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Hi,I've been active here in the Audio Asylum since the beginning, though I don't post as much as I used to. However maybe the wine asylum can get me more active again....
I'm more of a beer geek - I just love ales, especially Belgium ones. However I need to lose weight so I'm switching to wine - really my first serious foray. I've been to the local shops and picked up a few things and what strikes me is:
1. The overwhelming selection
2. The absence of my ability to critically distinguish between various wines.I'm trying to stay in the $10-$20 retail area and would like to home in a few wines that I can get to know and grow with. My thinking (perhaps wrong) is to get to know something well, then perhaps that can be the start of more clearly distinguishing different wines.
One obstacle is that I am allergic to sulfites - I get somewhat asthmatic with it. So for starters I'm starting out white. And I'm thinking of starting with a particular type, like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio - I seem to enjoy those. However this past weekend I was at a party hosted by a Frenchman in the neighborhood, he sure had something nice that I'll look into.
Anyhow, any suggestions for the un-initiated? Are their decent websites that rate wine? I've seen some pocket guidebooks, are these worthwhile?
Thanks!
Bob
Follow Ups:
See http://www.coturriwinery.com/main.htmlTheir wines are organic and no Sulfur dioxide is added. Here is an excerpt from their website:
The wines are bottled without fining agents, filtration or the addition of sulphur dioxide preservative (sulphites).
I would add that, be warned, their wines are extremely INTENSE!, which is a good thing for me.
First, don't look to wine as a weight loss program. BIG MISTAKE!Secondly, this is unfortunately not a great wine forum. Don't know why and I don't know if there is a better one. But my guess is that there is so much wine in the world and it changes every year that it would be hard to have a good forum. The wines in my local shop will probably not have the same wines in yours.
"Wine Spectator" is a good magazine to give you some ideas but remember they are not always right and alot of their suggestions are hard to come by. Hugh Johnson's "Pocket Guide to Wine" is a good starting book.
But as my wine mentor once told me, "The only way to learn about wine is to drink it". Don't pidgeon hole yourself into a type on wine, sweet or dry, red or white. Try everything with an open mind. Great wine is great wine.
Hi,Maybe we could just start chatting here and grow this forum. I don't know of any good online communities.
Staring into wine appreciation is like starting in Hi Fi, it seems immense, but gets smaller as you go.
Just as Hi Fi books aren't enough to tell you what to buy without listening, reading without tasting won't give you enough of an idea about both the virtues and flaws of wines.
I think a great start would be to pick up a copy of the Wine Spectator - NOT to learn what to buy, but to use as a comparison reference when you taste.
Go and grab a few of the affordable bottle they describe, ignore the ratings, and taste as you read their notes. You'll develop a feel for what key words appear in reviews that correlate with what your taste buds like, and you'll be off to the races.
Also, there is a cool thing called a "tasting wheel." It's kind of like a color mixing wheel but has many descriptive terms for flavors and aromas that show up in wine. Tasting with one of those can help you put words to your tasting experience and can help when you read reviews and are trying to figure out if you'll like the wine.
So, reading is good, but only as you taste, too!
Ignore the rating numbers. Just like Hi Fi - what pleases your ears or taste buds is more important than what a critic says.
__________________________________
__________________________________Now, about sulfites in wine...
Do red wines have more sulfites? Actually, red wines may have less sulfites. In 1993 the European Union passed regulations permitting higher levels of total sulphur dioxide in dry white wine than in dry red wine and an even higher level in sweet white wines and rose wines.
There is no dependable way to blame red wine for specifically higher sulfite content.
Sulfites are very high in fast food french fries, store bought mushrooms, and salad bars. If you can eat those foods, it may be that any wine could be OK for you.
Of course, if your sensitivity is a near death experience, asthma, or anaphylactic shock, then work out this wine issue with your doctor!
Cheers!
I'll check back in, we can grow a forum!
Thanks guys. Actually I went out tonight and bought about $150 worth of various wines at a wine store that hand a huge inventory. I based my buying on what the store recommended, plus a copy of Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide a friend gave me. I picked up 10 bottles, plus a couple of sixers of my favorite beers, Sierra Nevada's "Celebration Ale" and Dogfish Head's 60 IPA. Old habits are hard to break.Regarding sulfites, I appreciate your knowledge. I did a little research on the web and found pretty much the same thing (reds usually have fewer sulfites). Interesting, I don't know where I came up with the opposite impression. Probably a bad experience I had a while back, I'll keep an eye on it. When I have wine with too much sulfites (or too much wine with sulfites!), I get somewhat asthmatic - shortness of breath, constriction of chest, etc. Not life threatening, but bothersome. At a Christmas party a couple of weeks ago (assuming there weren't as many sulfites in white as red), I did some damage to a Pinot Grigio that was tasty. That led to a reaction, later I looked at the bottle and saw it contained sulfites.
As I learned from a couple of sites today, all wine has sulfites, but if it is less than 10 ppm (in the US), it doesn't have to be labeled. So I'll keep an eye on labels.
That being said, I think (since I'm new at this), I'm going to stick with whites for awhile until I get my footing. Once I've ID'ed a few favorites, I'll start into the red barrel.
Again thanks, I'll keep you posted. And a shout out to Jazz1 if he's purusing these posts - hope you're doing well buddy.
There is usually more sulfur in white wines than in reds. One reason sulites are added to wine is to prevent oxidation...more of an issue with whites than reds.
You also add sulfites to wine to protect them from microbioligical disaster! There are a few wines out there without sulfites..look for organic wines as a starting point...although you need to read the label...wines can be made from organic grapes and still be made with sulfites.
If you do a search for histimines and wine, you'll find some info on what is most probably your issue.Try a rose'..minimal skin contact...less histimines from fermentation. If that works out ok, try Pinot Noir...thin skins and maybe less histimines?
Enjoy,
Steve
Hey Steve - thanks so much. I looked around as you suggested, histamines do seem to be a culprit, especially with headaches. Too bad a level of histamines isn't documented in wine (no, I'm not advocating more regulations, but I am curious). My reaction is more chest congestion, if I find another wine I react to, I'll try it again w/ an anti histamine as well.
Wine and an anti-histamine. Kind of a Harvey Wine Banger.Make sure you have a designated driver!
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