Wine...

KGold80

RebeccaB88 said:

Ok you guys will probably know this. I generally don't like chardonnay, because it tastes horribly bitter to me. Like, bitter like poison. So is that the dryness or the oak in it? Usually when I don't like a wine,cuts because it's just so bitter I can't stand to even smell it, let alone taste it. Pinot grigio is usually safe, but what else could I try? White zin just gives away how unsophisticated my palate is.

You might like Riesling. Maybe you should look for a wine tasting in your area so you can try different wines without investing in a whole bottle only to discover that you don't like it?

RebeccaB88

KGold80 said:

Ok you guys will probably know this. I generally don't like chardonnay, because it tastes horribly bitter to me. Like, bitter like poison. So is that the dryness or the oak in it? Usually when I don't like a wine,cuts because it's just so bitter I can't stand to even smell it, let alone taste it. Pinot grigio is usually safe, but what else could I try? White zin just gives away how unsophisticated my palate is.

You might like Riesling. Maybe you should look for a wine tasting in your area so you can try different wines without investing in a whole bottle only to discover that you don't like it?

= I've had Riesling that I really like, and I've had it that I couldn't drink. I can't explain why I don't like it enough to figure out what else to try. My palate is so bad that all I can call it is bitter. I think it's because I'm a supertaster and my palate gets overwhelmed so easily. I've had the same trouble at wine tastings because I can't explain why other than it tastes bitter and they don't know what to do with me. I'll love one thing but then not the next, when they're supposed to be similar.

cupcait927

@RebeccaB88‌ have you tried a stainless steel Chardonnay? Those have no oak and are much more fruit forward. A lot less bitter. Also, have you had any Sauvignon Blancs? They are very light and fruity without necessarily being sweet. New Zealand makes some great sauv Blancs.

artbyallie

RebeccaB88 said:

KGold80 said:

Ok you guys will probably know this. I generally don't like chardonnay, because it tastes horribly bitter to me. Like, bitter like poison. So is that the dryness or the oak in it? Usually when I don't like a wine,cuts because it's just so bitter I can't stand to even smell it, let alone taste it. Pinot grigio is usually safe, but what else could I try? White zin just gives away how unsophisticated my palate is.

You might like Riesling. Maybe you should look for a wine tasting in your area so you can try different wines without investing in a whole bottle only to discover that you don't like it?

= I've had Riesling that I really like, and I've had it that I couldn't drink. I can't explain why I don't like it enough to figure out what else to try. My palate is so bad that all I can call it is bitter. I think it's because I'm a supertaster and my palate gets overwhelmed so easily. I've had the same trouble at wine tastings because I can't explain why other than it tastes bitter and they don't know what to do with me. I'll love one thing but then not the next, when they're supposed to be similar.

If you like White Zin, you may like Moscato or perhaps a Muscadine and/or Scuppernong. I don't know how common the latter two varietals are outside of NC since I believe they're local to the coastal region here. Duplin makes a number of different ones and I know their wine is sold at least throughout the state and possibly farther.

Do you have issues with cocktails the same way? I have a friend who drinks very little and can mostly only handle very sweet and low-alcohol wines. Cocktails, etc. are just too strong to her tastebuds. For example, I had her try a very fruity mixed drink I was having and she said it was too much though I could barely taste the alcohol.

theartistformerlyknownas

RebeccaB88 said:

KGold80 said:

Ok you guys will probably know this. I generally don't like chardonnay, because it tastes horribly bitter to me. Like, bitter like poison. So is that the dryness or the oak in it? Usually when I don't like a wine,cuts because it's just so bitter I can't stand to even smell it, let alone taste it. Pinot grigio is usually safe, but what else could I try? White zin just gives away how unsophisticated my palate is.

You might like Riesling. Maybe you should look for a wine tasting in your area so you can try different wines without investing in a whole bottle only to discover that you don't like it?

= I've had Riesling that I really like, and I've had it that I couldn't drink. I can't explain why I don't like it enough to figure out what else to try. My palate is so bad that all I can call it is bitter. I think it's because I'm a supertaster and my palate gets overwhelmed so easily. I've had the same trouble at wine tastings because I can't explain why other than it tastes bitter and they don't know what to do with me. I'll love one thing but then not the next, when they're supposed to be similar.

If you want to step up slightly from white zin, look for white merlot. And definitely look into an unoaked chardonnay, that should be much less bitter.

climbingsingle

I'm a red wine gal. I honestly and truly love all red wines.
We also have the Diablo Malbec in our wine closet. So, so good.

wandajune6

My all time favorite is Sancerre. I'm also a total sucker for a Viognier. When in doubt, the Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc always makes me happy.

I'm only learning more bout reds recently.

LadyMillil

There is a store up the street called Everything Wine and that about sums it up for me Ice wine and sparkling wine are my absolute favourites, though.

Inkdancer

Scotch.

Riesling if there's no Scotch.

Chipmunk415

Moscato, red blends, and port. Chocolate ports can be fantastic if you get a good one

KytchynWitche

RebeccaB88 said:

Ok you guys will probably know this. I generally don't like chardonnay, because it tastes horribly bitter to me. Like, bitter like poison. So is that the dryness or the oak in it? Usually when I don't like a wine,cuts because it's just so bitter I can't stand to even smell it, let alone taste it. Pinot grigio is usually safe, but what else could I try? White zin just gives away how unsophisticated my palate is.

I'm going to say it's probably the oak, because I experience the same thing with heavily wooded wines. See if you can try an unwooded Char (the taste is quite different). 

And I wouldn't say your palate is necessarily unsophisticated. I used to work at a wine magazine, and one of our biggest issues was that we were trying to move away from the "snootiness" of the wine industry, away from the "dry is good, sweet is bad", "hints of pencil shavings and forest floor", "young wines are for the unsophisticated", "reds with reds, white with whites" kind of elitist BS. You like what you like, and there's nothing wrong with that. You shouldn't ever have to defend your taste in wine (or music, or clothing, or anything else) or feel ashamed or unsophisticated because of it.

That said, if you like sweet wines, the Casillero del Diablo Gewurtztraminer is really nice. Very fruity. The local brand rep calls it "litchi juice", and it does have quite a litchi-like taste. I don't know if you can get Painted Wolf where you are (it's an SA brand, but we battle to get it here, so it may be export) but their "Penny" Viognier is also good. Not as sweet as the CdD Gewurtz, but also nicely fruity, with a hint of spice.

KGold80 said:

Sauv Blanc or Chenin for me. I like most white wines though, except Chardonnay (too wooded for my tastes). I'm not much of a red drinker, but I like a good Bordeaux every now and then. Also Merlot. 

FI is hooked on a Malbec from Casillero del Diablo that we battle to get. In SA, Malbec is primarily used as a blending grape, so we don't get many single varietal Malbecs, which makes FI very sad.

I've had that Malbec! It is pretty good! have you tried layer cake? Their Shiraz is yummy too.

I've never even heard of layer cake. I really don't know very much about non-SA wines, but I'll definitely look into it. I can't remember whether Shiraz is one of FI's loves or hates...

ejpentecost

I like Spanish and Italian reds, mostly tempranillos and chiantis. But as long as it's red, I'll probably drink it. I even drink Pennsylvania wines and they are so not good.

gladyscf

My favorite right at this moment is Tisdale Sweet Red. It's even really cheap! 

Otherwise I love Moscato, Riesling, White Zin, some Pino Grigio. 

A lot of the reds are pretty bitter to me yet but I've been told that the more you drink, the wider your palate becomes. And of course I don't care if that was bad advice or not. It sounds GREAT to me!!

cupcait927

mrsstatic2b said:

My favorite right at this moment is Tisdale Sweet Red. It's even really cheap! 

Otherwise I love Moscato, Riesling, White Zin, some Pino Grigio. 

A lot of the reds are pretty bitter to me yet but I've been told that the more you drink, the wider your palate becomes. And of course I don't care if that was bad advice or not. It sounds GREAT to me!!

I can vouch for this! FI and I live in a popular wine region so for our third date, he took me wine tasting. I'd only been once before for a large birthday celebration so the focus that time wasn't so much on tasting as it was on getting drunk. I didn't want to touch any red in the beginning because it tasted awful or smelled awful. 2 years later and I'm a red wine lover. We're lucky enough to be able to go wine tasting every couple of months and it definitely has developed my palate and refine my tastes. It's completely okay to try red and not like it but we get frustrated when we're out tasting and there's people who will refuse to try anything but one type of wine. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of going on a wine tasting trip.

gladyscf

@ckel24 I'm really glad you validated that and didn't tell me it was wrong.

I would have cried and not believed you. I REALLY wanted this to be true!!

artbyallie

lilybet13 said:

artbyallie said:

I had Leibfraumilch tonight. I mostly prefer sweet to slightly dry whites. Reisling, Gewurtztraminer (anything German, apparently), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Scuppernong. Or the few sweet reds around like Muscadine.

@artbyallie, do you have any recommendations on German wineries? I haven't found much with the local stuff that I've tried and have been instead drinking mostly Italian and Spanish wines.

@lilybet13, sadly the only winery I've been to that made any German-style wines has closed, and it was owned by one of my mom's relatives. He made a delicious ice wine.

Are you near any shops that sell a large variety of wines? There are several Total Wine stores I know of, and my local go-to is called Hops and Grapes. I've also found some good ones at fancier grocery stores like Fresh Market.

Aside from the open bottle of Leibfraumilch, which is Johannes Egberts, my current wine stock consists of three different bottles of Moscato of various types, so unfortunately I have no other recs right now.

cupcait927

mrsstatic2b said:

@ckel24 I'm really glad you validated that and didn't tell me it was wrong.

I would have cried and not believed you. I REALLY wanted this to be true!!

It's true! So go and drink ALL the wine!

KGold80

@mrsstatic2b - that was my experience as well. I would drink only sweet wines at first, but I tried different things and now I don't care for sweet wines at all. I'm a bold red girl now.

SmileDamnit

KGold80 said:

@mrsstatic2b - that was my experience as well. I would drink only sweet wines at first, but I tried different things and now I don't care for sweet wines at all. I'm a bold red girl now.

I'm so with you on this! I would only drink Riesling for the longest time, and now that my palate has expanded, I don't like the sweet stuff at all. Big, bold reds all the way!!