What are several wines you should always have in your home?
I don't drink wine myself as I get a headache from the tannins or something like that. But I just got a cabinet with a small wine rack in it, and would like to have a few bottles around to offer glasses to guest (instead of a beer, lol).
I have no clue what I should keep on hand. Can you offer advice on what to chose for a half a dozen bottles? I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible.
Thanks!!
Public Comments
1. Six bottles easy:Something fizzy - not necessarily a champagne - must have a popping cork. You are in the states but if you can get a fizzy english white wine thatd be perfect.
A bottle of port - on your budget you can afford vintage port. The more you spend on port the better it is (I've had a $200 bottle of port before but $40 will get you a good one).
Two bottles of red - but not shiraz - try a malbec and a bottle of bordeaux
Two bottles of white - but not zinfandel or chardonnay - go for a sauvignon blanc and a chablis
As a tip - if wine gives you a headache it may be the quality of wine you are buying - maybe you have a sensitive pallet - spend , say $50 on 3 bottles of wine of the same grape (pref red) e.g. Bordeaux. The first bottle should cost less than $10, the second about $15, the third $25, and taste the different qualities at different price points.
2. I commend you for thinking of your friends likes, you are a considerate friend. Now to the wine:
First - wine should be kept at 60F to be the best and last the longest (wines that reach temperatures of 75-80-85 and then back to 60 will not last, they will have off flavors after a period of time).
Second - for red drinkers a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot are most generally acceptable.
Third - for white drinks you can't go wrong with a chardonnay or Riesling.
Fourth - there are always rose' drinkers and a semi-sweet rose' is always nice to have on hand for a hot day, sitting on the patio watching the birds.
Fifth - prices vary lots, mid priced Merlot $15, Chardonnay $9, Riesling $10, Rose' $8, so depending on how much you want to keep on hand your budget should not be compromised. Buy one of each and replace when consumed would be my suggestion. Good luck.
3. Basic reds (ambient temperature, 15-18 C, before serving) are Tempranillo(Rioja style), Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (Bordeaux style), Shiraz (Rhone Style), Pinot Noir (Burgundy Style) and Sangiovese (Chianti style). And this doesn't mean that you have to buy from the original country, nowadays a lot of countries make very acceptable similar styles. Sometimes the blends are good, but I prefer in those cases the wine from the original countries.
Basic whites(not extremely cold, 6-10C before serving) are Chardonnay (Chablis, Burgundy style), Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux Style), Riesling (German Style) and Pinot Grigio (Italian style). For sure you can make an acceptable basic cellar for less than $150.
Basic rose (serve chilled,8-10C) is Zinfandel (USA style) and some sparkling wines (Champagne included).
Fino(Sherry Spanish style, serve at 12-14C) is good for informal snacks.
Porto (Portuguese style, ambient temperature) is good after dinner to be had alone or with desserts.
4. Hi there, you don't know what your missing ! allow me to change your mind here, do you think that you would like a semi sweet white wine that tastes like muscatel grapes? the kind of drink that you can have on a hot summers day or night chilled? naturally no tannins, think about it and if you want to try one go for the /brown brothers spatlese lexia, or any kind of a muscatel , also you do eat seafood right? how about a cool Chardonnay? light and fruity and it goes with most seafood. then you have the reds, Cabernet/Merlot its a blend and your friends will love that with barbecued steaks and chops, all you have to do is walk into a large bottle shop like Dan Merfies and ask one of the girls to show you a few good brands of wines that are on special at the moment, tell them what you want to eat with them or that you just want drinking wines and mention that you don't want the ones that give you a headache, they can and will help you
5. Wow, the 2nd two answers here have some nice suggestions.
Re: your headaches with wine, it is most likely due to the sulfites and not the tannins. If you can eat fresh grapes then it is definitely not the tannins. I would look for wines that are made without adding too much sulfites. All wine naturally contains sulfites, but wineries add extra sulfites to preserve the wine. In the US the limit is 350ppm (parts per million) but in organic wines they are allowed upto 40ppm. I am a winery owner in Spain and my husband (winemaker) is sensitive to sulfites too, so our wine actually has only about 13ppm of added sulfites.
But really, to have a small amount of wine for home use, I would go with some inexpensive under $20.00 wine from small producers. Spain is actually known for great quality price ratio (PQR). The age of the wine is also important. For the Reds' you want them to be at least 3 years old - that allows for 1 yr in oak and at least 1 yr in the bottle and 1 yr to rest. Whites and Rose's should be from the most recent harvest. Whites tend to oxidize and not hold their freshness (just a rule of thumb - don't age white wines). On the Sparkling, look for a cava that has something on the back about how long the wine sat on lees (yeast) before it was disgorged. typically a couple of years is good.
As far as storing your wines, if you buy something that you are planning on drinking in a relatively short time (6 months) using your wine rack is fine as long as it is not in direct sun and the temps in your house are not too excessively warm (80 degrees and up). If you decide to go for wine you plan on aging then a cooler envirnment is optimal (60 - 65 degrees). It is much more important that the wines not have drastic fluctuations in temperatures than it is to be kept at only 55 - 65 degrees F.
As far as which varietals to have on hand:
Cabernet Sauvignon CA (2 bottles)
Merlot CA (1 bottle)
Zinfandel CA (1 bottle)
Pinot Noir OR (2 bottles)
Tempranillo Spain (3 bottles)
Chardonnay (2 bottles)
Sauvignon Blanc (1 bottle)
Cava Spain (2 bottles)
Ask your wine retailer to guide you on which wine he /she knows that are very low in sulfites and which ones have great PQR. With that you should not go wrong, and you should also be able to drink your wine!
Cheers!
