Looking for some advice and info

[EzCrash]

I am indeed a wine noobie. My wife and I have been popping corks for a few weeks now on Red wines only. We are not interested in white wine at this time but are focused on reds.

We have discovered that we do not care for wines that are high in tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are not to our liking.

Wines that we have enjoyed are Pinot Noir and Merlot and we have been told to try Beaujolais.

What I would like to know from some more experienced wine drinkers is:

1) Can someone describe the differences between Merlots, Pinot Noirs and Beaujolais ? (ie. Merlots are lighter or higher in tannins than the other 2 and are generally more sweeter ...etc. )

2) Besides those 3 ... are there any other reds that we might find enjoyable based on our limited tastes ?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Oh .... and we generally like to spend anywhere from $8 to $16 a bottle if that makes a difference.

[Innkeeper]

Hi EC, and welcome to the Wine Board. Glad you hear that you and yours are into wine. You have not mentioned whether you are just sitting around quaffing wine or drinking it with food. From your comments, it sounds like the former. If this is so, what you should look for is wine that is low in acid. More acidic wines such as Pinot Noir and Gamay (Beaujolais) really should be accompalnied by food.

You may have dismissed Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel too soon. Both of these are low in acid. Both can be found in low tannic versions. As a matter of fact Zinfandel is seldom very tannic, partiularly at your price points. You may be confusing high alcohol with tannicity. Merlot is usually more tannic than Pinot Noir and Beaujolais, but not very tannic in relation to bigger Cabernet Sauvignons.

The best way to sort all this out is with a good book. Look for Andrea Immer's "Great Wine Made Simple", now available in paperback. She walks you through tastings of many different wines in comparision with each other, and does a great job doing it.

[EzCrash]

For the most part our wine drinking is either with dinner or shortly after dinner.

As for alcohol content .... what would be considered "High", "Medium" and "Low". Right now I am looking at a bottle of "Clos Du Bois 2001 Merlot" from my pantry and it is 13.8% alcohol. Would that be high, med or low ?

[Innkeeper]

By today's standards for a Merlot it would be medium to medium high. Not long ago, anything over 12.5% was considered high. If you can find a red Zinfandel (as opposed to White Zinfandel) that is under 14%, you may like it.

[EzCrash]

Hmmmmm, ok ... so what type of wine would fall into a low acidic / low tannin wine ?

A blend of some kind maybe ?

[Innkeeper]

I really think you should a. get Andrea's book, and b. get into wines from Oz (Australia) because they are great values, and are easier on the palate, especially for new wine fans. They thrive on blends. Some of my favorites are Bleasdale Shiraz/Cabernet, Devil's Lair Cabernet/Merlot, and Wynn's Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot. All are less than $12. There are many, many others, even at your favorite super market. There are also many single grape excellent values from Oz. If you are interested, I will list some of those too.

[EzCrash]

a) I definately plan on picking up her book this weekend [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

b) List some "easy on the palate" wines I can find in my local Supermarket for a reasonable price.

c) Thank you so much for your time and advice ! [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[Innkeeper]

Look for red blends from Black Opal, Jacob's Creek, Lindemans, Penfolds, Rosemount, and Wolf Blass at your local super.

[californiagirl]

IK gives great advice! The book is wonderful! Try to go so far as to do the excercises- you'll both learn alot, I did... and I've been into wine for a few years. You may also discover, that you like more than you think. The first time I try a wine, I don't look at the label, meaning what the winery thinks it tastes like. Form your own opinions.

You might find a good list of wines on the "best buys" forum. Locally, from Cal., Bogle has good selections (try the merlot and old vine zinfandel), Estancia Merlot is quite good, also Rex Goliath Cabernet is an easy drinker. You may want to search out Excelsior Cabernet from So. Africa. You'll find that these are easy drinkers, mostly fruit forward. IMHO.

[EzCrash]

I've already tried some Rex Goliath. It was the one with the Rooster on the label. A lady at the liquor store recomended it. It wasn't bad.

[Zinner]

I took a batch of wines to a party with co-workers,many of whom were novice wine drinkers, and hands down, the favorite of the reds was a Pinotage from South Africa. The Pinotage grape is a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Not sure which producers you'd have in your market, but suspect you enjoy trying Pinotage.

Also there seems to be a bunch of well-priced Spanish reds, often priced as low as $6.99 or $7.99 in our market, that are also just good, juicy, versatile wines. Probably blends with a lot of Garnarcha(Grenache) in them. Yummy stuff.

Do be adventurous and try new varietals. My advice is to find a store with a consultant you like and get that person to recommend a couple of bottles. Then go back with your comments and fine-tune your selections based on your palate. Good luck!

[PinotEnvy]

Crash,

On Pinot Noir, I have been a fan of the ones out of the Russian River Valley of California. Try Castle Rock or Kenwood.

To piggyback onto Inkeeper's suggestion of Shiraz/Cab blend, I thought the one by Wolf Blass was deliscious.

PE

[Drew]

Ezcrash, Milton Park Shiraz and Excelsior Cabernet (Australia and S. Africa) are both easy drinkers as well as the McManis line of Cab, Syrah and Merlot from California.

Drew

[EzCrash]

Yes ! Keep those "easy drinking" and "smooth" wine suggestions coming ! I'm creating a Word document with everyone's suggestions.

[wineguruchgo]

Hello EZ,

It may have been said already and my apologies if I missed it.

With the big wines you will probably find that you will like them a lot better if you let them breathe.

Pour the wine into the glass and try it. Then let it sit there for 1 hour and try it again. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

When a wine is sitting on a store shelf or in your home it doesn't like oxygen. Yet when you open it, it loves it!

I generally open the bottle before I'm making dinner so it will be ready by the time I'm ready to drink it.

[EzCrash]

Ahhhhh yes, I have heard about letting wine breathe. Usually, I open the bottle, pour and start drinking within 5 to 10 minutes. I guess 5 - 10 min is not nearly enough time. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/frown.gif[/img]

What would be the minimum amount of time to let a wine breathe before starting to consume it?

[winoweenie]

I normally let at least the last drop hit the glass 'afore taking a slurp! WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[hotwine]

That's another question that can't be answered in three words or less. Whites generally don't need more than a few minutes, although I've found that white Bordeaux benefit from up to an hour; simple reds, such as Beaujolais, are ready to go immediately; many Spanish reds, the same. In my experience, the more complex the wine (and generally the more expensive), the longer they need to be decanted. Although that generalization gets you into trouble, too, with 1st growth Bordeaux with long whiskers - they can't stand long decanting, whereas the same wine of recent vintage might need two hours. And Italian reds can get even more complicated. No quick and easy answers.

[EzCrash]

Whoh ! Now you went and got me all confused.

Let's say that for the most part my wife and I drink $12 - $16 bottles of Merlot, Pinot Noir, an occasional Cabernet and blends of all 3 ... would you say that on average, we should let the wine breathe for 1/2 hour to 1 hour or so before drinking ? Closer to 1 hour on the bolder Cabernets ?

[hotwine]

Let's see... (flipping a coin....)
Give 'em half an hour and drink up.