very much a beginner

Right now, I would say the more that you try, the easier the choices.

Being new to wine is a wonderful experience. It means that you have no preferences and are free to try as many different wines and styles of wine.

My advice to you is go to as many wine tastings as you can and start with the basic grapes (cab sauv, merlot, chardonnay, shiraz (or syrah) and get a sense of what you like. This will point you in the direction that your palate should go.

Good luck in your adventure and happy wine tastings

Some brands that offer decent to great quality and friendly price tags are Columbia Crest- Grand Estates and Smoking Loon. I also think Hess Select and Toasted Head are great as well. Good wines to try.

Get a Bogle- Petite Sirah. I have yet to try it but too many people around here love that wine. Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull Zinfandel is also a good rookie choice.

Many of these wines are less than $10 and should be less than $15 if you look hard enough, or have a grocery store club card.

i didnt mention this before but my 21st birthday was yet to happen before the previous post, now the day has come, and i am 21. i picked up a bottle of Frei Bros, redwood creek California merlot from the 2004 crop.

i also recently heard about canadian "Ice Wine" which is supposed to be really good.

Frei Brothers make excellent wine, says my book. Never heard of "ice wine", maybe later in the book, but would not mind giving it a try anyway.


p.s. I am also relatively new to wine. Was a huuuuuuge beer fan, really huge, until not long ago, but my neighbor (he works in medical billing ) suggested I switch to something with health benefits and gave me a first book about wine. Here I am.

Happy Birthday Jah...

21. Man, I can't remember what the hell I did on my 21st birthday. Must have been good.

PH

21? I wish I was into wine when I was 21.

Actually, maybe it was better that I wasn't. I was poor enough then.

Hey Jah-
I'm not sure what you meant when you said you like a sweet flavor (found in reds? Not really) But anyway, its cool that you like REDS at such a young age!! If you want to try something really good, and one which is not to pricey, try Gnarley Head Zinfandel. Its really good. Its from 80 year old vines in Lodi, CA. I love it, and it's only about 12$ a bottle! Good luck with your tastings! Dmedina

How about a blind date with Bella Donna, she is about your age.

Run, Jah!!! Run!!

PH

Jahrules- If you like Merlot, try Calif. Syrah or Australian Shiraz. Both normally have more flavor. Kinda like Merlot on steroids.

quote:

How about a blind date with Bella Donna, she is about your age.

She only seems a lot younger than 21.

thanks for all the great suggestions. this next week i have off of school and im goin north to be with family and such, so i should be able to acquire some of these suggestions to try. thanks again

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:
Man, I can't remember what the hell I did on my 21st birthday. Must have been good.

Lido Pizza, maybe?

I wish......

PH

I found that as a beginner that the big heavy cab-savs, shiraz, and petite sirah were overwhelming.

I worked my way up through things like beaujolais, grenache and merlot before entering the land of giants.

during this past weekend i got to try the following bottles:
St Julian, PawLaw Michigan: Catawaba
Charles Shaw: 2002 Cabernet, 2004 Siraz
Lendemans Bin50 SE Australia: 2002 Shiraz

I have also obtained the following bottles:
Stefano Farina: Moscato dásti (dont know much about this one, it was a present)
Bogle: 2003 Petite Sirah
Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull: 2002 Zinfandel
Penfolds Koonunga Hill: 2002 Shiraz/Cabernet (SE Australia)
the last one was a suggestion of the store owner.

Hey Jah,

When you drink or buy wines, there are threads in the "Wine Conversations" board each month for these subjects. Your posts will be seen by many more members over there! Welcome, and post often! Oh, and watch those Catawbas!!

PH

Stefano Farina: Moscato dásti It's a sweet bubbly wine. If you enjoy Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante, you'll like this.

Bogle: 2003 Petite Sirah Had it a few days ago and posted a tasting note here. A very good wine, but may be overwhelming to a beginner.

Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull: 2002 Zinfandel WS gave this 85 points in the latest issue. It should be a good intro to Zin.

PH is correct. If you post about some of these wines in the other sections of the forum, you'll get more replies.

okay ill make a 'mirror posting' over there then