IMO both those wines are VERY sweet considering they’re not labelled as sweet wines. Not that it’s a bad thing, but wanted to point that out for those that don’t like sweeter reds. I know a lot of people who like both of those, so maybe it’s a good choice for the OP.
I’ve no idea, but I’ve been to Alsace and found out how gorgeous they can be.
I’m piling onto the Beaujolais, Red Zinfandel, and Valpolicella choices. All are fruity, if not jammy-tasting, without being sweet. A bonus is that most Beaujolais is dirt-cheap, and doesn’t have the very high alcohol level that many Zins can get to. Chile and Australia are good places for versions of other varieties (Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot, Cab Sauvignon) that are less expensive. I am not a big fan of inexpensive Pinot Noir—I didn’t care for Talbott’s Pinots (but oh boy, do I like their Chardonnays)—but maybe that’s just me? When done right, the perfume on Pinot Noir is second to none.
Martin, I second Athena’s recommendation of Old World wines, if you don’t care for a fruit-forward wine. Most, if not all, competently made red table wines, whether Old or New World, should be “dry”, in that they’ve no residual sugar, but the Old World wines will taste less fruity and ripe, all else remaining equal. There are always exceptions, both to the fruitiness, and to being fermented dry. Many Alsatian Rieslings—I’m thinking Trimbach or Hugel—are fermented to dryness, and have enough acid to balance any sweetness anyways. Muscadet is another white that usually is perceived as very dry. Loire Cabernet Francs (Bourgueil, Chinon) is a red wine that is not fruity at all, but very herbal, often complex, and usually food friendly. For pizza, or anything else tomato-heavy, I’m a fan of Barbera. They’re usually not that expensive, either.
I agree with FGIE that, if you can, Jackie, find a not-so-local wine shop with knowledgeable staff, tell them what you’ve told us, and see what they say. I learn new things all of the time from the staff at the wine shop I go to; wines I never would have picked up otherwise. It’s hard when you live a ways from town, though.
Well, it kind of depends. I’m not sure what the OP means by “sweet.” If Jackie’s at all like my mother-in-law, for whom Manischewitz is just about perfect and on target, Apothic and Menage a Trois aren’t going to be sweet at all; they’re not even going to be in the same neighborhood as sweet. Depending on what Rieslings she likes, Apothic and MaT might be a little sweet, but still drier than what she’s used to.
That said, they’re certainly not dry. I don’t know that I’d characterize them as “VERY sweet,” though. But I also deal with people whose idea of “sweet” in wines is characterized by port, white zins, or those Arbor Mist wines (or the aforementioned Manischewitz. Seriously, my MIL loves that stuff) - you know, close to the grape juice/dessert side of the spectrum.
Oh, and if you like sweet wines, the Apothic white blend is a very sweet wine. It’s not really for me - I love their red, but I find the white too sweet - but it might touch your fancy. I’d put it in the dessert wine category.
If you end up looking at Spanish rosés, they come under two different names: rosado and clarete. The rosados are rosés, the claretes have had the skins left in until the end of the fermentation - they’re nowhere near as tannic as reds from the same areas, though (I get an instant headache from reds, not from claretes). Claretes tend to be on the drier side but not dry; they have a reputation for being “traitorous wines”, as it’s easy to drink more than you realize.
http://www.masi.it/eng/products#prodotti
Masi Bonacosta goes with just about any occasion. Most versatile red wine I’ve ever had, and very affordable.
Clarete wines are closer to Roses than Reds because the skins actually are not left in contact with the juice throughout the entire fermentation process like red wines are…just for part of it…Rose wines have the skins macerated in the juice before fermentation begins. Those clarete wines are also made with grenache, a quite amenable and approachably fruity grape without a lot of tannins in the wines made from them. Claretes are also blended with white grapes but I can’t remember which one(s)… some off white grape variety. They are extremely rare outside of Spain at any rate. I have seen one exactly once.
Also, I wanted to express something because I encounter this quite frequently. Its the usage of the word “sweet” to describe wines that actually are NOT sweet but because of the type of grape being used generates a hugely fruit-forward flavor profile that people misinterpret as “sweet”. Sweetness in a wine is defined as the presence of residual sugars after the fermentation is completed. A wine like say, a Red Zinfandel from a really warm, ripe grape growing region is going to produce a huge-bodied (alcohol) wine with a metric shit-ton of fruit flavor. People often confuse that sensation with sweetness when in actuality all the sugar has been consumed by yeasts during fermentation and the wine is completely dry and devoid of actual sugars. A true sweet wine is going to be a wine where either the fermentation is arrested, often by the introduction of brandy, sulphur or neutral spirits, leaving sugar behind (like Port wine) or in the case of a wine like a Sauternes, Eiswein, SGN Alsation dessert wine, Hungarian Tokay wine…the natural concentration of sugars via noble rot or in some cases chaptalization (adding sugar to the juice of an inferior vintage) is so high that the yeast cannot consume all the sugar during fermentation so there is sugar left behind (“residual sugar”).
OK, I feel better now!
Thinking about Italian wines here…I wonder if the OP would like Amarone? OP, do you like raisins?
I also want to link you guys to an article written by a guy I used to work with that is extremely knowledgeable about wines in general and Burgundies and Rieslings in particular. And yes, the store in the link is where I used to work about a decade ago. Cincinnatians flock to this Northern Kentucky superstore right across the Ohio River for its cheaper prices, knowledgeable staff and convenient location.
Seriously though, this article is a great primer for those interested in exploring wine: http://www.thepartysource.com/wine_education_view.php?article=00042
yes, I like raisins.
(and who you callin’ Opie?)
I also really like Shirazes–“jammy” is a great descriptor for them. They taste like fruit, something not all wines do, and that might be something that works for you.
interesting, thanks for posting. oh, and I was kidding earlier: I know what OP means.
someday I’d like to vacation somewhere there are many vineyards to visit - let the tastings commence!
Amarone is made from the typical Valpolicella grapes of Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella. The difference is the grapes are left out in the Sun on mats to shrivel and thus concentrate their flavors. There’s a particular raisinated quality to these wines (in a good way) due to their water loss and flavor concentration during the drying process. They trend towards high alcohol but are completely dry, yet don’t seem like it. Since they are produced in relatively small quantities, they are also generally moderately expensive. There’s a version that’s got residual sugars but I am drawing a blank as to its name. It begins with an “R”. Recoto or something like that. I’m flying by the seat of my pants without googling anything, so…there you go.
I’m too late, you said it all. Bordeaux. Its the way to go.
A fine Claret, a good meal, and great friends. You can’t go wrong.
First thing that came to mind.
Also cabernet francs. Tend to be rather “soft” for a red.
For a while the winemakers from Navarra, La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa were trying to make clarete be like champagne, one of those things where you can say you made a wine “according to X method” but you can’t call it by the name. In the end they decided the gain to be had simply wasn’t worth the effort, it’s not like there’s a ton of foreign wineries trying to make clarete (and several of the ones which are happen to be subsidiaries of Spanish wineries).
If at all possible, try and get hold of a South African Pinotage. Berries, chocolate and coffee. And I’m not talking in a “hint of” kind of way. Some Pinotage really tastes like coffee-wine, without any sleight-of-hand.
Would it be possible for you to enlist for a local wine tasting courseor wine taste trip ? I know the region of Alsace in France/Germany has many such tours, they were advertised all over when I travelled through that (very beautiful) region on other business.
I wonder if wine producing regions in the US have similar taste trips. California apparently does.
Also recommended: the 2008 movie “Bottle Shock”, starring Allan Rickman and Bill Pullman. The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as “Judgment of Paris”. The tasting was infamous because the French tasters all gave very high ratings to the Californian wines, when they were extremely sceptical beforehand.
thanks for the thoughts but the California link with the giant limo wasn’t what I had in mind. I was thinking more charming B&B where they then take you around to local wineries for tours/taste testing in more low key way.
course a hot air balloon ride wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.