Posted by slowgraffiti220 on 2005-04-21 16:03:31
Post Subject:
maybe you could look around to wine shops in your area to see if any have tastings? it's hard to recommend a wine to people because aside from simple type preferences there are so many variants, from country, region, aging method, etc.. that make a difference. what one person likes about chardonnay, for instance, may not be what another person likes and so, yeah, it'd be hard to predict from just knowing that.
if you like champagnes and fruit wines, as you say, you are probably a woman after my own heart and i would recommend going for sweet things, like reisling or gewürztraminer. i just had an excellent gewürztraminer (like, half an hour ago, actually...with some strawberries...yuuummmm) by robertson vineyards from south africa. there is a reisling that i've been hearing wonders about, but i can't remember the name at the moment...we're going to be buying a bottle of it on saturday, so i can tell you then, if you'd like (and if it's as super good as everyone says).
whites from california tend to be very, very fruity, usually to the detriment of their complexity. francis ford coppola's chardonnay is actually pretty damn good for $15 a bottle, and you can find it everywhere pretty much. hmm...and a recent discovery, anything with the word "muscatto" in the title is like wine you'd imagine fairies drinking. they usually taste like honeysuckle nectar and are a little thick feeling, and almost sickeningly sweet. but they are excellent, seriously so, if you are a fan of the sweet. a sparkling type called muscatto d'oro is a favorite, and i just like that type of wine on the whole, so no brand recommendations (i'd need to be near the rack to know, anyhow, i'm just that kind of lady...i rely totally to much on the wine shop owner)
as for reds, i'm not a fan. i like to try them, but i almost never buy them. unless you spend a bit of money, they usually taste like licking the side of a barrel. one thing i have learned recently, though, is that reds from italy are typically aged in steel and therefore, for a woodiness hater like me, are much, much better. there's usually only a hint of wood, that i am told comes from a spicketing process of some sort. the only bottle of red that i've bought in recent memory (like, within the last 5 years or so?) is in my fridge right now, by a vineyard called gagliasso...it's a dolcetto d'alba, 2001. from what i understand, you may have to go to a wine shop, and even then you may have to shop around, but it's worth it. it's very rich, with heavy carmel notes...and ::incredibly:: smooth. it was $18 i think.
