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+--- Thread: help with wine (/thread-18137.html)
- ntwine - 01-08-2003
Hello all, I am new to the wine world and I am looking for a good starter wine.
I have tried wines in the past but I don't remember the names.
any suggestions would be great.
(helpful info) I tried a sweet wine the other night and I didn't really care for it.
I think it was made by Beringer? not too sure about the name
- Innkeeper - 01-08-2003
Hi NT, and welcome to the Wine Board. Since you are in CA-CA land, it should be easy for you to pick up some Ca'Del Solo Big House Red and Big House White from Bonny Doon. A somewhat different take on wine than what Beringer produces, but very good.
- ntwine - 01-08-2003
Thanks for the suggestion, Inn. I will have to give it a try this weekend!
- stevebody - 01-14-2003
NT,
My wine tasting group publsihed a chapbook guide to discovering wine two yeaqrs ago. The group was composed of three wine shop owners, four wine salespeople, one professor who teaches viniculture, and one garden-variety Microsoft millionaire. We developed a list of baseline, low-cost bottles that we thought accurately represented each varietal. Here's that list. Please bear in mind that these are only our opinion and some of the folks on this forum may have valuable alternate suggestions. To learn each individual grape, though, these will help with the basic flavors without breaking your bank.
Cabernet: Alexander Valley Cab
Merlot: Blackstone California
Pinot Noir: Flynn Oregon Cuvee
Sangiovese: Di Majo Norante (Italy)
Syrah: Pepperwood Grove
Zinfandel: Kenwood or Ravenswood Vintners Blend
Rhone Blend: Perrin Cotes du Rhone
Bordeaux Blend: Chateau Cantenac Brown
Chianti: Velo or Fattoria Petroio
Chardonnay: L'Ecole No. 41 (WA)
Viognier: Callaway
Sauvignon Blanc: Waterbrook (WA)
White Bordeaux: Chateau Thieulley
Reisling: Heyl zu Herrnsheim (Germany)
Gewurtztraminer: Dopf & Irion (Alsace)
Get other opinions, based on the same idea: What is the best expression of the basic flavor profile of this grape? That's a great way to start.