Teach a fool all about wine

[Asher]

I know absolutely nothing about it other than older == better.

What's the difference between white and red wines, aside from the color tones?

What kind of food goes well with what?

Is the wine from Napa Valley really that good or is it just conveniently close and rather cheap?

Anything else, I really don't know anything.

Thanks!

[Jon Miller]

there is good wine form places like new zealan, france, and california

red goes well with pasta (or maybe it is just some pastas)

a newer wine can be better than an older one

you can get good wine for ~$15 per bottle (cali mostly, there is a lot of good french stuff but it is more expensive)

it is one of the alcohols I have not tried, so no clue as to the taste

Jon Miller

[The Mad Monk]

Older does not mean better, by any means. A wine crafted to be consumed young can end up much worse consumed years later.

Wine For Dummies is actually a good introduction.

[Asher]

I've had it before quite a few times, and I like the taste as for as alcohol goes, I just don't know anything about it. I drink what's given to me.

[Asher]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
Older does not mean better, by any means. A wine crafted to be consumed young can end up much worse consumed years later.

Wine For Dummies is actually a good introduction.

Older doesn't mean better? Hmm. Isn't it generally the case, though, that older wine is better?

[SpencerH]

Go to a wine bar. Taste a variety of wines. Buy what tastes good to you. Drink it with what you like. **** the wine-snobs.

EDIT: Go the the Okanagan its filled with lots of excellent small wineries (mostly white wines)and taste it up (dont drive).

[Ming]

Last great year for California wines... 1999... 98 was excellent as well, with 97 close behind. 96 sucked

2000 to currrent day are all average at best.

[Asher]

What's merlot, and all those other weird names I can't remember?

[BeBMan]

Re: Teach a fool all about wine

Originally posted by Asher
What's the difference between white and red whines, aside from the color tones?

Usually red wine´s best at room temperature, white wine ´s best when relatively cool. However, the real experts have complicated tables for the best temperatur of every especific wine....

[The Mad Monk]

The names may refer to the type of grape the wine is made from (or majorly made from, blends are common), or the region, or both.

[DRoseDARs]

If it comes in a box INSTEAD of a bottle...avoid like the plague.

So I've heard.

Rob from the Rob, Arnie, and Dawn Show (radio in Sacramento and Reno) is a wine conisuer (sp?) and at least once a year they'll do a good portion of the show just on wines towards the end of that day's airing. He bloody HATES boxed wines. Says they taste like sh*t.

[The Mad Monk]

Red wines incorporate the skins into the wine making process, so they have a higher level of tannins and other compounds. These wines can be very astringent when first opened, and should be decanted and allowed to 'breathe' for a time before serving (this varies form wine to wine and vintage to vintage).

[BeBMan]

http://www.sbwines.com/usenet_winefaq/tableofcontents.html

This may help you.

[Dinner]

Re: Teach a fool all about wine

Originally posted by Asher
I know absolutely nothing about it other than older == better.

This is entirely wrong. Certain types of European grape varitiles (primarially from France but some Italian & Spanish as well) produce excess tanins and other compound which taste bitter. Over time, with the proper storage temperatures, these bitter compounds can break down into daughter compounds which really do add alot of flavor and complexity to the wine but if you let it age to much then you will miss the window of peak drinkability for the wine as the daughter particles break down to third generation particles and so on.

Starting in the 1960s Vitners in California had a rather revolutionary idea which shock up the world of wine. Why not cross breed grape varitiles which already have the desirable daughter compounds in them and which have fewer of the bitter, bad tasting, compounds? Thus was born the "fruit forward" approach to wine making where wines are made to have their peak drinkability occur 1-4 years after they are made unstead of the much longer celloring period required for many European wines.

The approach has been a success and wine makers from Latine American and Australia/New Zealand have copied to great commercial success.

[Sten Sture]

Spencer - they have wine bars in B'ham???

(I actually might be moving your direction)


There are good wines and bad wines from every area and with every grape. Take your time to learn a little, it is a pretty complex area, but a little bit of general knowledge is plenty. Trying to remember how good specific labels are in different years is a waste of time.

Wines in Europe are generally labeled by the Region that they come from; wines in the US etc are frequently labeled by the grape used to make the wine.

For that reason I would start with learning what the different major grapes taste like. Spencer's rec to go to a wine bar and taste a bunch of different things is a good one. I would only do three or four different things at a time...

Some Common Reds: Pinot Noir, Zinfindel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet. Those are ascending based on their general 'weight' - in beers think Amber to Guinness Stout. Drink slightly cool to room temp.

Some Common Whites: Pinot Grigio, Sauvenion Blanc, Chardonnay. Again ascending by weight. Drink cold to chilled.