Favorite Wines

Brunellos are my favorite reds and Sancerres (and other Sauvignon Blancs) are my favorite whites.

I can't memorize all of the brands or years, but Altesino Brunello di Montalcino, Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino, Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Henri Bourgeois Sancerre, and Whitehaven Sauvingon Blanc are some general go-tos.

I'm a little older than most on here, so more versed. Definitely a hobby of mine (own about 300 bottles)

Biggest thing you will learn to appreciate as you get more into it. Producer>Region>Grape

If you are in NYC Flatiron wines newsletter is a must. Also look at Chambers St and Astor. Amazing shops. Flatiron is the GOAT and id happily buy every bottle they sell

Yeah this is a tough question, because wine is such a diverse field and it's tough to get a handle on just how widespread the field is.

I'm into wine, but something fun someone suggested, especially for when working from home for coronavirus, is to pick a country and work through the various wines they produce for (2 weeks, a month, etc). This is absolutely not the right way to find a wine you love in the most efficient possible manner, but it did sound cool and new.

If you want to find wines that suit you personally, there are plenty of cool tests coming out that help you narrow down your palate. Or just look for some basic, good (think $20-40 range) wines in most of the major grape varieties, and get to work. Be an alcoholic; open 2 and drink half of each and compare and contrast, and the do it again the next night, and work through a couple cases. Half of them you'll realize from the first minute you don't like, but it's worth it to work through it on your palate

Repeating thebrofessor´s argument above, any wine that´s not between 6 and 20 bucks (no matter if USD or EUR) is not worth the money. Pretty partial to Burgundian and Cabernets, and from the Penedés, if I´m visiting. Funnily enough, the oh-so-great-our-national-treasure Main white wines are not really my thing, save for the occasional wine fizz in Summer.

Mostly into reds personally, but I can enjoy most wines. I’m also a cheap wine fan, I’ll buy mixed boxes of wine online (WSJWine, Groupon wine deals, etc) for $5-6 a bottle and find most of them to be great. I try not to get caught up in it too much, if it tastes good to my unrefined palette, that’s good enough.

Given those likes, I'd suggest that you look into vinho verde. It's basically only produced in Portugal, but light, slightly effervescent, easy drinking, and cheap. Casal Garcia is my go-to, but some other brands like Gazella are good too. Generally you are looking at around $6 a bottle.

I don't normally find French or US reds a good value proposition. For absolute value go Chilean. I've got a soft spot for austere northern Italian reds like valpolicella or chianti. If on a date night at a BYO though, I'm likely to go exotic with something like a Gruner Veltleiner or Blaufrankish.

Sauternes. Specifically Chateau d’Yquem. For reds a nice Carmenere from Chile

Trapiche Vineyards Malbec is one of my favorites for a causal evening at home. My personal favorite pairing, and meal in general is a starter of French Bread Toasted with Brie, followed by Lamb Shoulder Steaks marinated in Worcestershire Grilled with a side of Asparagus. Alamos's Malbec is another one I like with that meal, and in general. They both are pretty easy on the wallet @ less than $15.

a little than most here too and have progressively gotten into wine - drinking a nice bottle over the course of the nice gives you a really nice, manageable buzz, and doesn’t get you hungover like 6 ipas would. it’s also just a fun hobby to constantly learn about, and I’ve found that knowing even a modicum about wine is impressive to people- whether that be dates or more senior people you’re trying to impress. old rich white dudes generally like wine, fishing, and golf, so it’s a plus to be able to engage intelligently with them on things they enjoy to do / talk about.

anyway lots of good info above, but I’d recommend getting into a couple bottles of Ridge. a little on the more pricey side ($30-40), but I really think it’s hard to find a better quality wine for that price. Zinfandel is nice because it’s a little bit lighter (and cheaper) than a cab, but is still really flavorful and pairs well with a ton of different foods. also if you’re just getting into collecting it’s nice cause it benefits from some bottle aging (3-7 years), but it isn’t crazy like collecting cabs that should age for 15+.

MD 20/20 boi

Party wine/gift/more expensive option: Flowers. Sort of old news at this point but reliable wine, to be sure

Liberty Creek Sweet Red for the thots.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Reds. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, blends.

I'm not a wine snob, but the sweet spot for hitting the right quality vs. cost ratio is the $15-20 a bottle range. I don't see any value in paying above $20 for a bottle.