wine
 

my friends and i are having dinner parties on a bi-weekly basis. in addition to trying new foods, we are also trying new wines. both of the other people who participate do not like red wine. does anyone have suggestions on wines to try? and we are not drinking $3 bottles of boones!!!

My "guy friend" does this every Sunday night with his buddies in Denver. They have tried everything. I personally like Lumbrusko (sp?) and a Cabernet Sourvenea (sp?) is his favorite...but he said it's a better dinner wine.

I'll ask him for some recommendations.
:)

Re: wine
 

No Boones??? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Come on its only the classiest wine ever. I dunno, I think you're missing something here ;)

I'm not a wine connoiseur, but at the last wine and cheese party I attened, my favorites included the DeLoach Pinot Gris and the Rosemont Riesling.

no red wine?? They're missing out.

Pinot Grigio is one of my favorite white wines.

Rose is ok. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is definetly a winner.

Anything Australian is usually a good bet.

Try Greg Norman or Black Opal Chardonnay. If they like sweeter wines, Penfolds Koonuga Hill Semillon Chard is great.

Another good choice for those who don't care much for reds would be a shiraz. It tends not to be as heavy as a cab or even some merlots. I like Black Opal Shiraz, or, if you want to go a little cheaper, Jacobs Creek.

very good white wine: Mezza Corona's Pino Grigio...it's late is that the correct spelling?

It is sweeter than chardonay but not as sweet as resling...

Remember... what's the word? THUNDERBIRD! What's the price? Fifty twice! :) ;) :p :D -hic!-

Honestly, I wouldn't touch that cheap nasty 'plonk' (what Aussies call their wines colloquially) with a 20-foot pole! Same stuff goes with MD 20/20 (hangover of the century) Boone's Farm, Wild Irish Rose, Ripple and 'Eifel Diesel!' (The local 'grappa' distilled from the pressings of German Moselle grapes -- pretty f*ckin' potent!)

I tend to like the German wines, having spent two years in Germany getting wasted on the local beer, wine and bratwurst! ;)

German wines are not too expensive, though they're mostly white wines (it's extremely rare to see a German red wine). They also have one of the most convoluted and complicated labeling regulations that will thoroughly confuse the novice German wine drinker.

There are two major wine-growing regions: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (identified by long, tapered green wine bottles) and Rheinhessen (identified by brown glass wine bottles closer to what's seen in America). I won't bore you all with the details as far as the labeling is concerned, so check out this website: http://www.germanwine.de/english/ .

My usuals are Zeller Schwarze Katz (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) and when I can afford it (and that's rarely), the 'Bernkasteler Doktor.' (The Cadillac of Moselle wines -- hard to get, since it's only grown in one vineyard in the town of Bernkastel that was once owned by the town doctor, hence the name 'Doktor'. Depending on the grading, a good vintage can cost well over $50 a bottle or more.)

A nice cheap wine is Beringer..

I used to work at a specialty foods store and the owner was in love with his wines. Rabbit Ridge was really popular and relatively inexpensive. People really seemed to like the Coppola wines too. i really can't remember anymore right now but if i do i'll post again. those just happen to be the ones i stocked and rung up the most.

My absolute favorite is Wolf Blass' green label Shiraz. The red label shiraz/cabernet blend is good, too. If you've never had it, shiraz is an up-and-coming red from Australia (Syrah is its French counterpart). Shiraz is fruity, kind of peppery, and very full bodied.

http://www.wine.com/search/simpleSea...ery=wolf+blass

Cheers!

My favorite white wine is Burgundy Aligote, fruity but smooth and tasty. It's hard to find in America though, the only bottles I have of it are the ones I bought in France.

Cannot beat a box of Franzia for 6 dollas. That's some high class shiet. Just don't bring it to the table, pour them in glasses in the kitchen then bring them in the dining room.

Carlo Rossi is also some good shit

I like Mondavi Chardonnay. It's nice and crisp.

As far as good cheap wine, have you tried Charles Shaw? It's $1.99 and it doesn't taste like it! Here in the Bay Area, it's sold at Trader Joes.

Caprock Winery
 

Well, I don't know if you can get Texas wine up there, but if you can, try Caprock's Cabernet Royale, which is kind of a blush-y wine. I dont' like dry wine, so I can't make any suggestions there.... A really great desert wine is Caprock's Orange Muscat, but it's not cheap-close to $30 a bottle...the Cabernet Royale is probably only $12-15 a bottle.

BTW-You are probably laughing about Texas wine...stop it! It's tasty!:D

MMMMmmmm...Sangria..

I used to make huge batches of this for parties! A good alternative to red wine is to use pinot grigio instead. It's a little lighter, and it doesn't stain!

ok, i will admit....i like wine in a box....lol. i seriously haven't had any since the weekend i graduated from college. one night a box of wine...the next 2 a party ball of beer...you can't beat it!

my personal favorites are anything by robert mondovi. i just tried a merlot that i LOVED!!!! of course, chardonnay is my favorite.

i just recently tried rosemount estates shiraz. yummmy. i brought it for my friends that i have the dinners with...and they didn't like it. i bought a really expensive version and brought it home for easter....and i drank the whole bottle myself. i am not complaining, but no one else liked it. lol, my family obviously has no taste.

i also like kendall jackson chardonnay.

i will have to check out the pinot gris bc darcy likes that and i don't think that either have had reisling. my friend stacy just bought her first bottle of wine a few weeks ago. poor thing.
thanks for all of your suggestions! i am venturing into the red wines, so even if i have to drink red, while they drink white, that is ok!

edited to add: sangria....yummm. i hadn't thought of that!!! does anyone have any good receipies???

I tried wine in a box once... ONCE. My old apartment complex threw a Christmas party and a summer pool party every year, where the only alcohol to be had was wine in a box and a keg of Bud Light. Barf-o-rama. :p With the rent they charged, they certainly could have afforded better... :rolleyes:

Cardboardonnay - I'll have to remember that :) My friends and I usually refer to it and other bad wines as "Chateau le Plonk".

My recommendations:

If you can find it, try Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The chardonnay is also very nice.

My fave is Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon, especially with a nice thick medium-rare steak :) They also offer a merlot, a chardonnay (one of the few American chardonnays I will drink) and a few others that are escaping me at the moment.

Anything red from France or Itilian merlots are good.

Toro from Spain
Kendall Jackson Reserve (pretty good!)
Yellow Tail red wine (they have a shiraz and something else... cheap and yummy)

I really like red wines that are smooth. The best thing to do is go to a good store and ask what they reccommend. As a rule, I'd say good American wines are more expenisve. Anything European, red and cheap will be fairly decent (lessons from abraod!).

alright, i'm gonna be the first to admit i know nothing about wine, and only just recently have i come to even really like it..but i've had the yellow tail chardonnay and really enjoyed it.

it's good! I bought a bottle on rec from a high school friend. Her and her mom buy it by the box... lol.
-M

I promised myself from an early age that I would not drink box wine or Boone's Farm. (Yes, I was an alcohol snob from Day 1 :p)

Mr. Munchkin bought some really good wine for a dinner party we were hosting...I will find out the name. We got it in Providence, so you should be able to get it in Boston. :) It was about 8-10 a bottle.

I suggest the wines from Coppola's vineyard. It's pretty tasty. After drinking wine with every meal for 6 months in Italy, my tongue and nose are well-trained to good wine.