Getting my feet wet

[Markus]

I'm a young student here at the University of Calgary and am interested in expanding my little knowledge of wines. After reading about how healthy one glass of wine per day is, and considering my personal views that people that drink and know thier wines are really sophisticated, i'v decided to give wine a try. However, my knowledge is very limited in this area. What are some suggestions for wines (reds in particular, but some whites as well), while considering my student budget? I'm more interested in just socially drinking in the evenings with my roomates or girlfriend...I dont know if that will affect the types of wine you would suggest.

Cheers,
Mark

[hotwine]

Welcome to the board, Mark, and to the wonderful world of wine.

Not knowing what wines might be available in Calgary, or what your tastes are, suggest you look down the board at the other threads and read them all. Pay particular attention to those posts that include tasting notes on particular wines; when you find one that seems interesting from the writer's description of the wine, jot down its producer, vintage, etc. so you can look for it in your area. The prices we list are in US dollars, so you'll need to adjust those for Canadian dollars. The best advice we can give is to read, taste, read some more, and taste some more, and take notes. It's a fun trip.

[Innkeeper]

You might want to check this event out: http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/spawn.php?qv=1&fn=1&tid=54369

[wondersofwine]

Suggest you don't drink on an empty stomach. You can try Chianti or Zinfandel or Barbera with pizza or Beaujolais with burgers,etc. Try Gewurztraminer or a German Riesling Kabinett with Chinese chicken dishes or sweet and sour pork.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 10-03-2004).]

[GreatGrapes51]

Markus,

In terms of wines, my advice is to stay away from box wine, or anything that comes in a bottle bigger than 1.5L. Too much of it is poor quality plonk.

For specific recommendations, I'm not sure what is available in Canada, but in the States you get consistent quality at a reasonable price from the big Washington State wineries, like Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue and Columbia Crest. California also has some good brands like Mondovi, Fetzer and Kendall-Jackson. With all these wines, you are generally going to get good quality, regardless of the year or grape type, and their entry level wines start around $10.00 per bottle.

You could also try some Cava from Spain. It's a nice sparkling wine that is surprisingly inexpensive.

For building your knowledge about wines, an excellent book is "Great Wine Made Simple," by Andrea Immer. She is a big fan of using wine tastings as a tool to learn about wine. I think it's a great idea, and if you can get your friends to split the cost it is an economical way try many different wines.