I have to admit, I have never liked alcohol, I just think it tastes nasty. I've been reading about the benefits of a daily dose of red wine and decided to try it. I've finally got my cholesterol under control (thanks to the diet change after the sleeve) but what scares me is the family history. I had two grand parents die of heart attacks at young ages (early 60's) and the other two died of cancer so I've got a double whammy from BOTH sides. Not knowing a thing about wine I went to a local wine shop and got what they recommended, a cheap box of a dry red wine. The quick sip he gave me at the store seemed OK but the 3 or 4 ozs of the stuff I've been taking is enough to gag a maggot. I REALLY hate the taste and cringe when I take the stuff every evening.

My co-worker suggested I try a sweet dessert wine. From what I've read the "dry" wines - one's that have most all the natural sugar consumed by yeast and turned into alcohol - is supposed to be the best. Of course there are a million opinions online and most do not agree.

Does anyone have any good knowledge they can share? Is a sweet wine just as good as a dry one?

If you want the health benefits of wine, red is the way to go. I would NOT recommend a sweet wine but rather a better-tasting red. :-) Don't drink wine from a box--life is too short; I'm actually really surprised that a wine shop would recommend that for you as a novice wine drinker. Ick.

My recommendation would be for a bottle of Australian Shiraz--you can get the Yellow Tail or Rosemount brand fairly inexpensively at a lot of stores--be sure the store you're buying from has good turnover and current stock.... old, dusty wine bottles are what you want to see for vintage wine, but for "daily" wine, having stock that hasn't been sitting in rooms with temperature variation and artificial heating is a good thing. Get a bottle or two of Shiraz or Syrah (Syrah and Shiraz are different names for the same grape, and it produces a yummy, fruity-tasting wine, not sweet, but not sawdust-inducing dry, either). If you prefer buying American, Petite Syrah (NOT the same grape, but with the same flavor/dryness profile) is excellent--I love the McManis family vineyard and any wine they produce, and it is very reasonably priced.

There are also VERY delicious wines from Argentina, South Africa, and Chile that are quite inexpensive and pretty readily available. If you have access to a local library or digital library, check out "Wine Spectator" and "Wine Enthusiast," both magazines of which do have lots of news on affordable wines with tasting notes. They also routinely provide lists of excellent wines at a bargain.

Don't give up! Wine is delicious paired with food, and the health benefits are a nice bonus. Finding one that you like might take a few tries, but the more you read and research and taste, the more you'll get to know what you like and don't like. You might also check your newspaper to see if there's a local wine tasting club--we have one here in our small town, so you might be able to find a group (or start a group!) of people who are also curious and want to try different wines.

If you want a good, mildly sweet wine get some White Zinfandel. That is what I drink or did drink prior to sleeve.

Beringer is the best and Sutter Homes makes a good one too. Drink it cold.

Kelly

I have to admit, I have never liked alcohol, I just think it tastes nasty. I've been reading about the benefits of a daily dose of red wine and decided to try it. I've finally got my cholesterol under control (thanks to the diet change after the sleeve) but what scares me is the family history. I had two grand parents die of heart attacks at young ages (early 60's) and the other two died of cancer so I've got a double whammy from BOTH sides. Not knowing a thing about wine I went to a local wine shop and got what they recommended, a cheap box of a dry red wine. The quick sip he gave me at the store seemed OK but the 3 or 4 ozs of the stuff I've been taking is enough to gag a maggot. I REALLY hate the taste and cringe when I take the stuff every evening.

My co-worker suggested I try a sweet dessert wine. From what I've read the "dry" wines - one's that have most all the natural sugar consumed by yeast and turned into alcohol - is supposed to be the best. Of course there are a million opinions online and most do not agree.

Does anyone have any good knowledge they can share? Is a sweet wine just as good as a dry one?

There are two wines that i love. . .they are sweet . . . they are Mechinowitz and Mogan David. . you can get both at HEB grocery store or the liquor store. . . i think you would enjoy these. . . dry wine to me is plain nasty

A good wine is whatever you think tastes good. I prefer wines that are less sweet. Reds are my favorites, but I also enjoy chardonnay and sauvignon blanc occasionally. I don't know anyone who prefers boxed wine though. It's almost always terrible.

Thinoneday, are those 2 you mentioned red or white wines? I rarely drink at all but tried the Barefoot Moscato which was absolutely delicious, but a dessert white wine so I am sure it was way high in calories, and probably doesn't have the same health benefits. I also tried the White Zinfandel which was ok too. It's so difficult to know whats good with so many choices.

Thanks!!

I like the Beaujolais and Merlots... Not too dry, not too sweet. Cabernets taste like tannin to me.

Khy

I agree with the others you have to ditch the box wine. That is not a good quality wine and coming from a box can't be good for the taste either. Have you tried a wine tasting at a store? That might help you understand what you like without having to spend money on bottles. For a nice light red wine that isn't too dry or tart I prefer Pinot Noir, preferably from Oregon. Very tasty!

I tried Riesling for the first time about a month ago and really liked it. But I'm more of a ... make that used to be more of a beer gal so I don't know that much about wines in general.

Well after getting a lot of opinions and no real answers I just went back to the wine shop and got a sweet concord wine that didn't taste like sh*t. I can slug done 3ozs before bedtime and it helps me sleep. Hopefully the "other" benefits are there too. At least I'm not having to build up the nerve to drink the swill down

They do have blackberry wine. It is super yummy and cheap!

Kelly

Well after getting a lot of opinions and no real answers I just went back to the wine shop and got a sweet concord wine that didn't taste like sh*t. I can slug done 3ozs before bedtime and it helps me sleep. Hopefully the "other" benefits are there too. At least I'm not having to build up the nerve to drink the swill down

If you are not particularly a drinker or wine person, grape juice is supposed to provide the same health benefits, anti-oxidents, etc., as wine. Similar amounts (a 4-6oz glass) are fine for the same reason - limiting the excess sugars/calories while getting the proper amount of benefit and lessening the load on your liver during weight loss (some of us are on programs that avoid alcohol altogether during the weight loss period as our livers are already heavily taxed metabolizing the fat that we are losing - can you tell that my surgeon is also a liver specialist?)

Addendum: any of the plant based foods with similar colors will have the same healful components - grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.

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Riujnite Lambrusco is a good, inexpensive, highly available red wine. It is mildly sweet and was the first red wine I ever tasted and enjoyed. I like to drink it as a "nightcap" type wine, but not really ith meals. I like the really dry red wines when I am eating. I usually ask the waiter to reccomend a dry red and go with that. I have better luck with waiter recommendations than just guessing. When I find domething I like, I make a note in my phone. I almost always have Lambrusco in my house and or Barefoot Moscato. Moscato blend is a very sweet, delicious white wine.