Wine Suggestions

If you don't like wine so much, stick with the soda and be the designated driver.

I will give a wine HINT, anyone who always drinks Arbor Mist or blush is NOT a connosiour of fine wine.

Blessings....

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Try a Mascato or a White Zinfadel (sp)?

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Sutter Home or Barefoot Mascato

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As a supertaster I can get ALL over wine.

As a college student / SAHM I cannot afford to :( :( :( (No Petrus for me! sniff)

So I went on a $10 mission a few years ago. I cannot, cannot, cannot drink certain varietals (bordeaux & merlot amongst them) in the $10-15 range (have a hard time in the $50 range). Certain wines need age and oak, and they need it bad. But I've gone on a grand adventure in the 'affordable' range. Chocolaty South African wines, Spicy shiraz, Mineraly South American, alexander river zins that don't bite you back, luscious pinots from the alexender river, bacony cabs (all cabs have a bacon taste to me, it's the kind of wood they're barreled in)... yeah... fun times IF you like wine and don't need to choose between a car and a bottle. Huh... that came out wrong. You know what I mean, I'm not dropping 8k on a bottle of wine. ANYHOW.

If you want to stick with WINE (I'm going to suggest you don't) try a dry Riesling and make sure is a recommended wine (from a wine shop or section that has a sommelier, they'll point you to a decent one). Black Cat region of germany has some great ones. DO NOT get a sweet Riesling. Ugh. You'll hate it. DRY Rieslings *are* sweet, Sweet Rieslings are like drinking perfume swirled with sugar (and are a very acquired taste). Another option for a "sweet" wine that won't make you gag is Gewurztraminer. Again, ask the sommelier for a good dry one. ((Never ever ever get a sweet "sweet wine" or you'll regret it. As I said, they are as acquired a taste, often as acquired as stinky cheese. Arbor Mist isn't sweet at ALL compared to sweet "sweet wines".)) Pinot Grigio is another fairly sweet white (sweeter than chardonnay).

INSTEAD of wine, I'm going to suggest you go for bubbles or sake.

Champagnes & Sparkling Wines (like "California Sparkling Wine" or Prosecco... Italian) are what Arbor Mist tries to imitate. The same way gas station colognes try to imitate Polo, or Sunflowers. They're great, until you try the real thing. Subtle differences that wow. Go for "pink". Pink champagnes (and sparkling wines) are made with pinot noir grapes (which are red), as opposed to white champagnes (and sparkling wines) made from green grapes. There is a HUGE variety in champagne and sparkling wine. Most basically, the higher the price, the smaller the bubbles (not always true, but generally true). You can get a $10-20 bottle of champagne (or s.w.) that isn't the headache inducing, tongue curling, "eeew" very easily... you just need to ask for a "good one" in whatever range and the sommelier will light up and show you two or three bottles (usually not any name you'll recognize).

Sake also has a huge range. Children are often given "cloudy sake" (rarely called that in the US, here in the states it's more often called 'unfiltered' but if you want to impress a japanese person behind a sake bar, call it by it's "real" name, which is cloudy sake, their eyes will light up) because it's a GREAT deal sweeter than clear sake (which can sometimes taste like paint thinner). Cloudy sake is most often served ice cold (except in winter in northern japan, where it's served warm), unlike clear sake which is served warmed or at room temp. Sakes are nearly as varied as wines made from grapes, although they can be hard to find. Even the very best of them come in small bottles, so it's easy to experiment. If you have a sake bar nearby, hit it up. Unlike wine bars, you aren't paying for the whole bottle when you buy a glass, so they are a GREAT way to experiment. Just make sure to tell the bartender that you want little cups so you CAN experiment. Cloudy sake is often served in huge mugs (as opposed to thimble sized cups for clear sake) so you don't want to be knocked on your bum in order to taste around.

SOMMELIER SOMMELIER SOMMELIER

I can't say it enough. Sommeliers love wine. The also love people who experimenting with wine (I've yet to meet a snobby sommelier, and I've known dozens). Wines are fun, and sommeliers drink them all (the good and the bad). They also know all the different "profiles". When shopping with my sister she gets *entirely* different kinds of wines than I do, and the sommelier directs us to those totally different bottles. Your DH may like certain kinds of wine you NEVER will, and vice versa, or you may find wines you both like. If you have a local shop, you can make great friends on your own adventures. I've known 4 local ones now for YEARS. And I started off with "Something Red, I hate merlot". Now I'm "I'm feeling like South African tonight," or "something aged in oak, with great vanillin", or "I want lavender on the exhale" or "Has the Stags Leap Merlot come in? I'm treating myself!" .

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Try a reisling, or a late harvest reisling, they are both going to have a crisp fruity, sweet flavor. You will probably like them, and after a while, you may find others you like. Try asking you waiter for suggestions, and tell them what you like in a wine. They want to find one you will like.

M.

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I'm not a Merlot drinker either, I prefer a sweeter wine. Try a Sangria or Zinfindel if you want to go red. If you want to find a good white wine that isn't too strong, try a German reisling or a sweet dessert wine such as a Gerwerstemeiner or Muscat. Sorry if my spelling if off. Once you find something you love then go with it. My favorites probably will not be yours and that is what your husband should be learning. Go to some wine tastings and see what types appeal to you.

I've tried TONS, and found that Reislings are my favorite. My ABSOLUTE favorite while a "cheap" brand is great, Barefoot. Around $7 a bottle. But it's right in the middle not too, sweet not too dry. I also like Mirassou which runs about $12-14.
There are some decent Chabli's as well, and chardonnays. But Chardonnay definately tends to be on the "dryer" side. I would recommend Barefoots Chardonnay as well.
Have fun trying out new flavors!

I hate almost all booze, especially wine- yuck! but ice wine is a delicious treat if you find it. expensive because its when grapes freeze that their harvested, and it can only be done over a very short limited time, but wow, I loved a small glass of that stuff...... or try wine spritzers, mix a mellow white with some sprite or 7 up, if you do a jug, toss in some sliced peaches or other fresh fruit. let it sit awhile before you drink it. Some of us just dont enjoy the taste of booze! (better than being a lush, LOL)

Drive up to one of the wineries in North East and sample what they have. I know that Presque Isle and Mazza have tasting rooms, but I'm guessing the others do too - call ahead to check their hours. Depending on which Arbor Mist varieties you like, you may prefer a sparkling wine or even some fruit other than grape (e.g. cherrry or blueberry). Just make sure that your husband understands that the two of you may not like the same things and that's OK ;)

I think the suggestions to try rieslings and other German-style whites are right on. Later you might try a sweeter rose (note that these can also be dry) which really is different than what restaurants call "blush."

When and if you do decide to "go red," I would recommend French-style pinot. There are a lot of great ones from Willamette Valley in Oregon. Italian wines from the south also tend to be lighter in alcohol and easier on the palate--for me anyway. From your post I gather that you enjoy wine more with food, so make it part of a meal or with appetizers. Don't feel like you have to force it down like a cocktail if it's not your thing!

Above all, drink what you like, and make no apologies for your personal taste. Spending your money on your glass or bottle of wine entitles you to pick what you like, and enjoy it without comments from others (note: I am not referring to your husband or other posters here...I am referring to those I like to call the Wine Nazis, who love to tell the rest of us what we should be drinking ; ) Let us know what you find out please b/c I love to try new stuff!

Try Stella Rosa. I'm not much on wine. To be honest I'm not much on alcohol. I would much rather have coffee or an iced tea. Stella Rosa is sweat, but not syrupy. It doesn't have a lot of alcohol in it. I doubt it would be considered a "fine" wine, but I like it. It's a step up from Arbor Mist though.

I don't have any suggestions on what to try but I would like to suggest visiting a local wine bar or two and trying their wine flights. Flights are basically samples of different wines. You don't get a full glass but its more than a shot size. I can tell you its alot cheaper than buying a bottle at a time.

If the wine bar is good, it will have different flights (red, white, blush, red dry, red sweet, white dry, etc) you can chose from and the server should be able to tell you about each one. For example, if you are in the mood for red dry, they will have 8 red dry wines to chose from where you get 3-4 samples in a flight. Most of the time a flight might run anywhere between $8-12.

Also, the local wine shop near me has a website where you can click on the kinds of wines you like, as well as taste, smell, color, aroma, etc and it will automatically pull up suggestions.

My favorite wine is Ferrari-Carano Sienna. It is a thick deep oaky red, not dry, and has a coffee/chocolatey/carmel smell and taste to it, which goes perfect w/a heavy meal like steak, potatoes and a cheesecake! It is on the high price end - $28 BUT Humberto Canale's Malbec is a great substitute @ $12/bottle. For cheap wine, I love Lambrusco, which you should find near the Arbor Mist. Its red, sparkly, sweet but not too sweet and goes great w/Italian food. hth

Hi, V.
Let your husband enjoy himself.
Drink water.
Your taste is different from his.
Just a thought.
D.

I can't do Merlot either!!

If you want a nicer, smoother, wine- try Yellowtail Shiraz. It is red but not as bitter as a Merlot. A Cabernet Sauvignon or a Syrah can also be better than Merlot. I think Merlots as the most bitter of them all!

Bogle has an awesome selection of red wine. I would definitely try them or Yellowtail and see if you like them!

Penn Shore has a pink catawba (sp?) that is fantastic. def go to one of the local wine tastings around here (the convention center just had one a couple weeks ago) or go to North East and do some wine tasting. I also have a book that's wine for dummies :) it's a great book to help you determine what your tastes are before you even try anything! like if you know you don't like dry wines, then you won't like x, y and z types so don't even try them. Also, i highly recommend keeping a wine journal and writing down what you bought/tried and if you liked it or not. Eventually after all that tasting you'll forget what you hated and will end up trying it again! haha

Sounds like you are a beginner and like the sweet stuff. I was the same way but yet my husband was much more experienced and like the better wines. You can try starting with a blush and either make Sangria with it, you add fruits squeezed or you can buy the mix. You can also make a spritzer which just adds sprite/7 up to the wine. Once I got to where the blush/pink wine was too sweet, I moved on to Reisling. It is a sweet white/chardonnay. I really liked that, Relax was my favorite brand. From there I made Sangria with red wine and eventually made myself sip red wine and now...less than a year later, I love merlot and cabernet and the others are too sweet! I would suggest going to a good wine store and asking the person to help you find what you might like. Tell them that you are a beginner and what you DO like and ask them to show you something that is similar. Tell your husband not to get irritated, it is more for him! My husband would get me what I like and get what he liked, he never expected me to like his.

I suggest you go to a local wine store and describe what you like and don't like to the clerk. He/she can make a recommendation. Also, be sure to indicate your price range. There are lots of good wines available for under $16 a bottle.

You may want to attend a wine tasting.

I like Reislings. They're on a sweeter side, don't have that woody taste.

You may also want to purchase "Wine for Dummies" book.

Here are some names I like..
Rodney Strong makes a good Chardonnay/Pinot Grigio
also, Groth and Navarro Wineries..
when it comes to red wine, If you don't like a dry red wine , sometimes a wine with a Sangiovese blend is good.. it's a good starting point that is..

best of luck