Wines of the world

[The Artist]

Since watching the film sideways, I have started to like wine.

Now I am only 17 so a bit weird if I say so myself. Never really liked it before.

Just had a gander through our small wine collection at home.

Rioja 2006
Rioja 2007
Shiraz 2007 argentina
Merlot 2007 chile
Cabernet sauvignon 2006 france
Colline pescaresi 2006 italy
carinene crianca 1999 Spain

I have no idea what these mean so does anyone know any good thing to read on the net about them and which I should take tonight. It will not be drunk with the meal though.

Thank you

[pa_broon74]

Always take the dryest white wine, for it has the highest alcohol content.

Can't comment on red wine as it make me puke.

That's it.


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Didn't catch anything.

[The Artist]

What is a dry white wine? High alcohol content = dry?

I have been reading up on different types just now, so much info!

That list is just the reds by the way.

[pa_broon74]

As I understand it, its to do with the sugar turning into alcohol. Rose wines tend to be very sweet so around 7 or 8% vol. Dryer wines will have less sugar so more alcohol on board.

You get all sorts of dry whites, sauvignon blanc's, columbards, pinot grigio... My current favourite is the Coop's Big Chill, 12.5% I think its a columbard. Not sure what to say as wine to me is either bloody horrible or just quite nice. I've never drank one and thought, 'oh I love that.' I usually just think 'oh dear, cat's piss' or 'oh, thats ok.'


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Didn't catch anything.

[The Artist]

So out of those in my list which would be the best as a relaxing tasty one?

I have a pinot grigio in the whites which apparently is quite nice according to tinernets.

[D O G]

Wine is a very expansive subject. Many, many books have been written on it.

Personally I would direct you to wikipedia which has plenty of info on the topic.

What I will say in response to you orignial question which is what do the names mean is this...

The wine world is separated into 'New world' and 'Old World'. Old world is Europe, New world is the rest (the Americas, Australia, South Africa etc etc).

This is fundamental to the labelling. Old world wines are named primarily after the region in which they are produced. For example, I do like a drop of Saint Emillion, produced in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Saint Emillion is the sub region of the Bordeax region. The history of this is complex, and is related to the fact that each region has specific rules as to which grape varieties can be used in a type of wine, in order for it to be approved (and then there are sub categories for types of wines dependent on the deemed quality of the vinyard). It all gets a bit much to take in. The vast majority of Old world wines are blends of several grape varieties in one bottle. (see my point below regarding your French Caberent Sauvigon)

New world wines are labelled much more simply. They just use the type of grape in the bottle - Shiraz and Merlot in your example. This means there is just one grape type in the bottle, which gives more discrete taste differences between them. There are tons of grape varieties, and obviously new world wines can also be blends of grape varieties, for example I used to drink a fair bit Shiraz-Malbec when in Oz.

Genarally the hotter the climate it is grown in, the longer the growing season, the more sugar in the grape, the higher the alochol content and the more 'robust' the flavour. New world wines are generally grown in hotter places, and so on the whole pack more punch. You try and find an Aussie red with less than 13.5% alcohol. Most French & Italian wine will be in the 12-13% range, bit higher for Spain and South America, with South Africa and Australia getting up to the 14% range. I used to get a cheapo $9 blended wine in Oz which kicked in at 14.8% and gave me a very sore head. Tasted OK though.

So, looking at your French wine which is labelled Cabernet Sauvignon, I would suggest that either you have read the label incorrectly and missed the main name, or it is total shit made from poor quality grapes which could not be used in the production of approved wines. Avoid.

Other than that, I like all red wine, but I don't pay enough attention to the grape variety to tell you the taste differences between Merlot and Shiraz. I think Shiraz is more 'fruity' and 'bold', with Merlot dryer, darker and more earthy, but I really could be spouting utter shit.

If you are taking this on a date, I would go for the Italian. It is likely to be fairly soft, fruity and easy drinking and not too crazy on the alcohol to overpower. I have never heard of the type you have there though (don't mean it's no good).

Don't take the 1999 bottle - it is pretty old and therefore may be special to your folks.

But yeah, that's a little bit of what I know, and I am by no means an expert at all. It's something I've earmarked for later life when I have the funds and time to learn it.

Oh, and I don't do white wine, or much Rose (but I can tell you how they're made if you like!).

So yeah, check oot wiki as per ususal.

[Annabella]

If I was going to chose one of those wines to sit and drink on it's own it would be the Shiraz - easily the most 'drinkable'. It tends to be a little bit spicy and fruity. The Merlot is much more heavy and has a more powerful aftertaste.

The 2006 Rioja (interesting fact, Rioja is a region NOT a type of grape) will be nice, but depending on it's classification can be extremely oaky (will taste a bit like you're munching on a barrel - I enjoy it, but it's definitely an acquired taste and is generally better with food).

EDIT: The Italian one is just an appellation (a sort of quality control standard) of a region I think... which doesn't help us identify what type of wine it is or what grape is used.



The best advice I was ever given was from Susy Atkins at one of her wine tasting events - and that is, drink what you enjoy. Try different things, but everyone reacts differently to different flavours - don't be swayed by 'wine buffs' opinions.
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[The Artist]

Thank you very much.

I now have hours of reading on wikipedia to do!

Anyone know anything about that old bottle of wine?

[Annabella]

[Polo]

I have never amassed any kind of a wine collection.

I get a box of 12 delivered every quarter. They last about 2 weeks. Costs me loads of money and all tastes the same really. Although I always smile when there is some Pinot Noir (red) in there. I seem to recall I like these ones.

I need help.
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[The Artist]

According to a website somewhere on the internet the old bottle I have retailed for $46 a bottle and is quite nice with deep cherry tones

We get that 12 bottles every quarter from the Sunday times or something. Quite good but I have never taken an interest before.

[pa_broon74]

Its easier to say what not to drink...

Cava
Asti Spumanti
Lambrini.

I mean, it'll get you pissed, but at the cost of any credibility you may have had.


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Didn't catch anything.

[mistergixer]

Half a bottle of Blue Nun for me.
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[stinkwheel]

Very roughly, the French have three grades of wine according to how clearly the area they come from is defined and how strictly controlled the production techniques are.

Vin de Pays: Wine of the region. The lowest grade, it will be from the rough geographical area, might be a blend, may not be made according to the most traditional techniques.

Vin de Table: Table wine. Standard plonk you often get free with the meal in France.

Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AHOC): Controlled origin. The strictest standard of production. It will definately come from that specific region and will be made to a strictly controlled standard. They can also have "mis en bouteille a la propriete" which means they were bottled at the vinyard they were produced on.

So say you had wine from the Bordeaux region, the top "grade" would be labelled "Appelation Bordeaux Contrôlée" .

Any of the three can still taste like shite but it gives you an idea of the production techniques.

In reality. The Vin de Pays is cheaper to buy. So if you were spending say a fiver on a bottle, that ought to get you a reasonably good Vin de Pays. It would probably get you a fairly shit AHOC.

So that means not a lot to you.

Wine top tips:
1) All wine you buy from a shop in the UK is ready to drink straight away in therms of maturity but it is worth leaving it to settle for a couple of days once you get it home as transport "shocks" some of them.

2) It is really worth making sure you drink them at the correct temperature.

3) People talk about "corked" wine. That basically means it's reacted with the cork and has gone off. One sniff will tell you if wine is corked, I drink a lot of wine and I've only ever had one corked bottle. Most wine people say is corked is actually just not very nice wine.

4) Write down what you like and don't like in a wee notebook. The only way to find out is to try it. Something with new world wines in particular is that you just have to know which ones you like, the region tells you very little.

5) Supermarkets often employ wine buyers to select their "own label" wines. The co-op seems to have a very good buyer.

6) Spend the extra couple of quid. By the time it's got here and the duty has been payed, a £5 bottle for Australian or Californian wine probably means you're paying about a quid for the wine itself. So if you spend £7 on a bottle, you're getting wine that is three times as expensive.

The '06 cab-sav on your list wants drinking soon.
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[The Original Muzza]

Is this a joke? You are 17 for Allah's sake, drink the one with the highest %alcohol and wash it down with a tennents super. Wine is disgusting, people who have a high interest in wine aren't cultured, they are pretentious.
Also I'm pretty sure you've just found your parents "ASDA brand" wine collection. If you want street cred drink wine out of a bag and give handy j's to obtain it.

p.s.https://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/images/sideways2.jpg
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[The Artist]

I like many drinks but wine just gives this rambunctuous flavour that I adore!

[pa_broon74]

James May calls them Wine Ponces...

I've been watching him and Oz Clarke around the California, quite entertaining, although the wine part is incidental.

When James May won the wine ponce competition toward the end of the series; he punched himself in the face.


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Didn't catch anything.

[WildGoose]

I've been a bit more into wine the past year or so. White only, can't stand the taste of red, and rose is a bit 'meh'.

Stinkwheel gives some good advice, you will never remember more than 10 different bottles of wine, so once you have tried a few unless you write them down, you could end up buying the same nasty shit you had to force down your throat before.

I've tasted nasty wines from all different grape types, so there is no magic formula to working out which you will like, just a case of taking the plunge.

I haven't consumed enough to say whether expensive wine will taste better, but the last bottle I had that was really good, was 'Yaldara Estate Chardonnay' and it turned out to be about £9 a bottle.

It was actually a gift from someone to the other half, and I was not entitled to drink it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I am probably still in the dog house about it, and have yet to replace it, as you can't get it just anywhere.

Unfortunately the painful heads are just as random as the names, and I can't pin them down to a particular type either.
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[iCraig]

Best ones on your list are probably the Rioja's, although you don't say if they are Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva.
They're basically how long they've been aged for the barrel and usually the longer their aged the more expensive they are and more mellow.

I personally love a good Rioja, spent alot of time drinking them when I was in Spain in April. Could get a drinkable young Rioja there for about €1.30, and an excellent Reserva for about €4.

Like Bella has said, Rioja isn't actually a grape but a region. The wine itself is usually the Tempranillo grape, and sometimes a blend of Tempranillo and Grarancha.

One thing I will say is sometimes you pay for the Rioja name, say a 2000 Gran Reserva Rioja is about £15, but a 1999 Gran Reserva Tempranillo can be had for about a £5. All because the grape wasn't grown in the Rioja region.