Tannins and fruit

[jmaaan]

Hello all,

I've been drinking wine for quite a while without any real knowledge of the structure of wine. So I've never been able to systematically try wines and really define my tastes. As I begin to educate myself, I am finding the major distinctions that are beginnig to guide me down the first wide path.

Up to this point I've found myself liking the lighter red wines, like Chianti or meritage wines that are more readily "drinkable". Despite the sweetness, I'm finding lately that I like whites more and more. I even really enjoy some white desert wines like Inniskillin and Royal Tokaji.

But I'm not so sure it's the fruit I like best but that I really dislike tannins. I don't know if I'm overly sensative to it but I find many red wines tough to drink because of it. Especially the wines they make here in California, the Zins and Cabs.

I'd like to enjoy and continue to expirement with various reds. From what I've done to this point, I tend to like Spanish wines but I've had French I like and even an older American wine or two.

I guess I'm stuck because I'm not sure how to further sort my tastes. I want to like red wine but I don't like the strong tannins. Do I like the oak? I don't know because I can't get through the tannins. Do I like it aged in oak longer or shorter? French Oak or American, filtered or unfiltered?

I can't get to any of these answers until I get past the tannin problem I think. So, I'm looking for suggestions to help me move past this issue.

Are there certain varietals anybody would suggest that might help me? Is it the age of the wine? Quality of the wine? Country of origin? Style?