How can I learn to appreciate wine more?

I just don't like it much and I like to consider myself somewhat of a 'foodie'. I love champagne, but I just can't seem to get a taste for really 'dry' table wines. I travel quite a lot and am constantly being presented with decent, regional wines. Why don't I like them? Are there some wine/food pairings that you can recommend that might make me change my mind? Is it even possible?|||My first suggestion would be you keep your mind as open as you have it right now. It takes time and patience to really develop a taste for wines and enjoy them. I would suggest that you attend a food and wine festival. They will typically have wines paired with food for you already, so you can just go and enjoy. Also, when being presented a wine, ask what the person would suggest from a menu that would compliment it. I have always felt that wine pairing is too personal for there to be a right and wrong answer. People have different tastes, so taking the time to learn and develop your tastes will help your appreciation. I have a cookbook that has helped because not only does it suggest what main ingredient you should serve with a certain varietal (typically a meat), it also gives bridge ingredients (seasonings and such) that will compliment that wine. It is called "The Wine Lover's Cookbook" and is a great source of information about wines and how to pair them. You can even start by going to your liquor store and getting a bottle of whatever appeals to you. Once you find a vineyard you like, you can try another variety of their wine, then expand to more wines from that region and so on. I'm so happy that people are open to learning about wine! It's so much fun!|||Have you thought of going to a wine festival or seeing if the local store has a wine tasting?





When I am, we have BevMo, where they have weekend tastings|||Yes. Wine is an acquired taste. It is good to start with something like a white zinfandel. This is a sweet wine, on par with a wine cooler. A "beginner wine" my father calls it. Once you get used to it, move on to other "sweet" wines (usually white wines are more sweet than red, but you can find sweet red wines, too). Read labels. The opposite of sweet is dry. The more dry a wine is, the more it makes you almost pucker your mouth. It makes your tongue swell and makes your mouth feel dry. Dry wines are better when you are more accustom to drinking wine.


Generally, dry/red wines go with red meat and white wines go with chicken or fish. GENERALLY. As with anything in this world, once you find a wine you like you can make it go with anything you're eating.


I wish I could help you more with the pairing, because it REALLY DOES make a difference. My suggestion would be to ask when you have dinner out. A waitress may not know, but ask the bartender (especially if you are eating at a more up-scale place) might. Tell them what you plan on having and ask if they have a suggestion for a good wine to pair with it. The side dishes may change their "usual" recommendations.


Stay away from the really expensive stuff. As a new wine drinker, you will not notice/appreciate the difference. Aged wine is good (up to five years the taste gets better) but again, as a new drinker it would not be worth the extra price for something you will not notice.|||you should try hard cider.. this is the best and will give you a kick if your in the mood to let yourself go if you know what i mean|||Try German wines. They are sweet and a lot easier to learn to like. I suspect that gradually you will develop a taste for dryer wines. After all, champagne is a dry wine and you already like it.|||I your travels, seek out the wineries. Go to one of their tastings. Which is just about any time the door is open.





I met a person that was a connoisseur of wines. We met at a restaurant in the early afternoon. He ordered a glass of every type of wine that they had. Which was a table full of wine glasses. No, I didn't drink them, just looked for the bouquet and flavor. I found out that I liked Merlot, Zin, and Chardonnay. Locally I found at a winery that makes a superb wine called Cumberland Gold. It is supreme.





Also, their is no law that says you can't have the wine you like with what you eat. If you like a red sweet wine with your fish, then do it! Or if you (like me) like Rose or Zin with your red meat then do it! True affectionados may stare, but it's your palette your trying to please, not their snobbish eyes!





Enjoy!!!|||start with the merlots