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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Chordie's Chat Corner → who know's wine?
My wife's doctor has told her several times to drink a glass of wine at nite to help her sleep. Neither of us know enough about wine to know whai's good and what's not. We know to stay away from a box and the bottles with a screw top but other tnan that we know nothing. Not looking for anything that goes with dertian meals just something to drink at bedtime. Any suggestions that don't cost a fortune?
nela
Do you have a cost plus world market near you? What's your target price point?
They have a nice house brand pinot noir that is like $7-$8 a bottle. It's called Foodies.
If you can afford to spend a bit more, for $9-11 a bottle you can get some nice whites (Starborough sauv blanc, Seaglass sauv blanc).
I prefer lighter wines that aren't too syrupy sweet. Not sure if that is palatable to you.
Well, the two things you know aren't actually things any more. With a world wide cork shortage for food grade cork, there are a fair number of wine brands using screw tops. Many also use either remanufactured cork or vinyl stoppers. So you can't tell too much about a wine from the kind of top. Also, while most box wines are so-so at best, the bladders used in them have been refined to a point that they don't put any taste in the wine, and they keep oxygen away from the wine so that it stays good longer after having been opened. Some better brands have started to use boxes. For example, Pinot Evil is a decent French Pinot Noir available in a 3L box. For your "glass a day" use, a box wine may be just the thing for you.
Now, as for recommendations, it all depends on what your wife likes. I like bold, fruity wines with very low to no residual sugar. For whites, that means I'm generally in favor of wines made in Washington state, especially the Columbia and Yakima valleys. Hogue and St. Micheal are reliable and affordable brands. If you like lighter wines like BGD, Sauvignon Blanc is a good varietal choice. If you like bold, fruit forward wines like I do, then Gewurtztraminer and Reisling are good varietals to try. If you don't know what you want, go with a California Chardonnay.
If your wife prefers red wines, then I still like big, bold, fruity wines with low to no residual sugars. The world opens up for reds, but the price goes up a bit too for modest reds. Though I've been having a competition with a friend for the past 20 years or so to find the best bottle of red wine under $10 (which has gotten much harder as inflation has taken its toll). A few have slipped over $10, but some of my favorites are Bully Hill's Love My Goat (which is actually sweeter than I usually like, but I like it anyway), Bolla's Bardolino or Valpollicelli, Cigar Box's Malbec, Little Truck's Big House Red, and because it's obligatory given our mutual hobby, Red Guitar (which uses Tempranillo (sp?) grapes). I am lucky to live in what is probably the U.S.'s best region for Cabernet Franc, but that starts to slide up to $20 or $25/bottle. I made Topdown taste a few Loudoun County Cabernet Francs when he visited over the summer and he decided that he did in fact like wine.
If you are going to only have a glass per day, do yourself a favor and go to a wine shop to get a Vac-u-vin stopper system. You can evacuate the air from the bottle and make the wine last longer. Or you can get a little bottle of nitrogen, and you squirt the nitrogen in the bottle before recorking it. Nitrogen is heavier than regular air and will settle on top of the wine and keep the oxygen away. Or so they say. I have never weighed Nitrogen or Air to know for sure.
Something that might be fun is to buy a few kinds of wine and have your friends over for a wine and cheese party. This will allow you to taste a few different kinds. Take some notes on which you like and what you like about them. Armed with that information, you can go to a wine shop, tell them what you like about wine, and how much you want to spend per bottle, and they'll set you up. Wine shops are not snooty - though that is often the impression. My favorite one delights in finding high value wines. He has everything from "you get it cold and you drink it" wines up to as much as you'd ever care to spend.
- Zurf
I need to stay a weekend next time I'm in DC and go tasting and jammin' with you.
I like fortisimo - red wine - mellow and has a nice little kick.
I do as Doc says and have a glass every night
I need to stay a weekend next time I'm in DC and go tasting and jammin' with you.
Yes you do.
Virginia also has a native grape, viognier, which is very popular in my county. Chambourcin and petit verdot are persnickety grapes that do well here in the Piedmont. Come on over, we'll take some acoustics and a picnic and have a big day.
I love me a nice Viognier
I love wine. There is a price/value break point at about $12 a bottle on the low end where wine gets really crappy, and about $40 a bottle on the high end where wine is less good than what you pay for it. I've had $700 bottles before. Tasted much like the $50 bottle.
Anyway, get a decanter, and learn to use it. They're beautiful, and they make a huge difference in the tastes of reds, particularly big bold reds like cabs and merlots.
Drink a lot of different varieties. You'll find something you like.
Nela you might check too see if there are any wine tasting rooms not too far away. That helps you find the kind you like. Cheap ones are not good $8 too $12 are ok,most people drink 8 to 12. and as Jerome says a decanter is great and helps the wine taste. We have a lot of wineries here and the wines are less expensive.
Baldguitardude wrote:I need to stay a weekend next time I'm in DC and go tasting and jammin' with you.
Yes you do.
I want in on this party. Just sayin'
Zurf wrote:Baldguitardude wrote:I need to stay a weekend next time I'm in DC and go tasting and jammin' with you.
Yes you do.
I want in on this party. Just sayin'
That would be a party!
Hmmm... the same guys that have a lot to say about coffee have a lot to say about wine. Me thinks we have some sophisticated palates here. I like Maxwell House Coffee, I don't like Folgers, I have no aversion to instant coffee. I lived off Starbucks for a week while staying in a hotel in LA since that's all that was available. I prefer dessert wines... SWEET and not too complicated.
Ice wine (German Eiswein) is a favorite, but super duper sweet, and tends to be pretty expensive. It can have complex flavors going on. It's generally considered more of a white, but can be pink and the longer it ages will often turn more red (and more expensive).
I also regularly enjoy Moscato, it generally has a peach taste to it. Different brands will be sweeter than others, the slightly drier brands (which are still sweet, but have a bit more depth of flavor) go well with meals, cheese, fruits, or chocolate... love me some Moscato and dark chocolate! Around here, Moscato is commonly referred to as "Mama Juice" because it's easy to sit and drink a bottle of it after a harrowing day with the kids (I didn't make that up, other friends with kids did). Moscato ranges in prices; the Barefoot Moscato is fine, and under $10/bottle. I've found the more expensive the Moscato, the drier (less sweet) and more complicated the flavors are.
Bully Hill is here in NY. They make wines ranging from super dry to super sweet and they make it easy to choose with a "sweet-o-meter" on the back of the bottle. 
They are twist caps, do make several of their wines available in a box, and are not expensive but are really great wines as our wine connoisseur, Zurf, has pointed out. "Sweet Walter Red" is my go to dessert wine from them, deep red at that. Don't be fooled by the sweetness, that concord grape is deep flavor. "Sweet Walter" comes in a blush (rose) and white as well. For a lighter sweet pink, Growers Blush is nice, sweet but not quite syrupy sweet. Less sweet (they call it a semi-dry, but I've seen really dry wines called semi-dry before too) is the "Love my Goat" that Zurf heads for and "Le Goat Blush". There's also a "Goat White". I'm not sure if you can get NY wines down there though??? If you can, there's probably a limited selection. You should be able to find the Goats and Walters though.
I have to point out that Bully Hill has cool labels... just saying. They're under $10/bottle.
Sweet Walter Red: 
Le Goat Blush 
Anyhow, sweet wines are something the wine lovers don't really go for I've noticed. Don't blast me guys... I'm complicated enough that my drink doesn't need to be (ha ha)! Most sweet wines have a lower alcohol content than average table wines. If your wife is not a wine drinker, she might enjoy something sweeter. I figured I'd give you a few ideas there. I do believe you should try a few out, from dry to sweet. Try white, blush, and reds. Figure out what you both like and don't like. My dad hates sweet wines, heads for the Pinot Grigio, but he'll sit and drink a glass of Frangelico. Go figure? He likes Folgers coffee. I should say, I HAVE tried different dry wines as well. They just aren't for me. I like cold and sweet and prefer wine after a meal not as a part of the meal.
I do like my coffee as I usually drink 6 to 8 cup every day. As for wine I don't know beans about it. Back in the day we did go through truckloads of Boone's Farm Apple and Strawberry Hill but that's a different story. We are totally country and think a good food pairing is cornbread and a cold glass of buttermilk. My wife and I are both diabetic so we are not looking to ?overload" on the stuff. My wife' doctor has told her that a glass of wine at bedtime won't hurt with the diabetis but will help her sleep at night so we both are gonna try it. Just dion't know what to try. Will try some of the suggestions and see what happens.
Nela
I do like my coffee as I usually drink 6 to 8 cup every day.
Sounds like a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, or Malbec kind of guy to me. Try a Malbec. Or maybe Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin. It's inexpensive and pretty darned tasty.
I can't do alcohol as a sleep aid, but there are some herbal sleep aids on the market that are said to be non-addictive. Most pharmacies carry natural sleep aids that can be purchased without a perscription.
I am a sucker for good wine bottle design. I started drinking Mollydooker and Orin Swift for that very reason.
The bottle for "Papillon" is as cool as they come, in my opinion...and it tastes excellent, as well. For the price it better.
I'm making me a list and as soon as I can get to town I'm a'gonna get me a bottle of something.
Nela
Yep, they know wine OK! Can't say I'm too surprised at that!
Amy - you're sweet enough already...
Cheers!
I am a sucker for good wine bottle design. I started drinking Mollydooker and Orin Swift for that very reason.
The bottle for "Papillon" is as cool as they come, in my opinion...and it tastes excellent, as well. For the price it better.
BGD that's really a cool bottle lable!
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