Wine Drinkers

IDAFC21

WOW.
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May 23, 2007
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Really the only the way to find that out is to just drink wine. haha. Best thing you can do is find places that have tastings and start going to those. Everyones tastes are different, so no one can really tell you what you're going to like. Just start drinking and eventually you'll figure it out!
 

Omicron

From Russia With Love
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Jan 13, 2013
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Cost does not directly correlate to taste quality. Truer in wine than any other alcohol. Yes, there are excellent wines that command a pretty penny, but youā€™ll often find $10 bottles that are vastly more enjoyable than $40-$50 ones.

Find honest salespeople/ waiters and Ask questions. Binnyā€™s is not the worst place to start. Ask honest questions, give honest feedback. Only way to learn.

Try with food pairings first. Start with recommendations, then move within the families first before venturing beyond.

Learn the family and hierarchy terms.
Knowing the basic difference between a Pinot and a Cabernet helps a lot when selecting. This also goes a long way when choosing with food pairings. Helps immensely as you go thru tastings and develop a palette. Honestly There arenā€™t too many to learn at a high level:

UpevV


Temperatures- reds are best at near room temperature, while Whites are best chilled. Plenty of online specs detail proper storage and serving temps. Proper storage and serving temps go a long way to better flavor- especially with fine reds. Also the stuff you read about ā€˜breathingā€™ and aeration - take with a ā€˜grain of saltā€™ but in my experience the more aged the red the better it does with a little open air time prior to consuming.

Ignore the wine flavor descriptions in menus - some may disagree, but I feel at best they bias your expectations of flavor, and at worst are basically made up horoscope-esque marketing drivel. Learn to like what you like.

OZFNx
 

VenomousDSG

Don't Tread On Me
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I like red wines, that's about it.

Funny i'm seeing this thread now, I just tried Ditka's "The Coach" Cabernet the other night, and it was honestly one of the worst wines ive ever had in my life, cost $15 at Caputo's... Taste like it was made in a bathtub and filtered through a used jockstrap of some sweaty offensive lineman. haha


photo-1-1.jpg
 

Ti28

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You need to find a place that does tastings, and not only lets you taste the product, but shows you how to learn the smells, flavors and teaches you how to trill in order to get the full effect of the flavor.

Once you drink enough, you will be able to pick out the flavoring notes. I'm not a wine drinker, but the same goes for beer. Once you know you should be tasting chocolate and you trill you will be able to pick out the notes.

Reading tasting notes is everything.
 

guspech750

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My wife and I love wine. We have gone to many wineries in Napa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky and of course in and around Illinois. We buy and drink very expensive wine and we buy and drink inexpensive wine. We enjoy them all. We dont discriminate based on cost. As was mentioned earlier. Everyone's tastes are different. You will just have to look up some wineries or wine stores that have tastings and try different wines really to see what you may like. Make a day of it with some friends. The tastings are cheap and a lot fun.

Just off the top of my head.
Galena cellars in Geneva
Lynfred in Roselle
Fox Valley Winery in Oswego

There are a lot of places in Galena that offer tastings. Perfect place to play a lot of golf and drink a lot wine.

One of our favorites is located in Sauk City Wisconsin. Love this one. We go there often.
Wollersheim Winery.
 

Sprayin

Public Enemy #1
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I'm probably gunna catch hell for this, but if you don't particularly like the taste of reds, start out with trying them cold. They are less harsh that way and easier to drink. This is how I got used to them when I first started.

I like Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir for my reds. I *hate* red blends, but my GF loves them so I end up drinking them sometimes. I don't really drink whites, but will have a Rose every once in a while if that's what's being served.
 

bnr32

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Nov 6, 2013
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pick a type then try different regions, California, AUS, France, Italy and so on will all taste different. See if you like sweeter wines, or not. It's an open book with many many pages to it. just jump in and try things out of your comfort zone. also like said above, price doesn't always means it's good. I've had plenty of amazing 12-17 dollar bottles of wine
 

wombat

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Sep 29, 2007
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I'm probably gunna catch hell for this, but if you don't particularly like the taste of reds, start out with trying them cold. They are less harsh that way and easier to drink. This is how I got used to them when I first started.

This is how I got into it as well. I still like some reds cold, come at me bro. I do love me a good Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot with a good steak.
 
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