How to make the switch from white to red

[slapstick]

Being new to the wine industry, I am drinking mainly white wines at this point. I was wondering if there was a good lightly sweet red wine that I could try to adjust my taste buds? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[Innkeeper]

Hi Slapstick, and welcome to the Wine Board. Here is a simple way. Go to the nearest wine place you can find. Buy a bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel, and a bottle of their red one. Drink them in that order (the white one chilled). If you feel good after that, press on.

[Drew]

Try some of the Australian Rosemount Shiraz-Grenache or Shiraz-Cabernet for about $8 each. They're smooth and very drinkable.

Drew

[mrdutton]

A little more up-scale, but very fine for a red wine, try the Rosemount GSM. It is about $20+ here on the East Coast.

If you want something LIGHTER than above two suggestions, but still want to try to make the switch from white to red then:

Try some of the 2000 Nouveau Beaujolais wines from Georges Duboeuf or for that matter any other producer. If you can no longer find them, back up a couple of years and ask your local wine merchant to find you a 1998 Chiroubles or maybe even a Moulin-a-Vent. These are higher quality wines from the Beaujolais region of France.

You could also try any of the red wines from the Midi in France. They also might fit your category "of transition".

There are a lot of choices available to you. Try as many as you can, decide on the ones you like and then move on from them to similarly styled wines. You will then find yourself significantly broadening your taste in wine.

There are many other avenues you could travel. Talk to your local wine merchant, tell him/her what your tastes are and what your food preferences are. Remember, there is a big difference between just quaffing a wine and matching a wine to a particular meal or dish.

Best of all.......

Enjoy!

Who said it here on the wine board? WW, I think! So much wine, so little time.....

[Thomas]

The absolute best way to switch to red wine is to pair it with food. If the match is good, the odds are you will have little trouble liking the wine. Seek local advice on the pairing (a good retailer) or get a book that will help.