Good wine?

noir_blood

So I know someone that enjoys their wine, hence me thinking of giving them a bottle as a christmas present. Trouble is I know jack shit about wine. What are some good wines that won't break my bank? I know she likes white wine, but other than that, I'm really at a loss. I just don't want to go a wine store and be ripped off or walk away with something crappy.

supabeast

What’s your budget? Keep in mind that you are talking about a product that ranges from $3 to $8000+ per bottle.

Uncle Long

Rosemount, Traminer-Riesling, '06.

Just a really good wine.

Ramius

You really should say how much you'd like to spend, and then maybe people could recommend a wine in that price range. Also, it would help if you knew if your friend has a preference in white wines. My wife really won't drink anything other than Riesling or Gewürztraminer. If someone were to buy her a Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, I think she would sooner re-gift it than drink it.

Nitsuj82

Rombauer Chardonnay is an ALWAYS hit. It's somewhat expensive though. Otherwise, anything from the Chalk Hill region of Napa (Chardonnays as well) are usually pretty good.

Rieslings and other sweet wines are RISKY for people who are really into wine. Usually their pallettes have progressed beyond them.

MichaelLC

Agree with all of the above. You could go into a wine store and just get a bottle of oaked and a bottle of un-oaked Chardonay and call it a day.

Think they would like an accessory rather than a bottle? Do they have one of those fancy swing-arm cork-puller things? Makes opening wine 1000* times easier. The Rabbitt is the popular brand, but a cheaper one will probably be fine too.

A BYOB bag/carrier might be nice too, if they're into that. I have a cool neopryne one.



*based on sampling error of 15%

The Cat

I hear Yellowtail Chardonnay is a popular aussie one over there. And its quite nice, you can't really go wrong. Unless they're charging some exorbitant price for it where you are :P don't pay more than US$12 a bottle for it.

Also, wine sellers are prideful snobs . They won't let you wander off with something terrible so long as you show some interest and let them know your target type and price range.

noir_blood

The Cat wrote: »

I hear Yellowtail Chardonnay is a popular aussie one over there. And its quite nice, you can't really go wrong. Unless they're charging some exorbitant price for it where you are :P don't pay more than US$12 a bottle for it.

Also, wine sellers are prideful snobs . They won't let you wander off with something terrible so long as you show some interest and let them know your target type and price range.

Yellowtail! She likes that one. And man, you guys are getting ripped, we find them here for like 6 bucks. I'm looking to spend around the 20-40 range. Lower would be nicer of course, but I'm not oppose to going up to forty or around that.

Dalboz

noir_blood wrote: »

The Cat wrote: »

I hear Yellowtail Chardonnay is a popular aussie one over there. And its quite nice, you can't really go wrong. Unless they're charging some exorbitant price for it where you are :P don't pay more than US$12 a bottle for it.

Also, wine sellers are prideful snobs . They won't let you wander off with something terrible so long as you show some interest and let them know your target type and price range.

Yellowtail! She likes that one. And man, you guys are getting ripped, we find them here for like 6 bucks. I'm looking to spend around the 20-40 range. Lower would be nicer of course, but I'm not oppose to going up to forty or around that.

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I know enough to get into trouble. Namely, it depends how into wine your acquaintance is. If they are very into wine, they may have very specific tastes. It might be good to get gift certificate to winehouse or something. Don't know if that is a viable option. Just throwing it out there.

The Cat

noir_blood wrote: »

The Cat wrote: »

I hear Yellowtail Chardonnay is a popular aussie one over there. And its quite nice, you can't really go wrong. Unless they're charging some exorbitant price for it where you are :P don't pay more than US$12 a bottle for it.

Also, wine sellers are prideful snobs . They won't let you wander off with something terrible so long as you show some interest and let them know your target type and price range.

Yellowtail! She likes that one. And man, you guys are getting ripped, we find them here for like 6 bucks. I'm looking to spend around the 20-40 range. Lower would be nicer of course, but I'm not oppose to going up to forty or around that.

eh, i padded the estimate thinking you'd be paying more for an import. Its au$11 at my local, which probably matches your quoted price quite closely. But yeah, there are fancier/less common ones about.

bsjezz

if you can find a verdelho, go for it. they're nice wines, and the market seems small enough that they're almost always good quality - never taste cheap

also my favourite rule for judging a wine's quality, if you're tossing up between a few and need an arbitrary yet oddly effective gauge - go for the one with the deeper recession on the underside of the bottle. works every time!

DiscGrace

Yellowtail and Little Penguin are actually my standard fallback wines, since I know I like them and they're super-cheap here. If you want to go a little nicer, McWilliams Estate makes a Shiraz that's pretty darn nice. If you go to a wine shop and have someone who can help you, you could try to find a nice Sangiovese or Malbec - a little more adventurous wine for the more advanced wine drinker.

DO NOT BUY THEM WHITE ZINFANDEL. This is crucial. Actual red zin is a good choice though.

ddahcmai

Conundrum is excellent, although it may be at the upper end of your price range depending on where you find it.

EggyToast

I wouldn't suggest Yellowtail as a gift, because it's kind of a bog standard wine.

$20 should be your cutoff because once you get past 20 you start getting into nuances of wine that most people can't appreciate. But realize that what you're asking for ("She likes whites") is akin to looking for soda recommendations based on the fact that the person likes drinks with bubbles. Whites really run the gamut of flavors, and reds have even more variety. If you don't really know, but she claims she "likes wine" and doesn't just drink stuff that's sweet, I'd suggest a good Pinot Grigio. You find out if it's good by asking the guys at the wine store you're buying from, since it changes from state to county to store.

TaGuelle

Maybe instead of going for a paticular type of wine, which from what I understand is more guess work than an educated guess, pick an amazing year, and buy something you think she would like.

Not Sarastro

But...whether or not it's an amazing year depends on the typeof wine or vinyard, no?

DharmaBum

Pro-Tip: If this person is into wine stay away from Yellowtail and Wood Bridge. Get them somthing nice, and not generic.

Yarden is a good brand, and it's not that expensive. Similarly Chateu Ste. Michelle Reisling from Washington State is a really good Reisling that I love.

noir_blood

So I gathered a few more info on what she likes, in case this is of more help. Definately white wine, she doesn't like red because of the bitter taste, prefer something sweet. Likes pignot(sp?) and chardonay.

EggyToast

Ah, the classic "I like wine, but only white wine that's sweet." I won't get wine snobby on you, but you want a pinot grigio or a riesling. I'd opt for the grigio because it's easy to get a bad riesling that's just sickly sweet, whereas even a sweet pinot grigio isn't going to be that bad.

There's plenty of red wine that isn't bitter, BUT you don't want to get her a wine tasting class, you just want to get her a bottle.

IreneDAdler

Sweet? Pinot grigio (or gris) and chardonnay are more on the dry side, usually... If she actually like sweeter wines, then riesling is the way to go. I had this really awesome meritage called Evolution once, it's a blend of 9 white varietals, and is particularly rich and full for a white. You can order it online from the Sokol Blosser website for about $17 a bottle.

iTunesIsEvil

You people that can't get into dry reds are missing out, I'm telling you.

Since it's Christmas, Eiswein (Ice Wine) might be a nice choice. It's going to be sweet and probably citrusy, and is almost exclusively considered a desert wine (i.e. quite a bit sweeter than anything you've mentioned). It can be expensive for a good bottle, but since it's Christmas and this sounds like you might wanna do something special I say go for it. You should be able to find a nice bottle of Inniskillin for between $40 - $50.

DiscGrace wrote: »

DO NOT BUY THEM WHITE ZINFANDEL. This is crucial.

vonPoonBurGer

EggyToast wrote: »

Ah, the classic "I like wine, but only white wine that's sweet." I won't get wine snobby on you, but you want a pinot grigio or a riesling.

For a good riesling that's between $20-40, Lingenfelder Bird Label is nine kinds of awesome. It definitely fits the criteria here, white, sweet, but not too sweet. There are lots of cheaper bottles of decent riesling out there, but if you're looking for something a little fancy, it's a good choice.

Nitsuj82

Viognier (vee-oh-gnay) is another good option if it's sweet, dry, and citrusy that she's after. Again, stay away from Rieslings, because as was mentioned by Eggy, they're very easy to get wrong. In fact, stay away from German wines in general.

Uncle Long

Honestly, I know I said it already, but Rosemount Traminer Riesling from '06.

I worked for a Beer/wine distributor right out of college and got to try a greater number of the wines widely available and I liked this so much that I bought a case; and I was fresh out of college making near minimum wage. This stuff is great and I've taken it to family dinners and social gatherings and people, especially the "I like white whine because it's not bitter," crowd ask me about it and where they can get it. If nothing else get some for yourself.

MichaelLC

Nitsuj82 wrote: »

Viognier (vee-oh-gnay) is another good option if it's sweet, dry, and citrusy that she's after. Again, stay away from Rieslings, because as was mentioned by Eggy, they're very easy to get wrong. In fact, stay away from German wines in general except for Eiswein or Gewürztraminer (FTW), which are incredible after-dinner wines.

Addendumed.

Nitsuj82

It's all about Port.