BootsnAll Travel Community

i prefer drinking water and juice to wines, but this summer i'll probably be drinking lots of wine in italy, france, and spain (and elsewhere). what are some good sweet wines--i don't like the ultra bitter wines, but how can i tell?

thanks.

Muscat is an orange dessert-type wine => very sweet.

Beaujolais is a wine which, because it's so young, isn't quite so aggressive and tannic, so it's not real sharp. It's soft and smooth and I drink it almost exclusively. I think it should be cheap, too, because I think in France it's considered to be peasant wine.

Avoid Spanish wines at all costs. Yuk!!

Ahem!

Spanish wines can be quite good; trust the price point. You get what you pay for.

I've had plenty of dry muscats from D'Agostini,
but yes, they are generally sweet, if not overly so.

Tannin has no relation to the age of the wine.

Beaujolais is, in my opinion, highly overrated.

There is a wine glut right now, especially in Europe, especially in France.
The French winemakers may think that their wine is worth the money, but the consumers do not.

Might try here: http://www.cellartasting.com/faq.php?faq=resources#faq_links?

There is a pretty decent wine guide put out by the the folks at total wine and more (Retail company.) Its a huge 50-60 page 2 foot tall magazine with all the different area's of the world listed.

http://www.wineaccess.com/splash/totalwine/ Its a freebie at their stores, but I dont see an online version on their website.

If not, head to the bookstore and track down a book that has the various places your planning to go listed, hopefully with the local vineyards! If you can get the names of places that have tours and try a bottle before you go it would add to your expierence.

Hope this helps...

(looked into getting into the wine industry... ag classes and such in "The Plan!" )

Tannins mellow as wine gets older, but basicly Joe is correct.

If you are looking for something that's not like vinegar, you are actually looking for "dry"

"Dry" is a term that means there is not a sharp aftertaste.

"sweet" is something different altogether, and can actually make me sick. I like "dry"

California is a different wine world then over there.
Follow what Joe says: You get what you pay for.
Actually, you might find like a "Wine for Dummies" type book worth your while. I'm very happy with my education in viticulture and enology; my eating and drinking experiences have improved 100 percent and that is what life is about!

But my "expertise", which is minimal is with California wines because I live in a prime area.

I like a really full flavoure wine not sweet but tasteful like a cabernet sauvignon although I find them well rounded.

I am a red wine fan I only drink white at turkey dinners. However you may be looking for a white. peisporter if thats how you spell, is not my favorite but I have heard from many women that they like it

arent tannis found in the skin of the grape?

Badly made sweet wine can be pretty disgusting, so be careful what you buy. Well made sweet wine can also be pretty expensive, so be careful on that account too. I can make a few recommendations on French sweet wines ...

The first thing to know is that wines in France are labeled almost exclusively by appellation (a geographic region), not by type of grape. So you don’t buy a “Chardonnay,” you buy a “Chablis” or “Sancerre” or whatever. Generally, the smaller the appellation, the better. So a Graves (a small region within the larger Bordeaux region) is better than a Bordeaux (which can have grapes coming from anywhere in Bordeaux, which is huge).

The second thing to know is that only a few appellations make true sweet wines, so here are a few (all of them white):

-The best-known is probably Sauternes. You traditionally drink this wine with foie gras, and you can pay a lot for good bottle – 30 to 50 euros.

- Mont Bazillac is kind of like a poor man’s Sauternes not as good.

- Vouvray is a wine that can be found labeled as sec (dry), demi-sec (semi-dry) and moelleux or doux (sweet). It’s less expensive than Sauternes and it might be a good choice for regular drinking.

- Jurancon also produces sec, demi-sec and molleux. And of course you can find champagne in varying degrees of sweetness.

- Alsatian wines can also be sweet. This is one of the only regions (if not the only) that labels by type of grape. The main grapes are gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, riesling and sylvaner. And if you want sweet, make sure the bottle says “vendanges tardives” (late harvest) or “grains nobles” (grapes infected with noble rot). These are also a bit on the expensive side.

- Of course there’s also muscat. There are at least a dozen types of muscat grapes and an even larger number of muscat wines worldwide. In France, two big ones are Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise and Muscat de Rivesaltes. Both are fortified wines, and you often find them in the liquor section of the supermarket (not the wine section).

Hope that helps you. Happy drinking!

Sangiovese wines can be on the fruitier side. It is the primary grape used in Chianti wines, but those can be on the more tannic side.

In Spain, try Cava. It is their version of champagne. They are on the sweeter side and can be found pretty inexpensively (and still be good). Last time I was there, I asked for a recommendation, and it was a 6$ bottle and was yummy.

JV, excellent post, basically everything that anyone would need for a guide in sweetER wines, not sweet wines from France. I have to completely agree with the Sauternes and Gerwürtzraminer from Alsace as being the two most delightful wine experiences that one can have.
As for Spain, Natascha, I'm apalled at your dislike of Spanish wines!! I absolutely LOVE the Crianza version of riojas (perfect balance of taste, dryness and tanin IMHO). A great one to try is the 2001 or 1999 "Campo Viejo" Crianza. It's quite yummy and in Spain will cost you less than 6.00 Euros a bottle. In fact most regular riojas will be easily under 5.00 Euros even in the most expensive of wine stores in Spain.