Recommendations on a good red wine for a non-drinker, please

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hi everybody.

First off, I must say that I've never liked alcoholic beverages. The only one that I (sort of) like is Bailey's, and two glasses are more than enough for me.

The thing is, from a long time I've read that drinking one glass of red wine a day is good for the heart and I like to take (almost) any possible measure to help my circulatory system to work fine, specially since exercise has been a PITA to me for my entire life. So I've been looking for a good red wine, but unfortunately most of the ones I've tried are of the "dry" type, which I simply can't stand. The reason why I've never liked alcohol is just because I'm a big fan of sweet flavors, and most alcoholic beverages taste horrible to me. "Dry" wines fall into that category (it is not my intention to offend the TalkBass wine connossieurs, BTW).

Now, I know that a "sweet" wine is most of the times considered as a "lower quality" wine but again, I can't stand "dry" wines. I feel sort of embarrassed to admit that the only wine that hasn't made me feel like taking a remedy is one of the cheapest that can be found here, so my point is: I'm not looking for an ultra-expensive wine, but at least I'd like to drink something that can be considered "decent" and (why not) "elegant".

So, which quality sweet red wine would you recommend to a non-drinker like me? Thank you in advance!

[blendermassacre]

my wife likes this, and she doesn't really like wine, plus it's like 8 bucks from target

[bmc]

There are all kinds of good red wines produced in many countries at different price points. Italy is the largest wine producing country, followed by France. If you're new to wine, shiraz is an easy wine to start on. Good value for shiraz (The shiraz grape come from Shiraz, Iran) from Australia and South Africa. Argentina and Chile arguably offer the best value at the moment. Malbec from Argentina. Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends from Chile and California are good.

Pinot Noir, my favorite red, is a little pricier. The best Pinot Noir's come from Burgundy, France. New Zealand and California have some nice Pinot's, but the benchmark is Bergundy. Not cheap.

I'd recommend going to a wine tasting or organizing one yourself. Invite a bunch of friends. Pick one grape. such as a shiraz/syrah, cabernet, malbec, etc and put a price limit of $20 or $25 a bottle. Having a number of wines of the same grape enables you to benchmark and find the best one. Do not have a wine tasting and get people to bring any red. Some reds are more powerful and kill lighter wines and outright make them taste bad.

Avoid wine sold in cardboard. It's crap. Junk. Expensive coolaid. You don't have to spend a lot to find good wines. You will see a noticeable improvement in quality if you spend just a little bit more.

Wine is a fun hobby. Wine is great. It's been around since Jesus. It makes you feel good. It makes women fall over you.

There are so many variables that make a great wine: the soil, the mineral content in the soil, rocks in the soil, the weather in any particular year, the producer, if it's placed in oak barrels, new barrels or old barrels, new vines, old vines, when the grapes were harvested. It's good to know which vintages are are best. Hot dry weather with cool evenings make for great wine. 2009 will be a great vintage for French and Italian wines.

Find a good wine store and start asking questions. The best wine for your sweetheart will be the one she likes most. That often has no relationship on price or where it's from.

Baron Philip de Rothschild was once interviewed by Ed Bradley on 60 minutes. Bradley, a renown major wine geek, asked him what was the greatest wine that he ever drank. Expecting to hear a 1961 Margauux or a 1945 Cheval Blanc, he was shocked by his response. The Baron said that when he was 20-21 years old, he was sitting on a mountain top in Spain with a beautiful young Spanish woman, watching the sun set on the sea, drinking a bottle of wine. That, he said, was the best bottle of wine he had. And he is so right. It gets down to the right mood, the right people and the right circumstances.

Good luck. PM me if you want any more help or suggestions.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by bmc

There are all kinds of good red wines produced in many countries at different price points. Italy is the largest wine producing country, followed by France. If you're new to wine, shiraz is an easy wine to start on. Good value for shiraz (The shiraz grape come from Shiraz, Iran) from Australia and South Africa. Argentina and Chile arguably offer the best value at the moment. Malbec from Argentina. Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends from Chile and California are good.

Pinot Noir, my favorite red, is a little pricier. The best Pinot Noir's come from Burgundy, France. New Zealand and California have some nice Pinot's, but the benchmark is Bergundy. Not cheap.

I'd recommend going to a wine tasting or organizing one yourself. Invite a bunch of friends. Pick one grape. such as a shiraz/syrah, cabernet, malbec, etc and put a price limit of $20 or $25 a bottle. Having a number of wines of the same grape enables you to benchmark and find the best one. Do not have a wine tasting and get people to bring any red. Some reds are more powerful and kill lighter wines and outright make them taste bad.

Avoid wine sold in cardboard. It's crap. Junk. Expensive coolaid. You don't have to spend a lot to find good wines. You will see a noticeable improvement in quality if you spend just a little bit more.

Wine is a fun hobby. Wine is great. It's been around since Jesus. It makes you feel good. It makes women fall over you.

There are so many variables that make a great wine: the soil, the mineral content in the soil, rocks in the soil, the weather in any particular year, the producer, if it's placed in oak barrels, new barrels or old barrels, new vines, old vines, when the grapes were harvested. It's good to know which vintages are are best. Hot dry weather with cool evenings make for great wine. 2009 will be a great vintage for French and Italian wines.

Find a good wine store and start asking questions. The best wine for your sweetheart will be the one she likes most. That often has no relationship on price or where it's from.

Baron Philip de Rothschild was once interviewed by Ed Bradley on 60 minutes. Bradley, a renown major wine geek, asked him what was the greatest wine that he ever drank. Expecting to hear a 1961 Margauux or a 1945 Cheval Blanc, he was shocked by his response. The Baron said that when he was 20-21 years old, he was sitting on a mountain top in Spain with a beautiful young Spanish woman, watching the sun set on the sea, drinking a bottle of wine. That, he said, was the best bottle of wine he had. And he is so right. It gets down to the right mood, the right people and the right circumstances.

Good luck. PM me if you want any more help or suggestions.

Thank you so much for your recommendations! Of course I'd never drink wine from a cardboard box. I'm not into alcoholic beverages, but just because of common sense I wouldn't go that low.

One question: Isn't the Cabernet Sauvignon a dry red wine? I bought a bottle once (can't remember the brand/country of origin) and I didn't like it.

[rob4001va]

+1 to Shiraz.

I'm not a fan of red wine, but Shiraz I actually like.

Ravenswood and Yellowtail, both from Australia I think, are good and reasonably priced.

Cheers!

[bmc]

Every cab is slightly different. Even cabs from the same producer, same vintage, yet different vineyards. It's striking how different they can be. You can't make generalizations about a grape variety.

Find a decent wine store that have knowledgeable staff that can offer suggestions. A good wine merchant can pick the right wine for the right meal. I can go into a couple of the local wine specialty shops and ask for a receommendation for dinner. They'll ask what the main course is, what vegetables, what herbs and spices and then ask for a minimum price. Trained people can narrow a good selection for you that makes for a great pairing. Acheiving a food/wine pairing that nails it is a religious experience. Take a bite of that steak and a gulp of the wine and chew them together. When it works, you can't not moan.

Two weeks ago, we had three other couples over. I asked each guy to bring a cab sauv with a price limit of $25. When they arrived, I uncorked all four bottles. Using proper wine glasses, I poured only a mouthful into each glass. I did this for each wine. We then selected the one we enjoyed the most and started on that bottle. Everyone then went on to try subsequent glasses of different wines. We didn't finish all of the wine that night.

I was fortunate to get introduced to wine tasting through a very close friend who specializes in the high end wine importing in Vancouver. He took me to Bordeaux for an annual event for wine importers. We sampled the 2005 vintage. 2005 is up there with 1982, 1961 and 1945 as a banner year for Bordeaux. We sampled between 75 and 100 wines per day for three days. Of course you don't swallow it, and there's no need to. You get all of the required information in your mouth. Swallowing it just makes you a better dancer. That's all.

What I learned from that experience is the value of lining up a number of bottles of the same grape. Granted, Bordeaux is a blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cabernet franc and some another lesser known variety. Anyhow, you start to understand the wine game of 1) how does it smell, 2) how does it taste, how are the tannins and acid balance and 3) what is the finish. In some cases there is nothing. In others it goes on for five minutes. Finding the wines that nail it on all three of those parameters is so much fun.

That exercise is worthwhile, so make friends with a wine importer as soon as you can. Failing that, go to a tasing, organize a party, find a good wine store with knowledgeable staff and start having fun with wine. My wife and I share in this passion of wine. We live an hour from Italy and Piedmont region where Barbera D'Asti and D'Alpa are from. We're 2 hours from Burgundy, which is only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cote du Rhone in 90 minutes away. I'm in the heart of great great wines.

Chile and Argentina are great producing countries and priced the best of all of them. Stunning Argentinian Malbecs are worth checking out, and not pricey either. Chilean cabs, merlots, syrahs....mmmmmmmm.

You got some work to do. Get your sweetheart involved it in. It's a lifelong thing.

Good luck.

[doublestop]

There are not many sweet red wines. BTW, wine is an acquiered taste, especially the dry wines. So, you may give it time.

If you still don't like it, I think it's much easier to find a nice sweet WHITE wine. There are very good sweet white wines, from all over the world. The best thing, I'd say, is to go to a good wine shop and let them advice you, I have no idea what's available in your region! Some sweet white wines we have in Europe are Muscadet (France) and several German and Austrian wines, especially 'Eiswein' (Ice wine, which is made from grapes that are harvested after the first frost periods - the frost seems to make the grapes even sweeter)

[doublestop]

Originally Posted by bmc

go to a tasting

Excellent idea!

[LowDown Hal]

Go to your local shop and ask if they have any Semi-Sweet Merlot.

[baba]

I would think you Malbecs from Argentina are pretty cheap considering you are in Columbia. I'd look at these. While dry, Merlot is very mild and a crowd favorite so you might like it. Check out a Merlot from Chile. Again, it may be relatively cheap considering your location. Not sure on pricing in Columbia

In the US, I can get a very drinkable wine for 10 bucks. If I spend around 25 it is considerably better and ALMOST worth it to me. Beyond that, diminishing returns take over. I'm a beer drinker by trade.

[bmc]

Originally Posted by baba

If I spend around 25 it is considerably better and ALMOST worth it to me. Beyond that, diminishing returns take over.

I couldn't agree more. Over here, you can get some high scoring wines for $20-30. Wines priced more than that are no gaurantee of better quality. If you look at the leading wine magazines that rate wines, you'll find plenty of wines out there at that price range.

Go to the news stands and grab a copy of Winespectator and look in their back pages. They list recommended wines each month and there are a range of prices from real cheap to stuped expensive. Track it down in your hometown and give it a shot.

[Phalex]

I like a glass of port every once in a while. The alcohol content is pretty high, but you'd be hard pressed to find a wine that's darker red. If you like strong cheese, try it with a glass of port.

***EDT***

Port's are very sweet wines. I think they may be what you're looking for.

[XtreO]

Originally Posted by Phalex

I like a glass of port every once in a while. The alcohol content is pretty high, but you'd be hard pressed to find a wine that's darker red. If you like strong cheese, try it with a glass of port.

***EDT***

Port's are very sweet wines. I think they may be what you're looking for.

Ports are meant to be drunk in a very small quantity. Good luck getting down a whole glass of it.

[Wademeister63]

Why red wine is healthier

Very interesting. Haven't searched yet to see about other possible sources of the polyphenols that are suspected to be the healthy part of the wine. Develop a taste for cabernet if you want "healthy" wine I guess... I'll pass! I like the sweet stuff too and those red wines taste terrible to me

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by XtreO

Ports are meant to be drunk in a very small quantity. Good luck getting down a whole glass of it.

Nah! Ports are meant to travel long distances in the hold of a ship.

To each his own, but a bit of gorgonzola cheese and a glass of port is my idea of a nice finish to a good meal.

[gkbass13]

Going to a tasting is absolutely necessary IMO.

For the price, Chile and Argentina are putting out some fantastic stuff lately. Los Perdices Malbec is a bottle I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Speaking of Mr. Rothschild, a 1971 Matoun Rothschild was the most delicious vino that I have been fortunate enough to taste. I bar tend at a place that has a Wine Spectator recognized wine list, and have probably tasted 70 or so bottles off of it, and have developed a fun(although at times expensive) hobby as a result.

Another fun thing that I am going to predict, is that once you get into doing a glass per day for your heart's health, you will gradually develop a liking for it...Then the real fun can start!

[Eric Perry]

My favorite reds are Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

[cdef]

It's only red wine that carries the health benefits Alvaro is after. I'd suggest trying some of the dark red wines from Eastern Europe - Georgia, Moldavia, maybe Romania. These often have a residual sweetness that's not typical of reds, and they're not costly.

E: Or just put a lump of sugar in the glass. Or drink it with a nibble of chocolate - they go surprisingly well together.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

As I said above, I didn't like the Cabernet Sauvignon I tried once. But since it seems to be the best for what I'm looking for (according to the link posted by Wademeister), I'll try it again following the sugar/chocolate advice (sounds interesting). I'll try the Port and Shiraz too.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

As I said above, I didn't like the Cabernet Sauvignon I tried once. But since it seems to be the best for what I'm looking for (according to the link posted by Wademeister), I'll try it again following the sugar/chocolate advice (sounds interesting). I'll try the Port and Shiraz too.

red mountain from the orchards of california,and for an impertinent white....ripple