[thechat] calling all winos...

[Luther, Ron]

Chris Evans asked:

>>I'm normally a beer drinker, but am interested in spreading my interests 
>>to red wine.  I'm looking for a few "standard" wines that aren't 
>>incredibly expensive, but if I have wine snobs over, they aren't going 
>>to turn up their noses at my poor taste.

Hi Chris,

There are many other kinds of 'reds' and red blends, but I'll start off by 
suggesting a merlot. [Merlots generally run on the 'drier' side and it's 
VERY much a matter of personal taste how 'dry' you like your merlot.]

I'm a 'bargain hunter', so it may not be the most pretentious, but I like 
the 'private selection' merlot from Robert Mondavi -- and it's pretty easy 
to find _anywhere_ in the US:
http://www.rmprivateselection.com/wines.asp


Here are a bunch of reviews on various Merlots:
http://www.epinions.com/fddk-Wines-All-Merlot/pp_~1#list


If you have a 'large' liquor store in your area you might take a look to 
see if they put the 'rating' next to some of their wines. [There is a 
Specs near my house that does this.]  That way you can look for a 'cheap' 
wine that gets a good 'rating' ... to impress your snooty pals!  ;-)

Here's a link to wine spectator ... I think that's the group that does the 
ratings.  
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Help/Login_Access_Denied/1,2422,,00.html


{NOTE: A high rating may not mean it 'tastes great' ... but if you can 
get a bottle of red with a "91" rating for $8 ... you can sound snooty 
by casually mentioning the high rating to your company.}    ;-P


HTH,

RonL.
(Oh!  Not that anyone pays attention ... but if you're shooting to 
impress you probably shouldn't chill the merlot ... unless you can 
pull off that 'I'm too cool not to break the rules' vibe a chilled 
merlot would probably come off as a n00b mistake.)