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cantcook

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jus' down da bayou cher!!
I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to wine, although I used to drink quite a bit LOL. I used to like just about any wine, even a warm glass of merlot. Now I just can't stand any wine that doesn't have at least a hint of sweetness. Any sweet wines that you can recommend? I like chianti and reisling.
 
Sorry, I cannot stand sweet wines. I only know a little about wine in general, but I'm pretty sure the German white wines, including the one Han recommended, are usually pretty sweet.
 
Mad Dog 20/20
Boones Hill or was it Boones Farm or something like that
Manashevitz

Of course these are all horribly disgusting IMO and hardly can be called wines, but they sure are sweet :-p
 
Actually screw tops are becoming more and more prevalent in quality wines. At one time it was possible to look at a wine, see a screw top, and know it was trash, but no longer. Now you can find excellent wines that have switched from cork to screw tops.

I know what you are saying though cantcook :) I was just acting a little silly when I posted those others :mrgreen:
 
The Gewürztraminer was a good recommendation. Here's a list of more to try. They have some sweetness to them but not like a muscadine or an ice wine.

Zeller Swartz Katz
May wine (do they still make May wine in the clay bottle?) Piesporter Michelsberg Auslese (can be a Reisling also)
Liebfraumilch
Blue Nun (I think they still make this, not sure)

There are some German white wines in a cobalt blue bottle that will fall into this category also.
 
For personal preference, Rieslings are one of the most food friendly white wines, although it can get a bad reputation because some consider it too sweet. The late harvest rieslings are super sweet and are mainly used as dessert or after dinner wines, so stay away from those if you're looking for a wine to drink with appetizers, entrees, etc. Some good rieslings that I would recommend are:

Elk Cove, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica (not Johannisberg), Columbia Valley, Washington
Frankland Estate, Australia

Another white wine that you might enjoy is a Viogner.
 
Lots of Reislings are dry, though, so ask someone at the place where you buy it for a recommendation.

"Kabinett" (sp -- i took many years of German but forgot most of it) on the label means dry.

What about a white zin? Those pinky wines -- they are way too sweet for me.
 
ironchef said:
Some good rieslings that I would recommend are:

Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica (not Johannisberg), Columbia Valley, Washington

Interesting, ironchef. The Jo-berg Reisling from the Chateau is about the only white I enjoy, in particular because it isn't sweet. I will try to find the Eroica next time.
 
mudbug said:
Interesting, ironchef. The Jo-berg Reisling from the Chateau is about the only white I enjoy, in particular because it isn't sweet. I will try to find the Eroica next time.

I like the Eroica because it has a lot more depth in flavor. But the Johannisberg is not a bad bottle either. You can pick it up at most place for $9-12 which is a really good deal. I think you'll like the Eroica. It goes very well with most Asian foods and lighter, citrus based Mediterranean foods.
 
How long can you store wine upright before the corks dry out and kill the wine? I've had two bottles of red wine in a row that tasted very, very wrong in a similar way. There was just a nasty taste to them. Different brands, too. And I've had both before so I know I like them.

Any thoughts? They were stored upright for maybe 2 months.
 
Ekim said:
How long can you store wine upright before the corks dry out and kill the wine? I've had two bottles of red wine in a row that tasted very, very wrong in a similar way. There was just a nasty taste to them. Different brands, too. And I've had both before so I know I like them.

Any thoughts? They were stored upright for maybe 2 months.

2 months??? Sounds like you need to drink more wine...:mrgreen:
 
Ekim said:
How long can you store wine upright before the corks dry out and kill the wine? I've had two bottles of red wine in a row that tasted very, very wrong in a similar way. There was just a nasty taste to them. Different brands, too. And I've had both before so I know I like them.

Any thoughts? They were stored upright for maybe 2 months.

Sounds likely that both of the bottles may have been 'corked'. Did they have natural corks in them?

It's estimated that up to 10% of all corks have a type of mold in them that can spoil the wine, giving it a flat, often musty taste. Usually, there is no outward sign of a problem.

2 months shouldn't be a problem at all. For most wines, as long as you avoid temperature extremes, you can store it pretty much anywhere if you plan on drinking it in the next year.

John
Beer Geek
Wine Snob
Maniacal Brewer
 
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