Wine anybody??

If you like really deep & intense cabs, casillero del diablo (chile) is pretty amazing for the price, & how widely available you can find it. Warehouse clubs, HEB etc. I remember 2009 & 2011 being especially good. I've been seeing 2014 lately, haven't tried it yet, but I don't think you can go wrong with this stuff.

Another really good one for the price with a less complex flavor, is live-a-little ravishing red by stellar winery. South africa, organic, no sulfites. Idk what that amounts to, but it does taste really good. Harder to find, I've only seen it at whole foods.

Another chart.

Spoiler

 

Good thing my box is >$15 after tax.

 

real experts listen to their wine

 

Unless your palate is more defined, you won't be able to tell much of a difference between a $10 Bota Box and a $150 Cab.

Red wine is an aggressive taste, it will be bitter to you for a while but if you keep with it your taste buds will become more accustomed to the bitterness of the tannin and begin to unlock the more subtle flavors.

I would liken it to beer. Reds are kind of like IPAs. You have to get past the strong hop profile before you can appreciate the intricacies.

If you're a strictly Bud Light type, you probably won't ever progress into good taste and should stick to Lambrusco and Rieslings.

 

Start with Pinot Noir for reds. They are light, smooth and easy to drink. Some of the pinot noirs I drink that are under $15 a bottle:

Mark West
Cupcake
Cellar #8

Some more expensive options:

Erath
Meomi
Irony
Etude
Decoy

 

Nobody likes beer when they first try it either. Wine is the same way. Start with the sweeter wines and work your way to a good malbec or pinot noir.

 

My highly "drinkable" recommendations, both less than $20:

white:
<img src="https://winealign-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wine_labels/0013/4663/Santa-Margherita-Pinot-Grigio-_28V_29-2009-Label.jpg" height="512" />

red:
<img src="http://sr3.wine-searcher.net/images/labels/99/72/meiomi-pinot-noir-california-usa-10549972.jpg" height="512" />

 

On a related note, dosing aquariums with small amounts of Vodka has proven to lead to more baby fish and a healthier tank.

 

I'm a big Malbec fan. You can get great bottles for 8-20 bucks.

 

I'd recommend going to a wine bar and getting flights of different wines. This way you can try several at a time without buying a full bottle that you might not like.

 

Isn't wine the dirtiest of all drinks? Meaning has the most extra crap you don't want like sulfites, methanol and higher alcohols?

 

I used to go here on the reg but I gave up the taste for wine. I now only drink it during work dinners. The place isn't cheap but they have some fantastic wines and very knowledgeable staff and clientele who LOVE to talk wine.

http://www.13celsius.com/

 

Don't live near EaDo. The closest wine bar I can think of to there is 13 Celsius, but been a while since I have been. Can't remember if they serve flights, but they probably do. Very nice place.

 

They do, but you can plan on spending over $100 easily. One of the best Ports I've ever had was there and a flight was somewhere around $70 or so. The boss was paying, didn't care.

 

Go to La Carafe, which is believed to be the oldest bar in Houston

 

If you are into sweet wines and you want your wife to like them, here are some suggestions:

1) inniskillin ice wine vidal: It's pricey ($50+ for a bottle that will get you like 4 small glasses or two and a half full glasses). It's very thick/rich and very sweet. A true dessert wine.

2) Rieslings: These are white whines that are going to be crisp and varying levels of sweetness. Easy to drink, particularly for beginners. They are light and normally have fruity taste to them. Wine.com has one (Pacific Rim Vin de Glaciere Organic Riesling) that is pretty sweet and light for like $20 a bottle.

3) For something a little darker, try perhaps a Sherry. Another one at wine.com (Alvear Pedro Ximenez 1927) that my wife really liked. It's darker but still sweet and easy to drink.

4) Moscato: Any Moscato is going to be light and crisp and relatively sweet. You almost can't find a "bad" one, but note that some Moscatos will taste more "carbonated" than others.

5) A lot of people who are just getting into wines don't really care for reds. Reasons? 1) Reds tend to be heavier and more bitter than whites. 2) They drink them hot. Reds are not supposed to be hot. Room temperature in Texas is not room temperature where these wines come from. Try drinking them slightly chilled. There are a lot of sweet reds that will be very cheap and they are fine for what they are.

Personally I really like reds but they are more of a sipping drink than whites. Also, a lot of people get headaches from reds.

 

Great way to get some variety, seriously, is wine.com

They sell combo packages of decent, low cost wine that you can sample.

Here are some wines on there that my wife and I enjoyed. She doesn't really care for strong, heavy wines, prefers them lighter and sweeter. Doesn't drink very often and prefers Rieslings and Moscatos.

http://www.wine.com/v6/Pacific-Rim-...c-Riesling-375ML-2012/wine/130985/Detail.aspx

http://www.wine.com/v6/Alvear-Pedro-Ximenez-1927-375ML-half-bottle/wine/92464/Detail.aspx

They'll also have trio packages you can buy that are 90+ rated by various wine magazines/testers. I won't say that it really means they are top 10% of all wines in the world, but they are good packages for decent prices. They have a 90+ reds trio for like $50.

Also, girls love Rose. There are different wines that will have that in their name. They will all be a pinkish color and will be light and sweet. Seriously, women really love these typically. I don't know if this one is any good, but it's an example:
http://www.wine.com/v6/Miraval-Rose-2015/wine/153085/Detail.aspx

 

Any type of Amarone will do you just fine.