I thought it would be nice to have some wine for the Holidays. Besides being embarrassed to be in my neighborhood liquor store I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I like sweet wines. Their selection tended to run towards Australia and California, but I finally picked up a bottle of German Riesling for $10.00 that was in a pretty bottle.
I’m assuming there’s some price point you need to buy at to get something decent (and so the clerk doesn’t think you’re a cheapskate or that you just want something to ge drunk). But what it is? They had a number of bottles for $6 or so, (and went up to around $30.00). I assume diminishing returns applies to wine (A $30 bottle isn’t 5X better than a $6.00 bottle).
Would a local liquor store clerk know anything about wine or do they mainly just punch the cash register to sell Thunderbird to locals. Can I ask them questions like “I want a sweet white for $10.00.” Or “What Chardonnay is your favorite?” Would I be looked at as stupid for asking those kind of questions>
Are Gallo and Sutter Home considered low class since they had a lot of them at the back at the store? If you just enjoy a bottle of wine now and then is there much of a difference between different grapes or different brands or different regions? Is it classless to buy sweet wines?
A wine store or large liquor store would have employees who could help you choose a wine. They get questions all the time, they won’t think you are stupid.
Yes. They are table wines, everyday rather than special occasion wine. Many people like them since they are ready to drink and inexpensive.
If you are new to drinking wine you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between a German or California Riesling. Different grapes make more of a difference, you might like Gewürztraminer.
Yes.
Just kidding, buy wine you like. You can find drinkable wines at any price point so you don’t have to break the bank. I like all sorts of wine, sweet wines like Riesling or Gewürztraminer are excellent chilled on a hot summer day or paired with spicy food or even your Christmas turkey.
As just an average wine drinker, not a connoisseur, you just need to find what you like and can afford.
I like Sutter Home’s Sweet Red wine. It’s only around $10 but is still VERY good (to me). Although I have no problem buying a bottle of Crane Lake at $4.99 if I just want a wine buzz with dinner.
My cousin is a wine reviewer, and at family events he has brought 98 and 99 rated wines to share and honestly… It’s wine. There was nothing to make me go DAMN I want to spend $30 on this bottle of wine.
Go ahead and ask the clerks, at worst, you get an opinion about something they have tried, at best they can tell you that wine won’t work with pasta etc.
****It’s hard to have a stranger tell you what price point you ought to be at, but in my experience sweeter wines don’t tend to require a whole lot of cost for a good bottle.
You mentioned Gallo… Gallo is much bigger than just wines that say Gallo Family on their label, they own a wide variety of wine brands and are, I think, the largest wine company in the world. I enoy a lot of their Barefoot brand wines. Barefoot’s Moscato & Reisling would be right up your alley at $7ish a bottle.
Barefoot also makes a line of California Champagnes… try their Moscato Spumante. If you enjoy sparkling wines at all I’d also recommend Martini & Rossi Asti Spumanti, an Italian sparking wine at $12ish a bottle.
Sweet Reds are enjoying a bit of a surge in popularity and variety and I haven’t found a single one that’s very expensive. Several vineyards have come out with a sweet red, Barefoot included. I just tried Roscato Rosso Dolce at $10ish a bottle and enjoyed it.
To add a litttle foreign variety tray a French or German Gewurztraminer, a still, sweet wine with a little most complex flavor than just pure sweet. Imports tend to run at $15ish and Californians like Chateau Ste Michelle more like $8ish.
The guys at the liquor store I frequent are always happy to offer their opinion on wines, beers, and liquors. They always seem to enjoy getting questions from customers. I’ve gone in with a description of a proposed dinner menu, and asked for advice on the wine accompaniment, and gotten good suggestions.
I would encourage you to talk to the folks at your own store about what you’re looking for and your tastes. If you don’t find them helpful, you should just seek out a different store. In my experience, the guys running a good store are careful about not being intrusive, but will jump all over the chance to offer advice if asked.
Something else you might look for is a wine tasting. A wine and liquor store near us has one on the 2nd Friday of every month and each time, they feature different wines. Same if there’s a winery near you - they often host tastings. It’s a great way to get an education and you may find something you really like that you might not have tried otherwise.
Go to any liquor store that has a large selection of wines. Usually the clerks there are very knowledgeable about wine and will be happy to help you out.
If there isn’t a lot of wine, try a different liquor store. I think there are more stores that specialize in wine these days than before, but there used to be stores that really only sold name brand wines, and didn’t really care.
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.
If you want good advice, go to a store specializing in wine. If you just go to your average liquor store, there’s no telling how knowledgeable the sales guy is going to be.
If your state allows wine sales in grocery stores, go to one of the big Safeway stores (my favorite wine store), and there will almost always be someone working the wine aisles whom you can talk to. I’ve found them to be pretty savvy.
If you like sweet wines, Rieslings are a good start, although many Rieslings are not sweet. Some of the best American Rieslings come from Washington State and (surprisingly) New York (the lakes region).