, are they dry wines?

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by Zero102
For those who are reccomending wines, are they dry wines?

Almost every wine that has been recommended here is dry. The wildflower you tried is on the lighter side of the scale, whereas most of the aussies, due to thier climate, and style, will be dry.

[asuth077]

Originally posted by snade831
I enjoy Yellow Tail, it's an Austrailian wine... you can find it for under $15 I believe

I agree, I enjoy their shiraz and cabernet sauvignon very much.

[bluetek]

Couple of my favs (reds) that you may want to try:

US:
Robert Mondavi Private selection Cab Sauv. ~35/bottle.
Liberty School Cab Sauv. ~25/bottle.
Austrailia:
Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot. ~22/bottle.
Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Shiraz. ~18/bottle.
Goundrey Shiraz was good too. ~only 12/bottle.
Italy:
Ruffino Riserva Ducale Gold. ~35/bottle.
Fontafredda Barolo. really good. open hour or so before drinking and let it air out.
Masi Amarone's are a winning bet too, however are amarone's are prolly the most full bodied wine ive ever tryed, they are dry too. Not sure if you like that.
:dunno:

Hope this helps or gives you some ideas, I also like the Vampire wines from Romania, or as the label says Transylvannia. There all like 15/bottle. :thumbsup: Do you like whites??

[bksze]

Yellowtail shiraz and wyndham estate 555 shiraz are known for being sweet. Yellowtail actually has artificial sugars added to it.

A lot of different advice in this thread. I think you have to realise that $200/btl retail is quite extreme. Very rarely do people drink a bottle that expensive on a regular basis. They do however get up there or more, some French bordeauxs comes to mind.

For just starting out, a budget of $20 or less is more than reasonable. One that I like to recommend is the Altos Los Hormigas Malbec. It's a new world red from Argentina and should cost around the $17 range. Definitely a complex full bodied wine but shouldn't put you off because it's fairly fruity to begin with, if that makes any sense.

[Clever]

Originally posted by Zero102
4th street... NE?
I am trying to think of where this liquor store might be...
Doesn't matter for a couple more days anyways, lol.

I honestly never thought I could get a decent bottle of wine for under $20, but there have been many reccomendations on here to the contrary. I have a big list now, and slowly but surely I am going to work through it, marking down the ones I like.

I finally got the cork free on the other bottle, but the problem is now that it is in the bottle, along with lots of little bits of cork. I now own a big honking corkscrew however, and I don't expect this to ever happen again.
I've got a few ideas on how to seperate the cork and the wine, so I think it will be okay.

Moral of the story, not all corkscrews are made equal.


Hey man, the liquor store i was talking about is on 4St. SW anyone know the name? I always called it BIN something, by James Choice.