Bought two bottles of wine today

[mjdtexan]

I bought a white zinfandel (Berringer) and a merlot (Barefoot) today. I've tasted wine before and liked it but I was never curious enough to look at the bottle or anything like that. I've also tasted wine I didnt like.


I figure these are two common types of wine that are worth trying to see what kind of wine I am going to like. I got 27 free wine bottles yesterday and one of them was one of those "Barefoot" merlots. I noticed the price tag on it was $9.99. I went to the local liquor store and got it for $4.99. Weird huh. That guy I got the bottles from lives in the rich part of town. I expect thats why he pays twice the price. I noticed they drank a lot of the Lindeman brand. Those labes are tough to get off. No question here really, just sort of ramblin I guess. Gonna try one of them tonight with dinner.

 

[smurfe]

Some of the Barefoot Wines are actually pretty good. I believe the MSRP is $9.99 at least it is here. And it sells at the local grocery for $4.99. I made a batch of WE White Zin once and had a leak at the spigot on the bucket. When I racked to glass I had quite a bit of head space even after adding the allowable amount of water. To the Winn Dixie I drove and found Barefoot wines on sale for $3.99 a bottle. Bought a few to top off the carboy with. Had half a bottle left over and drank it. It was pretty darn good considering I don't like White Zin. It was actually pretty close to what the WE White Zin kit turns out like. I need to get back into making some wine. My wife has been spending $20.00 a bottle on Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio here lately. That adds up real quick. I will say though, it is the tastiest Pinot Grigio I have ever tried. The kits I have made of Pinot really don't come close to it.

 

[Tom]

Smurfe,

At least your wife is giving you some empty bottles. LOL

 

[JimCook]

Mjdtexan,


You could setup a little stand up in the part of town where your bottle supplier is purchasing and give them a 20% discount at $7.99 - that could help pay for some kits.


- Jim

 

[mjdtexan]

Mjdtexan,


You could setup a little stand up in the part of town where your bottle supplier is purchasing and give them a 20% discount at $7.99 - that could help pay for some kits.


- Jim

Right right. I kinda skeeeered of the tax man though. Even though, the head tax guy didnt get in trouble for not paying his taxes.

 

[whino-wino]

A local restaurant that I collected empty bottles from gave me a lot of the Lindeman bottles. It's funny that it depends on the year as to how hard the labels come off. If it's a 2006 or earlier you just soak them for about 2 hours and it peels right off glue and all. If it's a 2007 or 2008 they're a royal pain to remove. Soak them, scrape the paper off and squirt the glue with Goo Gone. The glue will wipe right off with a paper towel.

 

[mjdtexan]

Soak them, scrape the paper off and squirt the glue with Goo Gone. The glue will wipe right off with a paper towel.

I noticed that some of the Lindeman labels came off easier than others. Only a few of them though. I am going to do the Goo Gone thing too.


As far as opening one of those wine bottles for tonights dinner am I supposed to let it breath for 30 minutes or something like that?

 

[JimCook]

Mjdtexan,


Unless you can down a whole bottle fast, I wouldn't worry about it - taste a little when you just open the bottle. Let some sit in a glass for a while and then taste some more. Keep doing this until you are satisfied (variety of possibilities there). Don't let the white zin breathe - treat it like a white.


- Jim

 

[mjdtexan]

Well, I had the Zinfandel. I really didnt like it to much. It wasnt bad or anything, just not for me.


Maybe tomorrow night I will like the Merlot better.

 

[JimCook]

Mjdtexan,


Can you identify anything more specific you did not care for in the wine - an aroma, a particular flavor (I'm not partial to green pepper, for example), too sweet or dry or not sweet enough, a specific aftertaste?


Good news - there are thousands of different wines out there for you to try and find the ones that you like.

Keep your eyes open for tastings at wine shops or grocery stores (less common there) to get (sometimes free) tastes of wine.


- Jim

 

[mjdtexan]

Mjdtexan,


Can you identify anything more specific you did not care for in the wine - an aroma, a particular flavor (I'm not partial to green pepper, for example), too sweet or dry or not sweet enough, a specific aftertaste?


Good news - there are thousands of different wines out there for you to try and find the ones that you like.

Keep your eyes open for tastings at wine shops or grocery stores (less common there) to get (sometimes free) tastes of wine.


- Jim

Hmm, thats hard as I dont know anything about wine yet. I think maybe it was the taste but I wouldnt know how to describe that. I think I might enjoy a dry wine but with a different taste. I like sweet too, mind you, but not overly sweet. I guess what I missed was the fact that I could not find anything in the Zinfandel that reminded me of a grape. It might be my inexperiance though. I'll get there. My ex-wife drank that Zinfandel every day and she loved it. I just never drank with her (not wine anyway).

 

[JimCook]

Mjdtexan,


Knowing wine is about knowing you and your sense of smell, taste, and flavor preferences. Also, please note that this is a 'White' Zinfandel you are talking about and not a Zinfandel - the two are virtually completely opposed in profile. Zinfandel wines are dark and rich, generally with lots of berry and some spice flavors. White Zinfandels (made from the guts of the grape without using the skins in the process) are anything but.


If you can pick out what you like in a particular food, you can pick out what you like in wine. As you get more practice with this, your sense of distinction will grow and you'll be able to tell more specifics in wine. It's kind of like growing your vocabulary, but for descriptive words.


- Jim

 

[mjdtexan]

Ok, I tried the merlot today. Not at all what I expected. It was really dry. Left a bad taste on the back of my tongue. The white Zinfandel was not nearly as dry as that but not sweet. Are all Merlot's that dry?


I am thinking I should try something a little sweeter with tomorrow nights dinner. I dont want anything that is totally sweet. Any suggestions?</font>
Another question, is it possible I am not liking them because I am not really buying expensive wine? Or do I just need to keep trying till I taste a few different kinds that i like?


BTW, tomorrow morning I will be making the Island Mist Blackberry Cabernet. I got my stuff today. I already put together a one gallon (4 liters really) batch of Joes AncientOrange Mead. Its bubbleing away right now. I imagine I will get to try it in a few months.

 

[JimCook]

I would recommend tasting as many wines as you possibly can of a variety of price points and varietals. This will help you hone in on what you really like. I haven't been too keen on the Barefoot wines personally, but that's just me.

After tasting many wines, I came under the idea that there was a combination of varietal and location that I would like for every varietal. So, I continue on this quest and taste some wines I don't like, some that are just okay, and then I've found some real winners. In the least, it's kind of fun trying all those wines.


- Jim

 

[pelican]

Hey mjdtexan, I would recommend tasting a few more wines too -
different brands and price points even.

I know the Barefoot wines
because a niece of mine had a business thing going with "barefoot" in
the name, so her mom and I both (independently, without knowing what
the other was up to) gave her lots of the Barefoot wines one
Christmas. I tried some of them, and while they "aren't bad" they
weren't what I call particularly good either.

I'm guessing the bad taste in the back of your mouth was not from the Merlot so much as the Bare-feet.

If you can find a wine tasting event going on you get to taste an assortment, which gives chance to compare and contrast - and usually there's someone knowledgeable about wine putting it on and you can pepper them with questions about the wines they are showing!