My wine experiences

[Pokes28]

As many of you know, I've always been a beer guy. Until earlier this year, I never once found a wine that I could stand to drink yet alone enjoyed drinking. But that all changed in a crappy little East Texas town in the middle of several dry counties. What I discovered was that I probably always would have like certain wines, it was the tastings that I had major troubles with. Everybody (at least around here) always assumes that people's wine pallet starts sweet and develops to dry over time if it develops at all. So every time somebody would try to help me find wine, they'd start me out with sweet and by the time they offered up something that I would like, my taste buds were shot to a point that I wouldn't like anything.

Anyway, I found that I truly enjoyed a dry white from muscat grapes.

This was my starting point. The place that I could work from to find other wines that I liked.

About a month after finding the white that I liked, my wife and I joined a wine club in Springfield (about an hour from Joplin). It really has been instrumental in helping me determine what I really like, what I really don't, and everything in between.

So far the majority of what I like are white wines. I think my personal favorite right now is Elios which is a Greek wine (can be purchased at Whole Foods for under $10 a bottle). I prefer old world to new world.

I've found just a couple reds that I enjoy. Probably my favorite red thus far is Beaujolais Nouveau which is a very short duration wine (released on the 3rd Thursday of November every year and should be consumed before New Years) and it isn't the most complex, but damn I just like it.

I'm starting to branch a little bit into the sweeter whites, but I'm still not into it. I also don't like sweet reds or the big bold reds with heavy tannins.

Sarah and I go to Italy in March and I'm doing my best to work on my wine pallet so that we can fully enmesh the wine culture while we are there.

[Beckster]

I don't know where to start with wines. The only one I am used to is the stuff they serve at communion in church. I need to find a bottle of liquor for Christmas to share with the family, too.

[Hondo]

Bourbon or scotch. Accept no substitutes.

[Pete Nice]

Pokes already knows more than me about wine and Ihave been learning wine for over 6 years. ad:

[Chip]

I'm a half of a fifth of Crown deep tonight.
But, earlier I had an "ice wine". And damn. That was really good.
Apparently they let the rapes freeze on the vine first.
Anyone know about that? Should that be it's own topic?

[Brampton]

I'm a half of a fifth of Crown deep tonight.
But, earlier I had an "ice wine". And damn. That was really good.
Apparently they let the rapes freeze on the vine first.
Anyone know about that? Should that be it's own topic?

They do a lot of ice wines in Niagara. They pick the grapes in the winter.

Oh.......rapes :grin:

sent from the legion of doom

[Chip]

I'm a half of a fifth of Crown deep tonight.
But, earlier I had an "ice wine". And damn. That was really good.
Apparently they let the rapes freeze on the vine first.
Anyone know about that? Should that be it's own topic?

They do a lot of ice wines in Niagara. They pick the grapes in the winter.

Oh.......rapes :grin:

sent from the legion of doom

Haha.
Oops.
It was that damn Crown Royal.

[Pokes28]

Yeah Ice Wine is a really cool concept. They let the grapes grow all through the season and then they pick them during the first full freeze. That way the grapes get to keep producing sugars up to the last moment.

What is produced is generally a sweet wine with a very high alcohol content.

[JDubb]

Yeah Ice Wine is a really cool concept. They let the grapes grow all through the season and then they pick them during the first full freeze. That way the grapes get to keep producing sugars up to the last moment.

What is produced is generally a sweet wine with a very high alcohol content.

Not always the case... since the wine is sweet it still has tons of sugar. For the alcohol to be created it needs to convert the sugar. Since these wines are sweet, there is tons of residual sugar left behind and low(er) in alcohol.

[Pokes28]

That's true. Let me retract my statement and say that due to all of the sugars available, they could make a very strong wine. Or they could make a sweet wine with "normal" alcohol content.

[Joe]

I went on a date with a girl Friday night for the first time. This afternoon I hit her up and asked her if she wanted to see a movie. After the movie was over we wanted to hang out, but didn't know what to do. I asked her if she liked wine and her response was that she had never tasted wine in her life. I don't mean never been to a wine tasting I mean has never even tried wine. Luckily I have like 20 PA wineries in my phone contacts so that's where we went.

For some reason I feel like that was a great accomplishment on my part.

[michaelangelo]

I went on a date with a girl Friday night for the first time. This afternoon I hit her up and asked her if she wanted to see a movie. After the movie was over we wanted to hang out, but didn't know what to do. I asked her if she liked wine and her response was that she had never tasted wine in her life. I don't mean never been to a wine tasting I mean has never even tried wine. Luckily I have like 20 PA wineries in my phone contacts so that's where we went.

For some reason I feel like that was a great accomplishment on my part.

:high5: sounds like you both had a good time

[JDubb]

I went on a date with a girl Friday night for the first time. This afternoon I hit her up and asked her if she wanted to see a movie. After the movie was over we wanted to hang out, but didn't know what to do. I asked her if she liked wine and her response was that she had never tasted wine in her life. I don't mean never been to a wine tasting I mean has never even tried wine. Luckily I have like 20 PA wineries in my phone contacts so that's where we went.

For some reason I feel like that was a great accomplishment on my part.

Sounds like a great time. I love introducing people to wine whether they have had wine before or not. My favorites are those that say they don't like wine because all they have ever had is church wine or a big tanic cab.

[Beckster]

I went on a date with a girl Friday night for the first time. This afternoon I hit her up and asked her if she wanted to see a movie. After the movie was over we wanted to hang out, but didn't know what to do. I asked her if she liked wine and her response was that she had never tasted wine in her life. I don't mean never been to a wine tasting I mean has never even tried wine. Luckily I have like 20 PA wineries in my phone contacts so that's where we went.

For some reason I feel like that was a great accomplishment on my part.

:high5: Good Job, Joey!