Honeymooning in Italy and husband hates wine!
 

We will be in Rome at the end of February, and I would like my husband to enjoy a bottle of wine with me. Any suggestions on a wine he might like? He likes to claim it all tastes like church wine!
Thanks!

What would he prefer to drink instead?

My Italian favorites (right now) are Nebbiolo (red) and Gavi di Gavi (white).

Ask the waiter to recommend his favorite Chianti ... and ask for an older bottle (perhaps 2003 or earlier). Red wines get mellow as they age. Not that I'm an expert on wines!

Thanks for the advice.
He's a beer drinker, through and through, but I'm determined to convert him...

Hi M,

>Honeymooning in Italy and husband hates wine!<

So? You drink the wine and let him drink beer.

((I))

Ira's suggestion sounds like a wise one! We went to a birthday party last night, and our neighbor, who has decided to try to drink red wine "because it's good for you," took a few sips of what we considered a nice cab and said it was absolutely awful, so sour! I suggested perhaps a better term would be dry. She was convinced it was an acquired taste, as it tasted like awful medicine.

Now, I have no idea if your husband feels this strongly, but the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, etc., etc." might apply. Why try to convert him? Let him enjoy his beer and you do likewise with your wine.

Happy Honeymoon!

Get a 1/4 or 1/2 liter carafe of house red, which will set you back about $4-$8 in Rome. Roman table wines are usually quite drinkable, and very inexpensive. That way, if he really does dislike it, you won't be out too much money.
Wine is an acquired taste, but a few glasses with some good pasta in Italy will convert nearly anyone!

He's a beer drinker, through and through, but I'm determined to convert him...


Hope you said that in jest. Trying to convert people often dooms a marriage.

<<< He's a beer drinker, through and through, but I'm determined to convert him... >>>

The three words that go through a bride's mind - Aisle, Altar, Hymn.

Of course, let him drink beer---I often do in Italy. One trip I counted 15 various brands of beer. However, if you want a good white wine that a beer drinker may like, try Vernaccia di San Gimignano or Orvieto Classico---not church wine.

I, too, would let him drink his beer and enjoy it. Maybe he'll agree to sip on your wine, and perhaps might find one he likes. Since he prefers effervescent beer, maybe he'd like a sparkling wine, like prosecco? I'm sure you were being facetious about "converting" him, non?
Enjoy your trip. Italy is for lovers!
:)>-

Let him drink a nice cold Peroni or Nastro Azzuro (that would be Italian beer) while YOU enjoy some local wine. I'm with Bob on the Vernaccia or a good Vermentino from Liguria or Sardegna...

I agree with the above; either let him drink beer or split a carafe of the house table wine. Quite drinkable and inexpensive, so if he doesn't like it you aren't out a lot of money.

Tracy

Uh-oh, haven't started the honeymoon and already you're "trying to convert him"?
Like the others, I really hope you were kidding, but then if so, why are you asking advice as if you are serious about it?


We traveled through Italy with a female friend who really doesn't like wine. She loved drinking Italian beers with meals. Why would we have tried to convert her and not allow her to enjoy what she knows she likes?

My husband is a beer drinker as well. I enjoy beer and wine - and cocktails, and spirits, and liquers, and... ;) But I digress.

My husband has a sip of my wine every once in awhile - maybe he will develop a taste for it some day. Who knows? I don't worry about it though. Sometimes I do think it would be fun to split a bottle of wine, but that is a fairly minor wish in the grand scheme of things.

I think for you guys, if your husband is going to be a convert, I think the best way to go about it is to just leave it be. As time goes on, he may develop a taste for wine, but let him initiate. I have certainly developed a taste for darker beers since I have been with my husband. He enjoys it so much that my curiosity got to me and I started trying more and more of the beers he likes.

Hi mnannie, what is wrong with your husband drinking beer? My SIL who was born and raised in Rome and lived part of his adult life there mostly drank beer. He actually drank very little wine. A lot of male friends in Italy drink beer instead of wine also.

Think of it this way..would you want your husband to want you to switch to beer?

Anyway, there are lots of wonderful wines in Italy. You can order a different glass each time and ask him if he wants to take a small sip just to compare the various wines. But I wouldn't worry about it if he isn't interested. It wouldn't stop me from enjoying my wine. Best wishes and enjoy wonderful Rome!!

"He's a beer drinker, through and through, but I'm determined to convert him..."

Like others, I hope you're joking. Let him drink his beer and offer a sip of your wine, maybe there will be one he likes well enough to go for a glass, if not, focus on enjoying your time in beautiful Italy.

I agree with letting your husband drink beer. He will probably want to taste your wine regularly and may come to like it. Peer pressure will also have an influence on him -- if you go to a restaurant and he sees that 90% of the customers are drinking wine, he might think that he is missing something.

goodgod, I am not a serious (or even regular) wine drinker, nor is my dh, and we've travelled in Italy many times, sometimes drinking, sometimes not, but always enjoying ourselves thoroughly. Son hates tomatoes, loves Italy.

I hate hot dogs, but I love going to baseball games.

The only thing I'd worry about is if he doesn't like great food!
;)

Don't convert him - my DH isn't into wine either. More for me!

Order what you want, invite him to have a sip, and if he doesn't like it, so be it.

Italian beer is great.

Why in the world would you want to force your new husband to drink wine if he doesn't like it? Leave the poor man alone. Rally not a good attitude to start a marriage imo. Let him drink cocktails, or beer, or water, or coffee, or nothing. Sheez!!

Then you can order the "house wines" by small carafe or pitcher if you want to have some, but less than a full bottle.

House wines at restaurants in Italy are oftern quite good. It is usual to order your choice of red or white wine by the liter or half-liter. Some restaurants offer choices by the glass, and some also offer a quartino (quarter-liter).

My wife cannot drink wines due to the sulphites. Though it seemed that the cheap table wines in most trattorias did not bother her.
That said, whenever she ordered the Italian beers, she got an appreciative look from the wait staff. Peroni and Moretti are her favorites. Both of those are generally available in the USA at BevMo or most liquor stores. He can try them out here, then act like a knowledgeable beer drinker when he gets over there. I always have a supply of Moretti on ice here at home.

Hey! People that dislike a particular food or beverage may have had a bad experience early in life with a spoiled or very poor item. New inexpensive wines are often not palatable..wines are served that have spoiled. Try a 'fine'champagne. Church wine may be too sweet! Beer is bitter. Make it your gift, the champagne in the ice bucket beside the table should prove irresistible.

GSteed, Ordering a bottle of Champagne - and I assume you meant "brut" and not "fine" - would be a very costly experiment in Italy.

Mnannie, There is a dry bubbly wine - someone in this thread has already mentioned it - called Prosecco. Every restaurant or reasonably good cafe has it, and it is no more expensive than a glass of regular wine. Since it is most often ordered as an aperitif, order two glasses before the meal. If your husband likes it, fine. If he doesn't, it's no great loss.

as beer in europe goes, italy has some of the worst. but they have some of the best wines. but it's his holiday too so don't be a nag.

Hi mnannie, do try the Prosecco but try the Prosecco from Congeliano where the original wine is from as there are a lot of wines now called Prosecco that is not like the original Prosecco. And do order two glasses, if you are lucky your husband won't like it and you can drink both, LOL.

About Italians beers not being good, in that every Italian I know can order beer from many countries I guess they are not "gourmet" beer drinkers as they prefer Italian beer, brands already mentioned here on your thread.

Just pour white wine into a bottle of Bud Lite or an empty can of Pabst Blue Ribbon and warn him that it tastes different in Italy. Be prepared to throw a fit and threaten divorce if he wants to mention the strange taste to the waiter -- the best strategy might be to tell him that such a question will make both of you appear to be un-cultured idiots. The bottles will take up a little room in your suitcase but it's sooo worth it. The cans you can compress, of course, within a large zip-lock bag. Have fun.

Let's see. Church wine is usually sweeter, so ask the waiter for something dry (sec in Italy).

With a dinner, you might order a glass for each of you. If he stares at it (instead of drinking it) then it is fair game for you.

You know, in Italy I have had a 5 euro bottle that was truly excellent and an 11 euro bottle that was fantastic. With some planning (ie a referral to the right trattoria, osteria, or whateveria) they might have a wine that strikes a cord with hubby. Or maybe 30 minutes at an enotecha.

For your sake, do not try too hard to change the beer drinker.

I have always been a beer drinker, and really didn't like red wine at all before going to Italy for the first time (I always got an awful headache).

My BF opened a bottle of Chianti on my first day in Italy and I was converted....and have about 20 corks which I brought home to show for it. :)

I really don't like the red wine at "home", but real Italian Chianti and Brunello....ahhhhh

BUT, there are lots of different type of beer in Italy (we sampled those too) so let him enjoy his beer, but...

...ask him to have one glass of red wine and then you can have the rest of the bottle for yourself!

Have a wonderful time!!

"Peer pressure will also have an influence on him -- if you go to a restaurant and he sees that 90% of the customers are drinking wine, he might think that he is missing something."

I didn't realize that there were so few beer drinkers in Italy.

That's more wine for you! ;)

I have to say, as one who is in the wine business, it's hard to watch a customer who gets turned off by wine at a restaurant or tasting for no reason other then them not understanding what it is they are drinking. I'm not saying that your husband would cause a scene, I'm just trying to spare you from what could possibly be a potentially embarrassing situation with the waiter (or not-depends on how it's handled).

Bottom line: It's one thing if he's going into it with an open mind, hoping to find something he likes, but it's another thing entirely if this idea is all you. Better off letting him have his brewsky and avoiding a fight.

I'm with Ira (and others) on this one. Let the poor man drink beer if he prefers it.
Peer pressure?? Never experienced it myself in Italy, just drink what you want, plenty of people prefer beer, juice, water, coffee etc. to wine.
Carolena

I was never liked beer, until I got to Prague.
Let the country convert him. It could be that he hasn't had really good wine yet. Of course, he may never like to drink wine.

I hope you have many happy years together.

Re peer pressure, Carolina, I don't know which restaurants you've been to in Italy, but I have not personally seen "lots" of people drinking juice or coffee with their restaurant meals.

Here's a thought: Why don't you learn to drink beer?

Do on to others as you would have them do on to you. Didn't somebody famous say that a long time ago?

peer pressure vs beer pressure

Agree with the others, if he liked wine he'd join you. If is interested in trying again, he will. Otherwise, there's nothing wrong with beer or beer drinkers. Lots of people like both. Maybe it does all taste like church wine to him. For instance, I can't abide coffee. Love the smell, have never liked the taste. People tell me to try different blends, etc. Doesn't matter - it's still coffee, still tastes like coffee. Despite how many people love it, I don't. I am a tea drinker. And it really doesn't matter one way or the other.