Trying to appreciate wine

[Todd]

In the interest of domestic bliss, the last 2 weekends the better half and I have been visiting wineries in the area. She loves wine, and I have never had a taste for it but figured I'd done worse things than drink to try to keep her happy! ;)
So far, I think I've tried 18 different wines, found 2 I wouldn't object to having more of and only 1 I actually liked. Is it just an acquired taste, or like grits, do you have to be born with it?

By the way, I've discovered "wine tasting" is a classy way of saying "get drunk cheap in the afternoon"..lol

[sawguy21]

 :D My parents did not know wines, would buy some local plonk they didn't mind for special occasions. Five bucks a gallon including deposit. Then they met a fellow who had done a lot of traveling. At group dinners he would bring a couple of decent reasonably wines for us to try. Wow, you mean this stuff can actually be drinkable?
I think it is an acquired taste, just don't start on rot gut like I did. I actually enjoy a glass of a dry red with dinner but that is it.

[Kansas]

When I was growing up, there were no commercial wineries in the area. Lots of homemade wine, some of it darned good. Not commercial though. For some reason, they started popping up. When I hosted our class reunion last year, a bunch of them went on a tour of wineries in the area. I have heard there are a fair number that have started in Missouri as well. I did a quick check and there must be 5 within 40 miles of me, 4 of those within 10 miles. Don't know if any of them are any good, but they all seem to be thriving.

[scgargoyle]

It's definitely an acquired taste. When I was coming up, we thought Boone's Farm was pretty good! I would think start with a wine of medium sweetness, and then gradually work up to drier (less sweet) ones. I can't stand sweet wines anymore. Many homemade wines are way too sweet, and I have to try to pretend that I like them. You're not going to acquire a taste for better wines in two weeks.

[Raider Bill]

GF is a wino....... So I've been dabbleing and have found a few I seem to like with pino noir \, malbec and merlot in that order being my Favorites. Some I've found are just too dry.

I probably wouldn't have made it through high school with out Boones farm for lunch :D

[Todd]

only 1 I found I could really drink, aside from an ice wine that I'd love to have a big stogie with and sip all night, was a Moscato D'asti that was like drinking a really nice grape/apple pop.  Still can't appreciate the "bite" or aftertaste of most reds...found some that were good...good...yuck!

The tours are cool though because I can appreciate the process even if I don't always appreciate the product.

[LeeB]

Try different brands also. Not all wines are the same even though they may be from the same variety of grape.

[martyinmi]

Boones Farm Tickle Pink 8)
Started drinking that stuff when I was a sophomore in HS. Less than 2 bucks a bottle. We sometimes had to hunt around for quite a while to find a buyer!
I've never had a dry wine that I like. The sweeter, the better for me.
I've been known to spend upwards of 6 bucks for a good bottle of wine now that I'm older! :D

[Sprucegum]

You got to start on the really bad stuff so you appreciate the good stuff when you find it.  :

I like my wine with food. For sittin' and sippin' its got to be whiskey.

A high school friend was a red wine fan. One afternoon he missed a corner and rolled his car. The first woman on the scene called an ambulance in a panic because she thought the red stuff running out of the car was blood    :D

[Mooseherder]

I prefer making it over drinking it.  It's more palatable if you make your own.
I'm not a fan of dry or too sweet.  Somewhere in the middle is good. :D
There are way too many options at the Store.  If and when you find one that is good it's hard to remember which one it was when you go back for another the following year.
The Opici brand makes one that says "Homemade Wine" on the label.
It is very good.

[JohnW]

Yes, I'm a bordeaux drinker, and it's definitely an acquired taste.  I'm pretty slow -- in takes me a while to figure out about some wine.  Like whether I like them or not, or which one I like better.

[Raider Bill]

Rex Goliath Pinot Noir. Got a big chicken on the label $4.99 Velvety Smooth....

[DanG]

"As a matter of fact I like beer."       Tom T. Hall

I think most of the money made from wine is from people having to buy 100 bottles of stuff they don't like before they find one they can handle.

[Raider Bill]

"As a matter of fact I like beer."       Tom T. Hall

I think most of the money made from wine is from people having to buy 100 bottles of stuff they don't like before they find one they can handle.

Maybe a lot of truth to that statement!

[Todd]

That's why I don't mind the wine tastings at the tour...at $1.00 a half glass to try it you're not risking much.

[Raider Bill]

We used to wine taste in the Finger Lakes but I didn't like it then so I kept beer in a saddle bag.

[Todd]

Wash that swill taste from your mouth.. :D

[Chris Burchfield]

Boones Farm Strawberry Hill!

[Corley5]

Since I'm growing wine grapes I've been trying to like wine.  I prefer a sweeter one but no too sweet.  I can't handle a dry wine.  Yuck!  Like I said I'm trying but I'd rather have a drink of something else  ;) ;D