What's the Best Choice of Wine?

My suggestion would be to go to one of the local wine shops around and have them choose a couple of bottles for you. All of them have you computerized so that you can let them know what you like and don't like to use as reference when you return. I don't know where you live, but there's the Chapel Hill Wine Co. and Hillsborough Wine Co. Durham has one in Sutton Station on Fayetteville, one on Univ. Drive across the street from Nana's and the Q-Shack, and a new one in Woodcroft Shopping Ctr. Total Wine in Patterson Place is a national chain, so I don't go there. If you live in Wake Co., I'm sure they have plenty of local shops as well. Good luck!

I like Reisling. It is a white, sweet wine. Not dry. I like sweet wine b/c I am getting more used to drinking it. Try Fetzer Reisling or Relax Reisling, love it!

When we were on our honeymoon we lucked out one day at the Biltmore with a red reserve.....but for the life of me I can't remember what year it was and I'm beginning to believe it's a year you can only buy it at the Estate. It was perfect for both my husband and myself....and he tends to like sweeter things like a Riesling and I prefer dry Merlots... Also, check out professional recommendations. We had a Roederer on a recommendation (same estate as Cristal) and had we let it age appropriately, it would have been pretty good for only $25. We just got too curious....You can go online and find all sorts of wine clubs and professional lists: Williams sonoma even has one....the Today show puts out inexpensive ($25 and under) recommendations... Gotta watch the wine clubs tho. You pay can easily pay like $60/bottle for something that costs $8-$20. Good news if you find something you like and don't want to do the work yourself. But obviously you're paying for someone else's taste, adventure, and olfactory skills...

Funny. There are people out there who I sweear will drink anything when I taste what they drink.....and I'm incredibly picky also. yay!

Also, have you considered that maybe wine isn't ur thing? There are alot of GREAT beers and microbrews out there, along with some very keen top shelf liquors. Woodford Reserve, for instance, is incredible - in very small doses (for me). You do have to watch out tho. There seem to be a significantly higher amount of alcohol sugar in such things...goes to ur hips and belly instead of ur head.

Good luck!

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay

Yellow Tail from Australia are consistently good

For reds, a good Merlot, I can not think of a vineyard off hand. I think I used to get Forest Glenn, but I just can't remember.

Talk to you wine merchant, a really good one can listen to your likes & pair you with a good wine in your budget. I have had good luck at The Wine Source

I've recently been introduced to a sweet red wine made in Italy. It's called Lambrusco. It may be served room temperature OR chilled. I prefer it chilled.

Also, you may want to try Mirassou. It's on the lighter side of the red family. Many white wine drinkers tend to go for this wine when branching out to reds.

Whew! You're gonna have a lot of tasting to do if you try all the suggested wines, eh? LOL (I don't drink, but enjoyed reading your post).

Try Kendall Jackson Chardonnay - real smooth not too acidic/oakey for a white and not too expensive, and Yellow Tail Merlot for a nice but inexpensive red. Both are big hits with my ladies groups and are readily available.

If you like white wines try a Riesling. It is very drinkable. If that is too sweet try a Sauvignon Blanc maybe. Some Chardonnays can be very oaky and alot of people aren't crazy about that. As far as red wines go -- you can't go wrong with Pinot Noir. It is very easy to drink and a good red to start with. As you start to enjoy these you may want to branch out and try Shiraz another easy drinking red.

I like red wines best. I like Black Swan's Shiraz. Rosemont's is also very good. Blackstone makes a great Pinot Noire. And i recently discovered a wine that blends 3 types of red wine called Menage a' Trois http://www.folieadeux.com/mat/red.html that is very good. I think you'll have good experiences with:
Black Swan
Rosemont
Blackstone
brands.

I love a good glass of wine.

Have you tried the Menage a Trois red? It's a red table wine. Also Blackstone Merlot is very smooth. They both run in the $9-$11 range.

Well it all depends on the type that you prefer, if you like a sweeter wine, I would suggest a Moscato, and Sutter Home has a White Merlot that is on the sweeter side and it's more like a Rose wine. Riesling, Gwerztraminer and Pinot Grigio are my top white wine picks, for red wine I like Pinot Noir and you might try a Port wine for the red if you like sweet, but they are usually much higher in Alcohol content. Hope that helps but don't know what your prefrence is either.

I also love a good glass of wine - I found 2 I like: Twisted River in a Reisling and another is an Amish wine made in Ohio called Breintibach this is my favorite!
Hope that can help!
D.

Menage a Trois is a great red wine. It is sold at Sam's at a very reasonable price. Even my husband likes it, whom use to only drink pink wine from a box! Also, Greg Norman wines are delicious, just a slightly more pricey.

Without a little more info on what your type is, it's hard to give a good suggestion. I would have to echo what others have said about going to a wine store and getting suggestions from them. Also, try going to a wine bar. They usually have a tasting menu where you can try 3-4 wines for about the price of a whole glass. Take note of what they serve you and what you like and don't like. When it comes to red wines, I think most people fail to let them breathe, which makes a huge difference. I can guarantee you the first glass of red you drink straight from a bottle will have a different taste than than the 3rd or 4th glass because that 3rd or 4th glass will have had time to breathe and take on its true flavor. With whites, most people drink them too cold and you won't get the true flavor the either. Me personally, I like a very strong, full-bodied wine. I don't care for most whites because I think they are boring. I like the Cline Zinfandel or the Alexander Valley Sin Zin or the Greg Norman Paso Robles Pinot Noir.

My absolute favorite wine is Duplin wine from Duplin county NC. It is delicious and they have a ton of different varieties--ALL GREAT! I live in CT and every year when we go the outer banks on vacation I have to come back with a case of it for myself and I've gotten all my friends hooked as well. I don't know where you are located or if it is sold near you but they do ship also...I promise you will love it- I can't say good enough things! It super cheap too 7-15 dollars a bottle. You will not be disappointed!

Have you tried wines from Biltmore Estate? Or from Duplin Winery?

Have you tried a riesling? They are usually a little sweeter. I prefer the german rieslings myself. Give that a try if you haven't already. Also there is a great mix of white wines, its a South African wine called Bluburg (sp) its at wine stores, but not to pricy, thats something else you could try.

Hey, M.-

Some liquor stores and even a few grocery stores with wine departments have wine tasting events. Some are free and others charge a small fee ($10-15), but when they do, they usually serve appetisers also. Sounds like you may want to check your local area and see where they might have an event like this. Personally, I find it hard to chose wine based on the recommendation of friends since it seems like we all like so many different things!

Bottoms up!