/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>11219194
I like several of the $5 Trader Joe's wines.

>>9812366
Where do you live? I'm going to assume US.
Merlot is polarizing. It used to be very popular here but not so much in the last ten or fifteen years. I don't like it that much.
The major categories of wine you should be trying out are the typical varieties from the main wine producing countries, and the "varietals" (meaning, one type of grape as opposed to a blend) grown domestically.
When you are just trying things out, don't spend more than $12 a bottle. Assume everything I am talking about is in that price range or lower.

>Wine-growing regions
France - Bordeaux and Burgundy. These are the most famous wines in the world. All the super expensive ones you see in movies etc. are these types, but not all are so costly. Bordeaux are blends, Burgundy mostly Pinot Noir. Try something labeled Cotes du Rhone. That will be a nice French Pinot Noir which many people find easy to drink.
Italy - I like wines with the typical Italian grape Sangiovese. These might be labeled as "Toscana" Or "Super-Tuscan," but are also produced in other regions of Italy. Pic related is a bunch of Italian reds in the $5 range that I like to get at Trader Joe's. The other major Italian variety is Chianti, which tastes chalky and is polarizing. I'd say stick to stuff like Montepulciano.
Argentina - It's all about the Malbec. This wine is becoming more popular and you can find it almost anywhere for cheap.
Other new world: South Africa, Australia, etc. - I say avoid.
Iberia - They have a few good ones. Tempranillo, I guess.

>Domestic Varietals
Merlot - you tried it and you didn't like it
Cabernet Sauvignon - Popular, kind of the standard "red wine." Gives some people a headache
Pinot Noir - A bit of a "lighter" red. Very cheap Pinot (I'm thinking like, Rex Goliath) is often more drinkable than its peers of other grapes.
Zinfandel - Talking about RED zin here, not the pink stuff. Has an interesting "spicy" or cinnamony flavor.

>>9676693
These are the Italian reds at Trader Joe's that I like.

>>9666600
I dunno, but I would think that flour is flour. People were making bread for thousands of years out of stuff that they just found lying on the ground, so you probably can't go too wrong.

>>9666634
I love to get anything with Sangiovese in it. A lot of Italian wine sold in the US is Chianti, which really not very tasty. Do you know anything about Italian wine? Most tuscan red varieties will use a blend with a major Sangiovese component. At TJ's in the $5-$10 range they have both a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Montepulciano is a tuscan style of wine from a specific wine region, the d'Abruzzo is the same type of wine made in Abruzzi instead). Also good is the Nero d'Avola (a Sicilian varietal) which is a steal at $5. I drank so much of that one in college that I got tired of it. The Grifone appellation has several offerings around $4-$6 including a pure Sangiovese, a tuscan blend (the one labeled 1967), and a Primitivo (which is the same grape as what we call Zinfandel when it comes from California!).

To be clear, these are all red wines. As you can see I'm a big fan of Montepulciano. There's one more Montepulciano d'Abruzzo you can get at both TJs and most other stores with wine (including costco) which I'll recommend, it's the one with a little piece of grapevine that looks like a stick tied to the bottle. It's pricier, more like $13, but quite good. I've included a little collage of the bottles I'm talking about here so you'll be able to recognize them easily.

I don't drink a lot of white wine so I don't know much about those. Rose season is long gone, but during the warm months there are a number of tasty roses to choose from at TJs. Grifone makes one that is a bit less dry than some people prefer, and there is also a good one from Portugal with a little bit of effervescence (considered a flaw, but I like it in that wine). Also check out any Cotes du Rhone in the French section.