GRcade

I don't really know how or when it happened, but I really like wine. Do you?

How do you go about figuring out how to match the right wine with food?

My current two favourite dishes are home cooked salmon with a dry white or a restaurant (I don't have the skill) steak with a heavy red.

Normally I just go for a wine I like and mine are mainly heavy red wines .So my favourites are Chilean or argentinian Merlot, If I want one a little smoother then I normally have a pinot noir. I'm not the biggest fan of white wine though but I did have an awesome one in Barcelona . No idea what it was called but it was tasty.

I love a nice Malbec

Don't understand wine. It just tastes of vinegar with an extra ingredient.

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Don't understand wine. It just tastes of vinegar with an extra ingredient.

You've probably had some bad wine. White wine and red wine are very different and then you have different types that use different grapes .It might not be for you though but I really enjoy a good wine.

Red wine, won't spend more than 5 quid maximum.

Lotus wrote:I like it, but generally all red wines taste the same to me, as do all white wines. Couldn't tell you if a particular wine went well with a particular food, or what 'notes' or 'mouthfeel' the wine had, or any of that bullshit. It's just red wine and white wine to me. Never tried rosé. Hate it when you're drinking with someone, they have some wine, then declare it as 'undrinkable' and spit it out. I'm sure it's not that bad you tool.

I haven't really experienced wine snobbery. I know that it would wind me up, however I admit that if you have been drinking a particularly nice wine and you move onto a nasty wine (the same evening) the difference in quality is hugely noticeable. So much so that a bad quality wine could be considered undrinkable.

Rioja Far as I'm concerned there are no other wines

Skippy wrote:Rioja Far as I'm concerned there are no other wines

That's my wife's favourite one ,I like it a lot as well. A couple of years ago we were bought a really tasty 15 year old rioja.It was definitely up there as one of the tastiest wines I've ever had.

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Don't understand wine. It just tastes of vinegar with an extra ingredient.

Did you have red or white wine vinegar rather than wine?

degoose wrote:

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Don't understand wine. It just tastes of vinegar with an extra ingredient.

You've probably had some bad wine. White wine and red wine are very different and then you have different types that use different grapes .It might not be for you though but I really enjoy a good wine.

It's not bad wine. I just don't like the taste. Not sure why. Just never liked it. I've tried plenty of different ones.

Errkal wrote:

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Don't understand wine. It just tastes of vinegar with an extra ingredient.

Did you have red or white wine vinegar rather than wine?

Well I tried sarsons first as that seems to be the most popular.

I tried a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo from Bella Italia last night, with a meat calzone. I wasn't impressed to be honest (with either). If you like a bit of spice in your wine then I can see the appeal, but it just didn't have the body for my taste. Lesson learnt.

I'll be sticking to Zizzi for my chain Italian food and wine in future. The one I regularly visit (Birmingham) is surprisingly good. Notable mention to Del Villaggio as well. I don't subscribe to the view that a restaurant must be bad because it is a chain, I expect there are good and bad examples of all brands up and down the country.

I tend to stick to lighter wines, pinot noir, pinot grigot, but I like something a bit heavier like a Chablis out Château Neuf du Paup with a meal. I like since wines more than others but I'm sure I've drunk lots of shite in my time! If in doubt I'll just go fit a 13%+ French wine.

I totally understand why people detest wine snobbery; drunk the local stuff in Morocco, which is at best a bit ropey, having a nice bottle of French wine made it very difficult to go back.

Ive never been a wine person, until last month when I was in Germany and hit a wine bar. Had a few glasses of ok red wine, then tried some Malbec-Syrah blend that was the most insanely delicious stuff. Ive tried to source it here but no luck. The lass said they import it themselves from some small vinyard in Argentina, so its likely Ill never have it again. Bad times.

I did the Garden Route in South Africa when I was there, so I'm well into my SA reds. I don't actually 'know' much about wine, though, so I just go with what I've had before and liked, or choose something that has an interesting looking label! But basically, if it's red I like it.

I'm abstaining from wine (except on nights out) at the moment, though. Every November and December, the amount of wine I consume always gets to the point where I want/need a bit of a detox, and I'm very more-ish when it comes to the drink. One glass is never enough, so this year I've had a couple of periods where I haven't had any for a couple of months and it's felt really good. There have been occasions (like when my marriage was in trouble) when wine was a bit of a crutch, so I don't ever want to get to the point where alcoholism is a concern. I'm developing a better relationship with wine and alcohol in general.

I enjoy most red wine I drink, but I always stick to Merlow when I can since it's been more consistent for my pallet than others.

I find white wine a real hit and miss, though, some of it is way too bitter or sour for me.

I'd hate to find I've wasted 4/5 pound on a bottle to find out I hate it, so don't really try anything new very often, which is a shame.

Oh, and port. I strawberry floating love port. Expensive though, so I only tend to drink it when it's been bought for me, which is normally at Christmas as a gift from family.

Interesting, as Merlot is probably the one grape I would avoid when looking at reds.

I have discovered a liking for Chilean white wines. The ones I've tried so far have a very dry crispness, which is what I look for in a white (if I wanted something sweet I'd drink lemonade).

An affordable example:

http://m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?searchBox=diablo&No=10&id=282027975

I enjoyed it as part of a mixed case, so shortly afterwards I bought six bottles. One evening, my parents needed to stay the night unexpectedly. I offered them a glass each, went out and when I got back in the early hours of the morning found that they had drunk two of the bottles! The following morning they mentioned how delicious it was.

Get a hunk of salmon, season with olive oil, salt and pepper, oven bake and pour yourself a glass of the above. You won't regret it.

I love wine