Can you tell wine apart?

White from red, yes. Other than that, no.

Getting better. I can definitely tell the difference between most whites...gets a bit tough with dessert wines like Sauternes and Vin de Constance. Red's a bit harder to do.

OP you're absolutely correct. Blind tastings of wine have proven that even the experts can't tell much difference. The wine industry is pretty scammy.

Not a wine connoisseur, but I can tell the difference between most varietals and most definitely the difference between a $5 bottle and a $20 bottle, but that's about it. I've had some very expensive reds that I couldn't distinguish as any different than a more moderately priced bottle, much to my chagrin.

R3 is full of shit, has no idea what they're taking about and likes to tell lies inorder to be engaging. It's not that wine is a scam — it's that developing a palate take a great deal of work and discipline, which it seems R3 neither has respect for.

You have to be able to pass blind tastings at deeper levels to become a level 3 or 4 (master) sommelier. Most of them are in the industry, while hobbyists rarely make it past level 2.

It all just tastes like “wine” to me.

If I’m going to drink alcohol I prefer a dirty martini because that tastes like “olives.”

I consider myself to have a good palate for an amateur. All my holidays over the last 15 years have been based around food and wine areas of the world.

[quote] inorder

It’s Trevor Donovan!

[quote]developing a palate take a great deal of work and discipline

Much like the ability to give a decent blow job.

what about zero sugar wine?

good or fad?

how did you develop this skill?

I know a Bordeaux

i prefer white wine. but I am very bad at telling them apart

I hate to be a grammar cunt, but it should be:

'Can you tell wines apart?'

The direct object is plural.

I never really bothered. Certainly I've had friends for whom it's a big pleasure, and if they serve something I especially like I will ask and drink the same (and their related suggestions) until something better comes along.

I live in Spain where albariño is a great favorite and hard to go too wrong. It's a fancy price for Spain at about €15 bottle. Normally a €5 bottle of wine is well received by a host as showing some care (€2-4 bottles are the usual and I have had very good wine at that price); a €10 bottle is an extravagance for a gift. There are a few other varieties of white (preferred) and red I know are good bets for my tastes.

It's easy when there are good, relatively cheap wines that suit me. I don't feel that I'm splurging to have a wine I like and the conversation is never one of those deadly ones about wine for hours. And if a bartender or waiter suggests something I don't know, I can try it without worrying that's it's some ungodly expensive wine that I probably won't like.

In the US wine felt like the ranking system it is there. Good coffee. Good wine. Good tomatoes. Good food. I prefer to take these for granted rather than crow about them.

A love a chilled albariño. Perfect wine for hot weather and seafood.

R16, which one do you recommend?

here R17

I also lived in Spain and I think we always drank whatever the house one was.

What are we drinking these days?

I don't want to spend more than $20

I think I'd be able to tell a pinot noir from a heavier red wine like a cabernet or merlot.

Other than that, I'd probably have a hard time.

R5 Geez. Calm down I assume you have a professional interest in closing off rational discussion of this topic.

Since you seem to like Wikipedia, this is a link to its blind tasting article, which casts considerable doubt on the evaluation of wine by experts and even greater doubt on the ability of educated but non-professional consumers to distinguish even white wine from red.

The link

Guess a lot of it is fancy packaging, marketing

The scam aspect of it is known now, and might possibly explain why there is an enormous glut of wine in the world right now and huge sales of previously expensive wine. I went to a very fancy wine society dinner a few years ago, and the piece de resistance of the evening was supposed to be a small production wine of a world famous vintner. It was crap - so tannic it made your mouth pucker. I'm sure it was in the $100/bottle range.

I like white wine

R25 = Joey Luft

My thoughts:

First, $15-20 is the "sweet spot" for wines with me. Every so often, I will buy a more expensive wine for a special occasion, but for everyday drinking, $15-20 is perfect. A $17 bottle will taste a lot better than a $5 bottle. I will never spend spend $40-50 on an everyday wine.

You can tell slightly chilled white wine apart; Pinot Grigio vs. Sauvignon Blanc, for example. Chardonnay can be difficult because California Chardonnay's are usually sweeter than French Chardonnays. People tend to over chill white wine and it is hard to enjoy the taste. It is just cold alcohol.

As far as reds, a Malbec (dry) will be easier to tell apart from a Pinot Noir, which is usually fruiter. A Merlot will taste a lot like a Cabernet. This is why most blends are usually 55% Merlot/45% Cabernet.

I also want to add that you should drink what you like, not what others tell you. I personally keep a book of wines I like and don't like.

Part of the fun is trying new wines.

I live in the heart of wine country close to the vineyards, wineries abound within a 25 minute drive. One of my best friends is a certified sommelier and I've learned a lot from him. I go wine tasting with friends and sometimes attend wine ed classes where we learn about and taste different wines.

I know a good wine when I taste it. That would be a wine that simply appeals to me. However, I'm not good at remembering names and there are so many different wines! Sometimes I taste one I like, buy a bottle, and then it isn't as good as I remembered. I had a favorite wine for a while but the price doubled and I couldn't afford it anymore.

I often buy bottles I like after winetasting but since I don't drink much wine at home (prefer cocktails) I end up giving it away as gifts.

I also have trouble distinguishing the various aromas during winetasting. What do you smell? Blackberries, plums, oak etc. I have no idea what I'm smelling. So, I'm a dork at knowing wines but I enjoy the fun and comradery.

Actually, I prefer sparkling wines and champagne. Sadly, I went to a champagne tasting party once and got laughed at for preferring the cheapest one. Wine snobs can be cruel.

PS my sommelier friend (from Europe) says Americans drink white wines too cold. Let it sit for a while.

R28 is not OP, I am R27. Typo!

R30 I agree with this! A white wine should be chilled for 2-3 hours tops, not all day!

No.

I'm like R20. I would like to be a little more educated, but I don't care enough about it, and the problem with things like wine and coffee is that, the more you know, the less you can tolerate lesser products. I have, on occasion, been given relatively good wine and been able to recognize that I was tasting something finer. And I can't stand bad, cheap wine. I would much rather go without than have something like a Barefoot Chardonnay or a Winking Owl wine.

Thoughts on Trader Joe's wine?

R29 - They are not only snobs, they are dumb. Roederer Domaine in the mid $20s is much more drinkable amongst the population than some ultra-dry bottle that costs several hundred dollars. A friend of mine is in the business and has what must be somewhere in the multiple tens of millions of dollars in his 'cellar', which interestingly enough is on his second floor. He is always pleased when he can find something for ten bucks that is good enough as most anything. The craziest priced one I ever had (a million years ago) is nowadays an average of $9k per bottle and most people would puke just smelling it.

I can sense the varietal - more than that, no

Yes, more or less sweet white wines, several reds, sure. The difference between the vintages is greater than the difference between different grapes for me though.

I like the way Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir are color coded so I can tell them apart.

OP, I can distinguish between reds, but I also know one of the VERY few (275 or so) Master Sommeliers in the world. It is entirely impossible to become a somm at THAT level unless you actually can tell the difference between, say, a '45 Chateau LaTour and a '66 bottle.

It took her eight years and repeated attempts to get there, and that's despite having prodigy-level taste buds.

Please tell me she doesn't pronounce it "somallier," r40. I need something to cling to in these troubling times.

Only based on the kind of hangover it’s given me.

thank you for some of your input! I am learning so much!

pls name some Pinot Grigio that's cheap but not shitty, I can drink or give as gifts

one of my booze addict friends buy Cavit Pinot Grigio

To me it’s easier to differentiate between whites because some have butter factor and some don’t.

Red is a bit more subtle, especially when it’s the lighter ones. They’re my favorite too! Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, red Zinfandel…good stuff.

There’s also Pinotage, which tastes like liquid Hefty bag to me.

I pour cheap wine into expensive bottles and dinner guests rave at the taste and quality. It’s all psychological.

I can tell sparkling wines from non-sparkling.

Sorry - but I like my cheap-ass Woodbridge - Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc - and as long as I get it "on sale" at the local grocery store - BRING IT ON!

I let my chardonnay sit out for a little bit to take the chill off because of this thread.

I drink 5.99 a bottle ForestVille chardonnay and like the taste.

My senior year in college, I took Geography of Wine. We learned about climates, soils, varieties of grapes. Mostly reds, but some whites and others. At that time, I could identify the grape, but got tripped up on blends. Our final exam was 12 samples. We had to identify the grape, origin, barrel type, and year. If you got half right, it was an A.

Back then, the kinds of wine you can get now were not common, so I doubt I could accurately name anything but the grape and the barrel type now. Unless it’s Australian, South African, Chilean, etc.; we never studied those, but a Cab is a Cab, a Syrah is a Syrah.

I am a white wino. I know enough about it to know what I hate, and enough to understand how to discern new wines that would appeal. It’s not hard to understand the basics.

I like the ALDI wine with the owl on it

R52 = Joey Luft

I know or knew a master sommelier, as well. And, yes, it's a pretty short list. He was not snobby at all. I felt comfortable telling him what my preferences were. Their job is to find something you enjoy, not to make you feel ashamed.

When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother “What should I drink? Should I drink Pinot? Should I drink Merlot?” Here’s what she said to me. “Drink Syrah, Syrah!”

People who can tell them apart are drunks.

R56 No? Someone could drink two glasses of wine a night. That does not make them a drunk

A lot of difference in wine come from if the grapes were picked by somebody wandering through the vineyard and picking the grapes when they are at the right ripeness or if they were all just picked at once.

I'm drinking some right now

I can barely differentiate the obvious ones. I’m just not interested in any of the particulars but the light buzz it provides on occasion.

Just the best ones, which I create from my homemade water.

I ask Jeffrey to do my wine tasting and tell me which is the one I should get silly on.

I can differentiate malbec and cab sauvignon, as well as Chardonnays and dryer wines like Chablis and Sauvignon Blanc. Thats about it.

We have a carbonator, I'm going to carbonate some white and rosay, that should tell you my depth in wine, red champagne would be interesting.

No, I like drinking white wine.

developing a palate

The most bullshit statement in a while, go break a GOOD wine bottle and shove it up your voluminous ass sphincter, bleed out slow and suffer.

I imagine genetics are at play with some individuals better able to discern different smells and flavors.

The only time wine seemed delicious was when I had cold roast chicken with Chardonnay. I felt like Grace Kelly on that hillside picnic with Cary. Otherwise I just drink it because it has more alcohol than other wines.

I like you, R68.

I like to drink wine!

yes good cheap wine from bad cheap wine. Really expensive wine from good and bad cheap wine. Go spend 200 dollars on a bottle of NAPA's finest and drink the whole thing. you will not get a hangover. Thats where the value really comes from.

Why did you capitalize all the letters in Napa, R71? Are you referring to the auto parts stores?

[quote] Go spend 200 dollars on a bottle of NAPA's finest and drink the whole thing. you will not get a hangover. Thats where the value really comes from.

Paying $200 so that you can drink an entire bottle of wine and not get a hangover. Now, that's sophisticated.

I can't tell any wines apart and think people are making it up when they say they can taste various flavors.

I'm not a wine connoiseur, but got trained a bit while working in restaurants. Yes, you can taste different flavors like oak and different fruits. Would I want to sit around and talk about it? No, but the different flavors are there.

[quote] Yes, you can taste different flavors like oak and different fruits.

LIAR!

Wine people are worse than vegetarians

I met a man who self-disclosed that he had Asperger’s Syndrome and a highly-discriminating palate. (He also had a big dick but that isn’t relevant to this post.) He could identify varietals, countries and regions, years, barrels, fermentation processes and all manner of crazy chemical things that I don’t pretend to understand. As for me, I have a deviated septum and most of the time, I can’t tell the difference. (I also have a big dick, but that isn’t relevant to this post.)

[quote](He also had a big dick but that isn’t relevant to this post.)

A big dick is relevant to ALL posts.

What are you guys drinking?

I'm no expert (though I did take a wine tasting course in college). I couldn't *name* the type of wine, in many or most cases. But I can certainly taste differences. Most people could tell the differences between a sweet German wine like liebfraumilch and a sharp rioja, if they were a bit educated in it. But wines do taste different, to anyone. There's a reason a lot of people like Chardonnay.

Yes, I can taste the differences. It's easier if you can't. You can drink a much wider variety of wines happily.

Although not the majority, there are thousands or millions who can taste these differences. That is no scam. The scam is people presenting particular wines or brands falsely and giving out numerous "awards" to unworthy wines. At least 60% of the wines on supermarket or drugstore shelves are Gallo under different brand names they created. Did you know that?

Of course.