Teach a fool all about wine

[Jon Miller]

there is stuff fcalled boonesberry varm wine and the like

it is crap wine even though it comes from bottles

Jon Miller

[Dinner]

I'd have to agree with Spiffor a Gewürztraminer is an excellent wine to cut your teeth on. I while back I had a Gewürztraminer from Germany’s Rohr valley that was just heavenly plus the taste is rather mild so you shouldn't be put off by it.

I think someone else suggested it but buy a wine for dumbies book and do as Spiffor says and go to a reputable wine dealer. If they are good and want to earn a repeat customer then he'll take the time to talk with you and figure out what sort of wines you might be interested in. If you are lucky enough to find a wine merchent who has similiar tastes as you then don't EVER let him go because you have just found proverbial gold.

[Sten Sture]

'the cellar' in the basement of the Alberta Hotel http://www.cellarwinestore.com/index.html has a first effort wine class for C$30 - that sounds like a winner.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sten Sture
Bin 905 in Calgary (found on the web) looks pretty good as a store - you can probably call them for info on where they recommend going for tastings to learn about different wines.

If you have a couple of friends that want to make it a regular thing, you can have tasting dinner parties where you try some different things - though I did that with some rugby guys and they brought some CRAP!!

That Bin 905 thing looks like it's quite the...professional wine store. I'm having flashbacks to a Frasier episode involving his wine tasting club.

That's probably something I'll keep in mind for when I'm older and have more disposable income, money is tight as college students so the wine tasting dinner parties will have to wait.

[Ted Striker]

What's the name of plum wine? That is the only wine that I think has tasted good. Most of it tastes like chalk.

pchang is the master of wine, is he still around?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sten Sture
'the cellar' in the basement of the Alberta Hotel http://www.cellarwinestore.com/index.html has a first effort wine class for C$30 - that sounds like a winner.

Hey, that's not bad!
Convenient location too.

[Sten Sture]

Agreed! I got caught up in the (bin 905) website.

[Ted Striker]

frisco

[Sten Sture]

LA = plum wine!

pchang is a big fan of French wines, and quite knowledgable - but I haven't seen him around for a while.

[Menlas]

Wow...impressive Spiffor

If you find that red wines have a too strong taste (that's my case), try pink wines, really (there are very honorable ones from Provence for example). What's more, they are not very expensive here (but they might be overpriced in the US )

[Ted Striker]

[Spiffor]

Menlas, I've just noticed this in your sig :

"yes the pope probably is a lefty. I'm not certain of that." - Dissident

It's a must for 'Poly quotes

[Menlas]

Couldn't resist

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Greek Resina (aged in unaged pine so it gets a slight pine tar flavor),

A slight pine tar flavour? That's like saying Bush is slightly conservative.

Resina is definitely an acquired taste. The first time I was served it, I thought holy sh!t, the waiter is trying to kill us. It tasted like someone dumped a load of turpentine in it.

But now I love it. A greek meal isn't good unless there's resina with it.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Spiffor
If you are an absolute beginner in wine, I'd advise you to start with sweet wines. Gewurtzraminer and Muscat de Rivesaltes are very sugary.

The Gewurztraminer from the Okanagan tends to be drier and spicier.

Asher: If you're in the Okanagan, head south of Penticton to Okanagan Falls and go to the Wild Goose winery. They make a fantastic Gewurztraminer. Nice and crisp, but like I said, very different from the European style (or at least I haven't found any European vintages that tasted like the Okanagan style).

Another tip is stay away from expensive wines. That way you never know what you're missing.