Wine Question?!
Wine Question?
What is the difference in dinner wine and just drinking wine? How do I know the difference. Obviously I know nothing about wine, but I am curious. I know I like white wine better than red, but I would like a sweet wine I can just drink whenever, rather than wine that goes better with food.
Thanks for all your help.
Answers:
Good question. You can drink any wine you like whether it is with a meal or not. A table wine is generally less expensive and not made from the highest quality grapes but still renders a wonderful flavour. You mentioned you liked sweet white wines. I suggest you try a "gwertztraminer", originally from Alsace, France but I know they also make a decent one in Washington state, USA. It is sweet but potent so be careful not to over induldge. In Germany and Austria some grapes are left on the vines throughout the winter to freeze, with the result that the water in the grapes freezes and the sugars concentrate. Known as 'Eiswein' these are superb sweet wines, rare, and very expensive to buy. In Italy, in the Valpolicella region, grapes are laid out on straw mats in aerated warehouses to dry and go on to make the luscious Amarone and Recioto wines. Here the name "Valpolicella" is the name to look for in the Italian wine aisle. Salute! (An italian cheer)
There are thousands of different types of wine, it is wonderful to try them all and keep notes on what you like, personally I prefer a full bodied French wine, red, of course.
Basically, any wine can be drunk by itself. Some just work better when paired with food then others.
For a nice sweet white to drink by itself, try a German Spatlese or Auslese. Spatlese is semi-sweet, Auslese is sweet. Both are good by themselved without being paired with a meal. I recommend Madonna-Valkenberg as a good winery for either style.
Probst.
Dinner wine and drinking wine are the same.
Stay away from cooking wine, since it's loaded with salt.
Wine, like art, is very subjective. What is sweet to one person, may be buttery or oaky to another.
To find a wine that you like, when you go out to dinner, ask to taste the different wines on the wine list.
Go to wine tastings.
Get recommendations from friends.
The more you try, the more you will develop your palette.
Personally, I love Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnays. I drink this regardless of what food I am having. It's just a good, creamy, consistent wine.
For a sweet wine, try Yellowtail Chardonnay.
Here a few suggestions, some common and some not-so-common. Enjoy! A late harvest Riesling is sweet, ruby port is sweet, black muscat (Elysium is a sweet and delicious dessert wine), sweet Malvasia Bianca, an Italian white wine. Of course, there a many more, but these should give you some options to ponder.
have u tried white zinfidel?
No rules.
Drink what you like alone or accompanied by food.
I suggest you go to a wine tasting (hope you are fortunate enough to find them in your area).
You can learn a lot about the wines and your tastes.
There really is no set rules as to what is "dinnner wine". But some wines are lighter and more delicate and strong flavor foods will ovewhelme the wines flavor.
If it's sweeter white wine that you are looking for, then focus on rieslings, chenin blanc, muscat and gerwurztreminers. They are generally not as dry as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. The lower alcohol wines tend to be sweeter, so check the label. Most of the blush wines are fruity and there are always dessert wines like the french sauternes, german or canadian ice wines and many wine labeled "late harvested".
If all else fails, just have a Kir which is white wine with blackrasberry liqueue in it. Other possible liqueur to add to wines are peach schnapps, cointreau and lemonalo.