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Tuse · 03-18-2006, 06:26 PM,

I am looking for a wine that is not too strong, doesn't leave a bad after taste, and is not too sweet. Can anyone suggest a good wine.

robr · 03-18-2006, 06:39 PM,

Hi Tuse, and welcome to the board! If any wine leaves a bad after taste it's probably a very inexpensive "plonk", a term for cheap poorly made wine. If anything, you should really enjoy the after taste (it's called the finish). Most wines are not really sweet, but more dry. Are you looking for a red wine or a white wine?

A lot of beginning wine drinkers like white zinfandel, but it's pretty sweet. You might want to try either merlot or chardonnay. The more you spend, the wine tends to taste better. I would recommend looking for a wine from Robert Mondavi. They are nearly always good.

Tuse · 03-18-2006, 06:50 PM,

thanks for the suggestions.
Which wine is sweeter - red or white?

Innkeeper · 03-18-2006, 07:03 PM,

It is actually kind of hard to find a sweet red. If you get a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon Blanc, or a Pinot Grigio they will be dry. If you get a Riesling look for the word dry on the label.

For a easy to take red look for a Beaujolais Villages. Do not buy one with Nouveau on the label.

Tuse · 03-20-2006, 08:58 AM,

So, the red wines are less sweet than white? Can you suggest a sparkling wine that is not real sweet or strong?

wondersofwine · 03-20-2006, 09:29 AM,

As Innkeeper (IK) indicated, some white wines are dry (not sweet) such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay. It's just that you can find sweet white wines (some Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Vouvray, Moscati) where there are fewer sweet red wines. For a lighter bodied red wine you might try Beaujolais Villages (from the Gamay grape) or Merlot. For a white wine you might try German Riesling at the Kabinett level or a Sauvignon Blanc. I'll leave it to someone else to suggest a sparkling wine.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 03-20-2006).]

Innkeeper · 03-20-2006, 09:40 AM,

The best values in a sparkler IMHO are the Spanish Cavas. They are made in the Champagne method. For dry ones look for Brut. Some are even marked Ultra Brut, which is not an offical designation for a sparkler, but the Spanish effort to say "bone dry." Extra Dry in sparkler lingo means "slightly sweet."

wdonovan · 03-20-2006, 10:36 AM,

Tuse,
It would help a lot to have some reference as to where we're starting. Can you name a wine or two that you like and/or a wine or two that you don't like? Your qualifiers "not too strong", "bad after taste" and "not too sweet" are all relative. These aspects to one could be completely different to someone else.

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