Looking for a sweet red wine

You are leading with your chin.

I tried looking for a review or tasting note on this wine to get a better idea of what else to recommend, but I suprisingly couldn't find anything. This is Italian. Shouldn't Suckling be tasting this wine?

But seriously, Jadesunflower, that is not the style of wine that folks on this board drink. If you enjoy it, more power to ya. I can't think of any sweet red wines (other than desert wines) to recommend for you.

My sister has been know to drink Moscato with dinner. She loves the sweetness. I always bring a bottle or two of something drinkable to her house.

I think that a nice Napa merlot ('01 or '02) with a teaspoon of sugar and 2 ice cubes would be perfect.

You might try looking into some of the eastern European wines. Some of the Soviet Georgian wines have a fair bit of residual sugar in the bottle.

Unfortunately there exist almost no well made sweet reds. Most of those that do exist tend to be very gimmicky, or so sweet as to be off putting.

I am not sure I would call it "sweet", but try a Banyuls dessert wine.

Banyuls and other stickies are probably way over the edge (compared to Reunite).

I got some semisweet Khvanchkara from the Georgian Republic I bought for an upcoming KOV Eastern European tasting. Wine Library has it. Comes in your choice of glass or a funky cyrillic-labeled clay bottle.

Thanks for that. I am just trying to broaden my horizons. Happy New Year!

Zinfandel. No, not that white bastardization of the Zinfandel grape.

Many zins have a sweet profile compared to other dry reds.

I don't know about sweetness but Beaujolais sounds like it would fit...

The best sweet wines I have tasted are the icewines from the Niagra region of Canada. Only trouble is that they are sold by the half bottle and tend to be quite expensive.

Italian Recioto, very much like Amarone with some sweetness. Really good with chocolate.

Serena, from italy (i don't remember what's in it). or if you can find it, Tabernero Borgona. A peruvian grape traditionally in a sweeter style, but not dessert wine sweet. serve it chilled.

both are in the 10-15 dollar range

If you want something sweet and red (and sparkling) try Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui (Italy). A little more expensive at ~$20, but it may hit the spot.

http://www.bottlemonkey.com/wine/view/270/overview/

I would suggest looking at red Zinfandels, especially if you're looking for good values as well. One example that I discovered a couple days ago that is particularly fruity and jammy (i.e., sweet), but has a lot more depth and character than most cheap, sweet wines, is Rosenblum California Zinfandel Vintners Cuvee XXVIII ($11-$13). Another one that is not quite so sweet, but I think you might enjoy as well, is Beringer Clear Lake Zinfandel ($12-$14). Try them out! Hope that helps!

Thank you all for your help with these suggestions. I am so ignorant on this subject. These have all helped and I am going to try as many as I can.

Venge Late Harvest Zinfandel. Very nice.

I already posted this message to another 'Learn Wine' thread, but I think it belongs here as well for the shining examples above... I'm new to WS Forums, but I've already noticed something I wanted to comment on. It sure would be nice if some existing members (a few have stood out in various forums) could use their expertise (if they indeed have any) to act as responsible ambassadors for wine, instead of using the forum to prop up their frail egos, or to excercise their failed dreams of become a stand up comic, by offering haughty, sarcastic replies to neophytes' questions... To all of you who offered constructive suggestions to jadesunflower, as well as myself and other readers. Thank you!

I think I was the only one who responded in a joking manner, and I assure you I’m no expert with any wisdom to share.

Maybe folks should come realizing that everyone is here to have fun - wine is not a serious thing, and people like to kid around. Stick around, and you'll see that the most experienced of all forumites are the ones who razz each other the most.

I was actually quite impressed with the overwhelming wealth of suggestions and information that was offered in this thread in particular...

Thanks for your response, CaliCab. You can refer back to the first two responses, from irwin and SD-Wineaux to see other examples. I'm not as serious, myself, as my post may have indicated. I've gotten several laughs out of the exchanges amongst experienced 'forumites'. I guess the point that I would still make, is that perhaps folks should be careful about 'joking' answers to 'newbies', as they may insult people right out of their interest in the community. We should help unfortunate souls, like jadesunflower, to see the magnificent world they are yearning to unravel. (See, I can joke, too.) I was also impressed with the majority of answers, which were very constructive and imaginative suggestions. Thanks again, and happy tasting!

I want to thank everyone who gave me suggestions. I AM a "poor unfortunate soul" when it comes to wine,lol; I am usually a beer drinker or a Captain & Coke. I want to expand my tastes and this forum has helped. Kudos to all who know what your talking about. I did not know the first place to look. Thanks again all!!!

Welcome to the world of wine, Jadesunflower! I'm sure that everyone would agree that you should feel free to ask all the questions you want along the way. And, it's a life-long journey! No one can ever say they know everything about wine. I just thought of another quick suggestion. I know that you said that you like red wines, but I wonder if maybe you just haven't had the opportunity to try some really great whites, so maybe you don't know what you're missing. Everyone has their preferences, but one of the interesting things about wine is that there are wines for every occasion and every type of food. I would suggest, since you like sweeter wines right now, that you try a couple Rieslings or Gewürtztraminers. They're readily available, and you can find pretty interesting ones in the $8-12 range. One of my readily available and inexpensive favorites is Beringer California Gewürtztraminer Premier Vinyard Selection (sounds fancier than it is, but quite exciting for the price). It's really yummy and aromatic, and goes great with Thai cuisine! Anyway, just a thought. Maybe others here would have some suggestions of sweeter (sometimes referred to as 'off dry') whites that you could try as well. One other hint, if you really want to see what an experience wine can be, no matter how great the bargain, avoid boxes and jugs.

Oh, and as you try some of these fine suggestions that everyone has been throwing out, don't forget to swirl and sniff! Get your nose right down in the glass and inhale deeply. To fully experience a great wine, one must take in the beautiful and often intriguing aromas (refered to as the 'nose', or 'bouquet' with older, more complex wines) as well as the tastes on the palate. OK... I can see I'm beginning to dominate this discussion. I just get excited! Sorry if I've been to much of a windbag, everyone. I'm done.

You might try a search on this one, I tasted this yesterday and it is actually a pleasant and pretty wine.
2005 Parusso Dolcetto d'Alba 'Piani Noce'

Remembering what's sweet to one is not neccessarily sweet to another.

Try a Dornfelder from Germany. I have had good feed back from people looking for sweet reds that I have recommended it to. It should not say trocken(dry) on it.

Valckenberg does a great one around $12-15.

I enjoy Les Banyuls. Also delicious are Les Rivesaltes. Another is Pineau de Charantes. Happy tasting.

P.S. Did you try Amarone del Valpolicella Recioto? (Must say Recioto)

quote:

Originally posted by BottleMonkey:
If you want something sweet and red (and sparkling) try Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui (Italy). A little more expensive at ~$20, but it may hit the spot.

http://www.bottlemonkey.com/wine/view/270/overview/

This would be perfect for you!

I am totally new to wine so please bear with me. All of the suggestions for wines sound great but where do you find these wines? Do you have to go to a wine store or can you go to a Costco etc type of store. I don't want to buy online until I have tried a wine. Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

The best place to first taste these wines would be at an upscale restaurant with an extensive wine by the glass list. This type of restaurant would also have a wonderful dessert wine list usually on a separate list with the desserts. Just ask them for it. Usually they serve it at the bar too if you are not eating there for dinner. It is cheaper to do that than to buy a whole bottle if no one else is sharing it with you.

jadesunflower,

This thread is a little old, but I don't see port mentioned. It's sweet, it's red, and may be just what you're looking for, but it's a sipper, not a drinker. You'll see why. Graham's Six Grapes is pretty easy to find, won't break the bank (Port can be quite expensive), and is reliable.

Good luck,

I know I'm wayyyyy late for responding to this post, but try the red wine from Robertson Winery (South African)

I've got the perfect "sweet red wine" for you.

Jadesunflower, here are some examples.
Schimtt Sohne Relax Red
Bully Hill sweet walter red
Tomasello Rainer Red
Wines from Georgian, Kindzmarauli, Kvanchkara
Red sparkling from Italy, Banfi is an example. However there are many more for lower price.
Along the same lines a sparkling shiraz from Autralia
These Wines will help you get started in the right direction. Most of the poster here probably dont rememeber the time when they started long ago drinking off-dry, semi-sweet wines. This is a natural progression for most wine drinkers. You will find yourself over time(maybe a couple of years)moving towards dry wines.
Dont listen to the put downs here. Wine drinkers are wine drinker regardless if it is $150 btl Insignia or a Two Buck Chuck. Hope these help you enjoy the wine world, we are all not snobs.

I agree Riunite Lambrusco is real good. My favorite is by Robert Mondavi Mascoto O'doro. It is a sweet white wine. I am also trying to adventure out and try other sweet wines. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I realize this post is old, but I was doing a search on Google and came across it, so I hope you get my reply...

You should try tasting Ca d'Medici you can buy it at World Market it's a red sparkling wine and also is in the Lambrusco Family. I love it!!!

Have you guys tried CRICOVA RED? It's an extremely cheap red wine, however the taste is suprisingly reasonable. I tried it a few months ago and thought it was worth a lot more than the price tag said! I generally drink it when i'm at home betting online on the horses... cheap enough to warrant me losing money gambling on football odds! (soccer to the americans here hehe)

With few exceptions, I'd stay away from French Reds - they tend to be dry.

CA and AU wines can often be sweet. Maybe a CA pinot with some oak and residual sugar is what you're looking for.

In france, definitely check out Beaujolais - it's dry, but sometimes the nose is so sweet that the wine can taste lusciously sweet and fruity after a while. It has to do with a special type of fermentation called Carbonic Maceration.

In whites - Gewurztraminer tends to be sweeter.