New to wine, seeking recommendations

Would you please indulge a wine novice for a few moments?

I've quickly found out that saying you like "sweet" wines sends up red flags among lots of wine connosieurs. But whether my current preference is a sign of an undeveloped palate or just a lack of good taste, that's what I prefer at this point in my very young wine-drinking career. And I'd like some recommendations from those more experienced in this area. Basically, I'm looking for a satisfying everyday drink -- something I'll probably use as a nightcap.

Since "sweet" means different things to different people, let me try to give you the best description I can of what I mean, based on some of the wines I've tried so far.

+Chaucer's Mead -- not technically a wine, I suppose, but this is what got me interested in exploring actual grape wines. I loved the satisfying sweetness of the honey and the rich, full flavor.

+Semi-dry Riesling (sorry, I don't have brand names for some of these available) -- The body was a little too light and delicate for me, though the sweetness level was adequate.

+Gewurztraminer -- Had a nice, spicy zing to it and a decent level of sweetness.

+Vintage port and LBV port -- The vintage was ca. 1995, I think. Yes, sacrilege, I know, for drinking it too early, but aside from the mead, these are the two most satisfying wines I've tasted yet. A nice, full body, delightfully fruity, complex, and almost perfectly sweet (for me).

+Vintage character port -- I can't remember the maker of this one, but it seemed almost as if the bottlers tried TOO hard to make this taste like a vintage. I'm not pretending to be sophisticated enough to know whether this was the case; all I know is that while the sweetness and fruitiness were there, there was also an almost overpowering spiciness that detracted from my enjoyment of any of the underlying flavors.

+Malmsey and Bual Madeira -- Both were Blandy's 5-Year varieties. Decent level of sweetness. The Malmsey, though, was almost overwhelmingly powerful -- an assault on my taste buds! And I didn't care for the sour undertones. Bual struck me as a little more palatable, but not something I'd want to enjoy as a daily drink. Is it worth trying the Verdelho or Rainwater varieties, and how do they compare with Malmsey and Bual?

+Bristol Cream Sherry -- I was really unimpressed with this. In short, I just found it nasty, like a Madeira without any of the complexity.

+Valdespino Pedro Ximenez "The Cream of Cream Sherry" -- Blah! Treacly, syrupy. Like candy in a bottle. WAY too sweet.

+Some half-bottle of Australian Tokay, can't remember the maker -- Again, too syrupy.

+A half-bottle of Sauternes, can't remember the maker -- Reminded me a lot of mead, with a distinct honey-like flavor. I enjoyed this one, except for the strong, almost truffle-like aftertaste.

+Dow's tawny port -- No indicaton of average age, and it looked more reddish than tawny. I'm not sure what I got here, but I wasn't overly impressed. A little drier than the vintage and LBV ports I've had, and not much in the way of complexity.

+Ruby port -- can't remember the maker. Not bad, but I think I was spoiled by having tried the vintage and LBV first. Not as full-bodied or complex, but pleasantly fruity and sweet.

So, based on this information, what else is out there that I might enjoy? I've heard good things about some of the sweet German wines and am thinking about heading in that direction next. What about ice wines?

Thanks, everybody!

Adrian

Reply to
A.M. Rush
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Many people tend to use "dessert" rather than "sweet" in describing sweet wines. I see no good reason for doing so, other than habit. A sweet wine may be served as dessert, with dessert, or just about anytime in the day. However not many people will like it served with a steak, for example. But then not many people would like a bone-dry and high-acidity "oyster" wine served with their sweet dessert either.

So called "wine connosieurs" who have bad opinions of sweet wines in general, are just ignorant. Of course there are a few people who just do not like anything sweet, be it wine, cake, candy etc. There are plenty of poor sweet wines, just as there are plenty of poor dry wines. However many of the most rare, most famous, and most expensive wines in the world are sweet, and sometimes extremely sweet. The great Tokaji Essencia, which Louis 14 called the king of wines and the wine for kings, is a wine with often far over 50 percent of residual sugar, but it has plenty of acid to balance the sweetness. Ch. d'Yquem, the great German TBAs, the great very sweet Loires, etc are some of the most famous wines in the world, and many can cost more than first growth Bordeaux. But let the detractors of fine sweet wines rant on. Some of these wines are so rare and expensive that increased demand would send the price into orbit.

Reply to
cwdjrxyz

"A.M. Rush" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

You hit the nails head... A good German Riesling Ice Wine (Eiswein) is several things at once, delicate and full, flowery and fruity, sweet and zingy, excellent as a stand alone drink after a dinner. Nowadays they aren't too expensive, but be prepared to shell out something like 40-50USD for a half bottle, easily double that from a top winery. However, a 20USD German Riesling Auslese (for a full bottle) should be a very good drink too for you. If you have a selection available - ask here for a recommendation! hth Anders

Reply to
Anders Tørneskog

I figure that this adventure will be quite like my previous foray into cigars ... I had to develop my palate before I could appreciate the differences and subtleties and ranges of flavors. I'm sure that I'll come to appreciate drier wines eventually. I'm just dipping my toe into the world of wine by going with what I know I like now ... but I'm certainly looking forward to expanding my horizons! And I have been taking notes so far ... as much as my limited wine vocabulary will allow.

Thanks to all of you for your advice so far. I think my next step will be to find myself a nice eiswein this weekend.

Adrian

Reply to
A.M. Rush

Pour some of it over vanilla ice cream and get back to us with the result.

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Reply to
Leo Bueno

If there is a wine shop or other venue nearby that offers wine tastings, that is a good way to become more familiar with wines you may not have been exposed to, and to reevaluate wines that you may have tried in the past. That way, you can try wines and determine what to buy without spending a lot of cash.

Reply to
AyTee

As may have been noticed, I am a German wine fanatic-- I would like to mention that there are some Icewines that are fairly inexpensive, some less than $20 U.S. I have a very nice Pinot Noir icewine in my cellar. Also some other faves are fortified French wines from the Rhone made from Muscat or Grenache, and the great Chenin Blancs from the Loire area. Cheers!

Reply to
kenneth mccoy

Adrian: Vouvray is a white French wine from the Loire Valley that isn't as sweet as the wines you've mentioned but it's got enough residual sugar it doesn't count as dry. It's a wonderful wine. Champalou Vouvray imported by the respected Kermit Lynch is about $15 a bottle. It's a good place to start.

Reply to
stephentimko

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