Which wines do you prefer?

[Hacker James]

I am by no means a connossieur, and do not hold a lot of knowledge of varietal vines, but I know what I like.  I am not a fan of sweet or dessert wines, nor the ultra dry.  If I am cooking and need a hearty wine, I would go with an inexpensive Cabernet.  If I wish to use both in a sauce for pasta, and also in a glass for consumption I prefer Shiraz. For lighter meals, with chicken or fish, I tend to go with Pinot Grigio or a Riesling.  I have found that one does not have to necessarily look for the most expensive to find good quality. For example, Yellow Tail and Barefoot are quite acceptable.  In those times when I am sharing with a person who prefers something light and a shade sweeter, then it is White Zinfadel.   How about you?

[mcanadiens]

Beer, beer, beer. And beer.

[Hacker James]

4 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

Beer, beer, beer. And beer.

Molson, or Labatt?

[No Mulligans]

Sangiovese is my favorite.

We once had a party where we did a blind taste test on red wine varietals from Trader Joe's and Costco that were highly rated and around $20 a bottle.  The participants were given a form, they wrote down their favorite varietal and then put a check next to which of the blind tasted wines they liked the most.  Two interesting results, 1) only one person picked the varietal that they said was there favorite, 2) the Sangiovese was the clear winner in that it was favored by the most participants.  And most hadn't heard of Sangiovese though they undoubtable had tasted it before as it is the main component in Chanti wine.

[Golfingdad]

Not a connoisseur here either, but we like to go wine tasting, and now that we're in a Temecula wine club, we pretty much force ourselves to go 3 times a year when we go to pick up our shipments.  I like reds mostly, but nothing that is too dry.  Favorites tend to be pinot noirs although those not grown in Temecula, unfortunately.  Our current favorite is Meomi (I wanna say 2014) and we've been buying in bulk (you get 6 and it's usually 40% off at Stater Bros or Ralphs).

My all time fave in Temecula was a Mouvedre (not sure of the spelling) from a few years back that I've never been able to find again. :(

3 minutes ago, No Mulligans said:

Sangiovese is my favorite.

Wife and I never liked wine at all before our honeymoon (2007 in Italy) where sodas were 4 or 5 Euros with dinner and wine was 2 or 3 oftentimes.  We learned to like wine on that trip.  The trip ended in Tuscany and we brought (smuggled?) home a few bottles of Brunello and Rosso Di Montalcino, both of which are sangiovese based wines.

A couple of others I like are malbec, zinfandel (red, not white), and port. :)

[Yukari]

All time favorite: 2010 Silver Oaks Cabernet (from Napa not Alexander valley).

I also like zinfandel (red), Twomey (merlot, 2011).  Arista's Pinot is very good at a reasonable price.

I usually don't drink white wine.  I prefer reds.

[CarlSpackler]

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

Beer, beer, beer. And beer.

Despite what most Ohioans believe, beer is NOT wine. 

I don't know that I have a favorite. More of a red fan myself. Merot is a fav.

[Patch]

"MGD".........What can I say. 

When I was much younger it was Boones Farm, any variety. That, or MD 20/20. 

[Hacker James]

15 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

Despite what most Ohioans believe, beer is NOT wine. 

I don't know that I have a favorite. More of a red fan myself. Merot is a fav.

depends on which counties. Tuscarawas, Carroll, Harrison and the closer you get to Appalachia when White Lightning becomes supreme. (or Dago Red).  

[billchao]

I used to work in fine dining and knew quite a bit about wines. I learned to appreciate many varietals and regions for their own characteristics.

I can enjoy any wine as long as it is well balanced and has a good finish, but I'm more into subtle rather than bold, which typically means European rather than American wines.

I also love a good Madeira.

[Valleygolfer]

I am far from a wine purist but I like Kris Pinot Grigio.

[colin007]

Mark West is a really good cheap pinot noir.

[boogielicious]

14 hours ago, Hacker James said:

I am by no means a connossieur, and do not hold a lot of knowledge of varietal vines, but I know what I like.  I am not a fan of sweet or dessert wines, nor the ultra dry.  If I am cooking and need a hearty wine, I would go with an inexpensive Cabernet.  If I wish to use both in a sauce for pasta, and also in a glass for consumption I prefer Shiraz. For lighter meals, with chicken or fish, I tend to go with Pinot Grigio or a Riesling.  I have found that one does not have to necessarily look for the most expensive to find good quality. For example, Yellow Tail and Barefoot are quite acceptable.  In those times when I am sharing with a person who prefers something light and a shade sweeter, then it is White Zinfadel.   How about you?

If you want to learn more about wines, besides just tasting them, read The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. It really tells you everything you need to know other than how you will like the taste.

I like wine and love to try different varietals and different regions. When I go to a store, I will pick up something I haven't tried. I pretty much like everything, but I do find Pinot Noir to be very variable, meaning it can taste totally different depending on the maker and region.

[mcanadiens]

14 hours ago, Hacker James said:

Molson, or Labatt?

Yes. Of the two, I'd generally take Molson first.

Actually, the house beer here in Ohio is Yuengling. Other than that, it could be a lot of different stuff. The most likely change-ups for me are Guinness or Boddington's Pub Ale.

[Elmer]

12 hours ago, colin007 said:

Mark West is a really good cheap pinot noir.

Ditto on Mark West.

Otherwise I make homemade wine, usually Italian grapes, heavy on the Hungarian oak and dry!

[iacas]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

If you want to learn more about wines, besides just tasting them, read The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. It really tells you everything you need to know other than how you will like the taste.

I like wine and love to try different varietals and different regions. When I go to a store, I will pick up something I haven't tried. I pretty much like everything, but I do find Pinot Noir to be very variable, meaning it can taste totally different depending on the maker and region.

 I may pick that up for the wife for Christmas.

[billchao]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I do find Pinot Noir to be very variable, meaning it can taste totally different depending on the maker and region.

Pinot noir can taste totally different from one vineyard to another right across the street. Even the same producer cannot make the same tasting wine from year to year due to weather conditions. It's heavily affected by terroir and one of my favorite varietals.

[Ernest Jones]

18 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Not a connoisseur here either, but we like to go wine tasting, and now that we're in a Temecula wine club, we pretty much force ourselves to go 3 times a year when we go to pick up our shipments.  I like reds mostly, but nothing that is too dry.  Favorites tend to be pinot noirs although those not grown in Temecula, unfortunately.  Our current favorite is Meomi (I wanna say 2014) and we've been buying in bulk (you get 6 and it's usually 40% off at Stater Bros or Ralphs).

My all time fave in Temecula was a Mouvedre (not sure of the spelling) from a few years back that I've never been able to find again. :(

Wife and I never liked wine at all before our honeymoon (2007 in Italy) where sodas were 4 or 5 Euros with dinner and wine was 2 or 3 oftentimes.  We learned to like wine on that trip.  The trip ended in Tuscany and we brought (smuggled?) home a few bottles of Brunello and Rosso Di Montalcino, both of which are sangiovese based wines.

A couple of others I like are malbec, zinfandel (red, not white), and port. :)

 

Brunello is dynamite! 

I am partial to Italian wines, particularily ripassos. For the most part, I find American wines to be far too over the top. I was once given a sample of Menage a Trois and I almost vomited. Tasted like red wine mixed with jello powder. I have had some excellent Californian Pinots, but generally, I find they overdo the oak, at least to my tastes.

Can't go wrong with Argentinian Malbecs. Cheap and plentiful.