Tips for learning to drink wine?
 

We'll be traveling to Europe in about a year, and I've never been used to drinking wine with meals(gasp!).

But, I really want to start drinking both white and red wines before we go, so I can really appreciate while I'm there. I don't really care for dry wines, so I don't know if red wine would be more for me.

Anyone want to recommened a certain method/type of wine that I should start out with? What types of food should I eat with it? Any help would be much appreciated!!

There's a thread on the US board called "Good Wine Opinion" that may be helpful. I would also recommend the book "Great Wine Made Simple" by Andrea Immer. It's a great beginner's guide. Have fun!

You are already starting on the right foot! :)

Rules for drinking:
1) Always drink with food

2) Always drink with someone else

In other words, never drink alone and never drink on an empty stomach.

3) Always drink in moderation. Never drink too much.

You'll probably want to start out with a sweeter German wine like a Liebfraumilch or a Gewurztraminer. You might want to try a Portuguese wine, Mateus, for a red wine starter.

Have fun!

Degas started a similar thread last year and got lots of useful tips.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34449997

You may need to copy and paste the whole of the URL if it's split.

Wine may be a culture item. French and Italians use it regularily with meals much as the Czech do with beer. I have seen both at breakfasts. I can imagine that at one time it was safer to drink than water. Wines now on the market in Poland can cost less than some bottled waters.
Sample some wines..many times the next bottle will not taste like the last one. Often very expensive wines are inferior to less expensive ones. Be your own judge. Much of the price of the wine is in its transportation and storage costs. Try local wines.
Make your own...you will soon know more about wine than some critics!
Try the restaurants 'house wines'.

You should go for the more northern wines, like the German ones, to start with. Because climate is less warm, the sugar does not get turned into alcohol at the same rate and the wine stays sweeter. Sweetness is not a product of colour (or vice versa)

Not to sound pretentious (drink what pleases you, for heavens' sakes! It's your life)but wine people tend to prefer drier wines (except possibly with dessert or foie gras), so do keep trying them. As your palate matures, you'll probably like them better yourself. I'm not talking about very dry wines like Entre Deux Mers, but most, odinary bottles.

And teh real answer is, keep trying different things; be adventurous. The worst that can happen is you have to drink a glass of wine that doesn't appeal to you. How bad can that be:)?

You've gotten some very good replies, especially about trying German white wines to start, as they are sweeter. Also, if you want to have a meal without wine, you most certainly can! Soft drinks, coffee, tea and fruit juices are very common! What countries are you going to? For instance, if you're going to Greece, some of their wines are a bit harsher than Germany, France, Switz, or Italy, and you might not like them as you would in another country. Just as Sheila said, if you get a glass you don't like, how bad can it be?

A paperback book called I think, Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage is available in bookstores and on Amazon, etc.. It's written by Dorothy Gaiter and her husband John who are the wine columnists for the New York Times. It's a delightful read about this couple who met, fell in love with each other and with wine. It's very unpretentious and it tells how they first started to drink wine, what they started on and how they progressed, including such wines as Blue Nun Leibfraumilch, and Lancers rose which have already been mentioned above. If you followed their progression, I think you'd have a nice introduction to wine drinking.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but has it ever occurred to anyone on this post that the questioner should determine first of all if he/she is an alcoholic or has alcoholism in his/her family? I speak from experience. Alcoholism is a serious disease that can lead to all sorts of problems, even death. No kidding. Believe me, for an alcoholic, it's easier to "just say no."

Believe me, for an alcoholic, it is easier to just say "yes".

Here are the necessary tips for drinking wine:
1) unscrew the cap
2) put the open end of the bottle to your open lips
3) tilt your head back

2 of our local liquor stores regularly offer wine tastings & tips; perhaps there is something in your area that offers that too? Might want to look through the phone book and make some calls. Also, are you anywhere near a winery? They are an excellent source of information.

Most of your red wines in both Italy and France tend to be catagorized as "dry."

There are some very good dry wines that are "fruity" which I think you would enjoy. Try some of the Beaujolais or Pinot Noirs. ((b))

Anna,
You are in for a fun ride....learning about wine!!!
Good friends wrote ""Wine for Dummies!!!"" (Ed McCarthy & Mary Ewing-Mulligan)
It is a great straight-forward approach to a diverse & interesting topic!!
I still use it for reference!!
Another suggestion....start having mini-tastings at home with friends....lots of fun & a great way to try many wines!!
Bottom line?? Buy & drink what you like!!

Maybe I'm unusual but I don't like things that are sweet. When young and first tasting wine I hated the stuff. Why? Because everyone kept having me try some sweet stuff. When I finally got hold of some chianti and cabernet, I decided I loved red wine. Not everybody will appreciate the sweeter wines.

Anna-I agree with Patrick. Do not start with the sweeter wines next thing you know you'll be drinking (gasp!) whit zin-Yuck!!!! Go for the reds they are good for your health. Try a nice light red such as a pinot noir-this red goes great with fish- salmon (wild only-no farm raised) and tuna and all your meats. Try a nice pinot noir with strawberries you'll be amazed at the sensation. The reds also go nice with chocolate. If you are going to Italy you will love all the red wines even the local table wines are wonderful. Enjoy!!!!

I love red wine but have never been a big pinot noir fan. Everyone has different tastes. Definitely try it, but if you find you don't enjoy the pinots, try the opposite end of the spectrum, a lush shiraz from Australia (Rosemount is really good, about $6 at Costco). My husband who doesn't like wine at all will drink a good shiraz. France uses lots of Syrah (same grape as Shiraz) in their blends.

jmv's recommendation of a book by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher is excellent except for one point: the column appears in the Wall Street Journal on Fridays and their book is recently updated and titled "The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine: New and Improved".

The column of January 9 is an excellent starting point and is titled "A Road Map to Great Values". Start your education with it.

Only someone uneducated, unsophisticated, with deep-rooted feelings of inferiority would think enjoying wine has anything to do with snobbery or peer pressure or the price of a bottle. How sad and ridiculous.

Equally ridiculous is pitting sweet against dry or red versus white. If you're serious about an education in wine, it's very important to keep your mind open and try them all. Also, be sure to focus on the art of pairing wine with food. The best way to learn about wine is to go to tastings. Comparing one to another is a great way to determine what pleases you.

Thank you, jsmith, for providing the correct road to Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. I have been reading their column for many years and loved their appearances on the Martha Stewart show. They are a lovely, unpretentious couple who make it very easy to guide any novice into the wine tasting experience.

mrwunrfl
>Here are the necessary tips for drinking wine:
1) unscrew the cap...<

UNSCREW THE CAP!!!!!!!!!????????

What are you drinking?

Hi Anna,

The lighter German and Italian whites (Orvieto, Frscati) are good starters. Light Italian reds (Lambrusco, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo)are good starters.

Rose' d'Anjou is much better than white Zinfandel.

These are just suggestions to get you started. Once in Europe, ask for the house wines. These are intended to be wines that no one dislikes.

Enjoy drinking your way through Europe, and do not accept any wine that has a screw top.