Well Sprat you made a comment about drinking wine or even cooking with it.

I love Wine but you need to school me on it. I am a vodka Whiskey gurl!! lol

But to me wine is delish I just dont know which to buy. Now I like the sweet not dry dry stuff something red but not so cheap.

Now when I was younger Strawberry hill Remember that? lol like 3 bucks a bottle. Ok not that cheap and sweet. But is you can tell me is it Merlot, Chardenay (sp)which one is the one I want??

Drinking wine to me is a sophisticated, sexy, glamourous way to drink. And taste wounderful if you know how to pick em, But I buy bottles and cnt finish them cause they are all wrong.

Anybody Got any Ideas? Name Please

Remember I like the sweet not drydry but not so sweet it gives me a headache. And not so Cheap cheap!!

I love wine, but don't drink it much here (unless a guest buys it) because it is more expensive than other alcoholic beverages.

I love a nice chardonnay, which is definately NOT a sweet wine & it is white, as are most of my choices. I do not like sweet wine, so I can't give you too much advice on "sweet" ones....here's what I will say:

White zinfandel or rose wines are usually more sweet than white or red wines that I've drank. In Jamaica, why don't you just try the Red Label wine? It is not to my liking, but you might like it.....also the ginger wine is very sweet, but I like it with lots of ice to cut the sweetness. It has a very nice flavor.

I would say look for a Shiraz (I like the Yellowtail brand) or a Pinot Noir - I also like Pinot Gris

Or if you can find it, a Beaujolais - Here's the story behind that, it's usually readily available at certain times of the year:

http://www.intowine.com/beaujolais2.html

Drinking wine to me is a sophisticated, sexy, glamourous way to drink..

My husband might beg to differ with you on that statement...lol

Many more boomers are drinking wine over beer, and they do sell a lot more of it in Jamaica. Some wine drinkers won't touch it there...but hey, I guess my tastes aren't that sophisticated!

I too am not a 'sweet wine; drinker, I prefer a wooded chardonnay, and smooth merlot or shiraz...when it comes to red.

I agree with Cher...and you can a reisling or zinfadel. I always talk to the wine expert at the store...and many times from his recommendations, I try new wines. Try a few and you might find your taste changes to a less sweet wine.

Pair it with some gourmet cheeses...brie or blue cheese. Nothing better in my books!

Lit, welcome to the wonderful world of wines! I first got into wine-tasting when I lived out in California. I mean, other than my Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill days, LOL; I was def underage during that time! One of my best friends now works in the wine industry, out in the Russian River Valley between Santa Rosa & Sebastapol, California.

I too am a dry-wine drinker; the bone-dryer, the better, in my book! Cannot stand sweet wines. (You might possibly find that your tastes change over time once you start drinking wine?)

Def, the Reislings, which hail from Germany, or a good California Rose` (the e is supposed to have an accent mark over it) run sweet. Also a white Zinfandel. Then there's always Port, which is actually considered a dessert wine.

I Googled "sweet wines" & found this, I think you'll find it interesting in terms of what makes for a sweet wine vs. a dry wine:

Sweet Red Wines for Healthy Drinking

Many new wine drinkers have a decidedly sweet tooth, having been raised on coke, candy and chocolate as their 'normal sweetness level'. Red wines are known for their health benefits - and also for their tannic, non-sweet flavors. Many new wine drinkers therefore seek a red wine that is as sweet as possible.

As a bit of background, the tannic, leathery flavor of red wine comes from the red grape skins. All grape "insides" are white in color. So a red wine that only uses the skins briefly during winemaking -like a white zinfandel - is going to generally be less tannic and more sweet. It will also be light in color, since the color comes from the grape skins. A wine that sits on the skins for a long time during winemaking will end up darker in color, more tannic - and more healthy. That's because many of the health compounds in a wine come from its skin.

So the aim here is to slowly train your tongue to get used to those more tannic flavors, so you can move from the pink colored wines to the darker colored wines.

First, the easiest wines for most new drinkers to handle are the white zinfandel and white merlot style. These are very sweet in the grand scheme of things, but to someone used to drinking sugary sodas they will seem "normal". Think of this as someone taking coffee and dumping 5 creams and 5 sugars into it. Yes, it's barely coffee, but it's a start

Note again that these blush wines are only in contact with the grape skins for a short period of time. That's why they are light pink and not deep red. This also means they does not have many of the health benefits associated with red wine. Still, it's a way to get started.

Another very sweet red is port, the dessert wine. Port is higher alcohol than a regular wine, but is rich, thick and sweet. It goes great with chocolate and is wonderful for fireside sipping. It gets you used to the rich, complex flavors that wine offers.

You are training your tongue to tolerate tannins here. Tannins are the mouth-drying components found in tea bags. Once you are fine with drinking white zinfandel, you should try moving along to "actual" red wines that are as low in tannins as possible. These would be merlot, chianti or shiraz.

Merlot is the name of the grape used to make merlot wine. This wine has been used as a blending wine for hundreds of years because its flavor is so gentle. The typical flavor for a merlot is plum. This goes well with just about any medium-body dish, like burgers or pork chops.

Chianti is a multi-grape wine made in Italy. You might remember the straw-basket bottles used for Chianti in the olden days, and from movies. This wine is fruity tasting and goes wonderfully with pizza and lasagna.

Shiraz is also known as Syrah and comes from the Syrah grape. The name shiraz is just what Australia chose to call their version of the wine, and the name has become very popular. Shiraz wines are spicy and peppery, and go wonderfully with steak and spicy dishes.

The best thing you can ever do is to go into your wine shop and talk to its owner. The owner knows exactly what he has there and what would appeal to your taste. The more you get to know him or her, the more the owner will know what you enjoy, recommend similar offerings and be able to point you at something that is just your style.

So try every wine you can, see what you like and don't like, and build your own list of favorites. In the end, it is your palate we're talking about, and whatever you enjoy drinking, that's what is perfect for you!

Sweet Wine Info
White Zinfandel
Port
Merlot
Chianti
Shiraz

Great description of the various semi-sweet & sweet wines:
http://www.wines.com/wine_encyclopedia/sweet-wines
Enjoy!!!