I would like to drink wine. Who can advise me?

[idontknowwhattosay]

So im not a wine drinker, i like vodka and non apple based cider. I can't stand gin and the idea of bacardi takes me back to a bad night in 1997. I dont like mojito but love an appletini or pornstar martini.
That's my drinking style!
Id like to start to drink wine but have zero idea of what im looking for.
Is there like a good wine to ease yourself in with?
Btw, i also dislike proseccco, unless in a cocktail or with lots of fruity nice things.
Help!

Sweet or dry?

I did this. I started with cheese wines and when I identified flavours and types that I liked, moved on to them.

I am now quite fond of wine, white and red.

What's non apple based cider?

It sounds like you have quite a sweet tooth?

Sweet wines are generally a bit gross but you could try a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanca which are quite apple-y and zingy

Or rosè wine can taste of strawberries

Do you have a local branch of Majestic? They offer free tastings and their staff are really friendly. Go along, tell them what you’ve said in your post and try a few...

Best thing to do is go into a proper wine shop. But as they can be scary look for medium dry (demi sec) to start with. If that's too sweet go for something labelled dry. A rose (pink) is often on the sweeter side. If you go to a large supermarket they often do wine in individual portions - bottles or cans and you can try these. I would go for a pinot grigio as this is light and easy to drink - white, not fizzy, but can be dry. Or a chenin blanc. If you have a B&M near you they have lots of slightly sweeter individual cans and bottles. Enjoy your tasting.

It's quite difficult to suggest any wines to you as everyone has different tastes.
Having said that, from what you have said you do like, I would go for sweet white wines or a light fruity red which tends to be sweeter. I personally love oaky chardonnays and bold heavy reds.

Why do you want to drink wine? You have quite a few you already like.

@MikeUniformMike non apple based cider could be perry (pear) or the red berries ones Strongbow and Magners do.

Ah!. Thanks.

I'd second tenbob's suggestion of Majestic Wine (soon to be named Naked Wine). The one local to here has a bar where you can help yourself to a range of different wines and I've always found the staff to be helpful and knowledgeable enough to point me in the right direction.

WSET course. You get to taste a lot of wines.

Agree New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is a good "gateway wine" :o

If you don't like prosecco, you probably won't get on with dry wines. Rosé is probably a good place to start. Try a bottle of Gallo white grenache. It's quite sweet and fruity and usually only about £5 - £6 so you won't have wasted much money if you don't like it.

If you wanted to try red, I'd suggest a merlot, malbec or cabernet sauvignon. They're too quite easy to drink.

I prefer a dry white like sauvignon blanc, again if you prefer a sweeter wine maybe try a chardonnay or a riesling.

Ooh have Naked taken over Majestic?

Sounds like you would enjoy most sweet Rose wines.

Gallo White Grenache is widely available if you wanted to try that as a starting point.

It depends on your reason for wanting to drink wine though? The problem with wine is that even the same types can taste vastly different - for me that's part of the fun picking a new one to drink but you sound like someone who knows what you like and stick to it when you have found it?

Great minds Regina

A nice pinot grigio, maybe 11.5 percent alcohol, like Yellow tail. Delicious.

Ooh have Naked taken over Majestic?

No, Majestic bought Naked a few years ago but installed the Naked boss as overall boss of Majestic and Naked

He decided a couple of weeks ago to rebrand the whole chain as Naked, presumably because it’s a ‘younger’ brand than Majestic

But from Naked for a good selection at a reasonable cost.
Or buy organic from Able and Cole

Can't go wrong with a Rioja imo!

@RoomR

Btw, i also dislike proseccco, unless in a cocktail or with lots of fruity nice things.

love an appletini or pornstar martini.

I think you might like Chardonnay, Gavi, Reisling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.

And white Grenache and most rose wines.

Marlborough sauvignon every time:)

ah, there are 2 magestics with in a couple of miles of me, i think i will pay a visit.
Id like to try drinking them with food, we go for dinner and i feel like wine might go better than a voddy!

Book a place at a local independent wine shop tasting, most hold them quite regularly as do majestic (or did)

To start an easy drinking Italian pino Grigio for white I would suggest, for red a rich fruity South African or Australian. These are what my girls like - whereas I prefer a chanti or my fav is chateau neuf du pape or cotes du Rhône's villages

A good fun thing to do is find a winetasting evening. I've only been to one, but it was really informative and great fun. Lots of wine too ;)

I would suggest a Pinot Noir as a nice red berry cherry flavoured red as an entry.

For a white I would normally suggest a Pinot Grigio, however that can have apple flavours which you say you aren't keen on. So maybe a chardonnay which, after a sketchy few years is improving again and there are some nice bottles out there.

There are a few wine bars opening now which serve huge ranges by the glass, that would be a great way to find your preference. There is a muti-page spread in this month's 'Olive' magazine about this.