Wine suggestions?

Ok bought a bottle of Carl Reh Mosel Riesling.

“No gratitude fucks for us”

For a minute...or a day or two, I forgot that this was actually about a meet and greet and not a wine dinner ;-)

Wine usually won’t make or break a date unless you’re a cheapo, which obviously, you’re not, or they’re truly swinger wine snobs, evaluating your fuckability on the Robert Parker 100 pt scale. Doesn’t sound like the latter either.

Good luck with the date!

BT

I dont see 2007 for sale anywhere. No gratitude fucks for us?

@Hotluvrs
Thanks for reminding me about Stag's Leap Petite Sirah. This was the favorite wine of a very sexy friend of mine about 30 years ago and it was amazing -especially with a few years of aging as it had pretty big tannins, at least back then. I haven't had it in years and have avoided it since Stag's Leap been owned by the "evil empire" of Altria Tobacco, but I think I'm going to have to break down and buy a bottle on your recommendation and for old times sake.
Hell, if I thought there was even the remote possibility of a gratitude date, let alone fuck, I might whore my principles and buy a case.... ;)

Ok I'll take this back. So the Mosel Riesling will not be dry and just slightly sweet? I did see that on the shelf. Just was looking for what I bought. Thanks!

@Forever
Ruffino is the producer. They're a long time and reputable Italian wine company that's most noted for Chianti red blends from Tuscany. They are large enough that they produce wines in a lot of other regions now as well, including Orvieto.
At the risk of TMI...Italian wines are organized either by region of origin or by what are called DOCs or DOCGs, which stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (the G stands for "e Garantita" which is considered a higher standard). This is similar to the French concept of Appellation Controlee and basically provides a lot of bureaucratic rules and oversight toward the aim of setting standards for quality and stylistic consistency. The wines have to be evaluated by a panel for being true to type. The stylistic type of the Orvieto and Orvieto Classico DOCs is, while aromatically fruity, dry in style. Don't get me wrong, these can be amazing wines, especially with food, but you said you were looking for a sweeter wine, and they are not that. There are a couple of sweet (dolce) Orvieto regional wines that you can buy in Umbria (I can't recall what they're called), but I've never seen them outside of Italy.
The Pinot Grigios from Friuli are more likely to be off dry (though dryness isn't as closely controlled so you should ask someone who's tasted a particular wine). I particularly like Pinot Grigios from the Trentino or Alto Adige regions. This is a more mountainous area and the wines tend to have higher acid. A wine like that can have a higher sugar content without being cloying (think lemonade-a balance of acid and sugar). This is what I really like about Mosel Rieslings. Namely their dense acid balanced by relatively high residual sugar.

currentrider- I just copied/pasted the label title from finewinesandspirits dot com. It says Ruffino Orvieto Classico on the front of the bottle. i can't actually find the work Friuli anywhere on it. It says it's a fruity and floral bouguet accented with hints of pears. Do I need to swap this out for some other one? Thanks!

one other suggestion , true [ ice wine ] worth every penny better than dom .

Don’t do that........

@Forever

what you mentioned is a mash up of two different wines. Orvieto is a dry white named for its town of origin in Umbria which is in central Italy. Friuli is in the province of Venezia in the far Northeast near Slovenia. Most of the wines from there are Pinot Grigio made in a light fruity style. If you bought both, I would start with the Friuli. It's closer to the style you said you were looking for.

Best wishes!

Just bring them a case of the Stag Leap Petite Sirah 2007.

You’ll be getting gratitude fucks for the next 20 years.

Here’s the quote referencing the tasting notes:
“ blackberry and earth notes of dry leaves and forest floor that lead into a black fruit finish. Firm, chewy tannins indicate the massive power and aging potential of this wine with juiciness that makes it an excellent match to rich foods.”

Yup, I always recommend some good forest floor floor notes.

Stolo 2017 Hillside Reserve Pinot Noir

California Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County

Very nice, full red Pinot. Enjoyable and satisfying. I don’t know how easy it is to find outside the area, but you can probably order it online.

SLO

We're going to try the Ruffino White Blend Orvieto Classico Friuli. At $9 a bottle I figured it for competing with Ripple and Night Train. But it was suggested by two wine aficionados. So I'm going to pick up a bottle, give it a try, and if it's good, I'll buy another.

We have 1-2 Rieslings as backups but we'll see what happens.

If things go really well, also picked up a couple bottles of Moet on sale.

I would go with the riesling. I'm a big fan of Washington wines but our much vaunted rieslings fall short of the gold standard of rieslings which, for me, is the Mosel. German wines tend toward the sweeter end ( in fact the basis of the German "Qualitatswein" standard is based on the sugar content of the grapes if not the finished wine) so you dont need to go too sweet. You do need some vocabulary though. A "spatelese" ("schpate-lays-a") is plenty sweet. A beeren auslase ("bare-en aush-lays-a) is a bit higher quality, similar dryness and often abbreviated "QBA". Alhough "trocken" technically means "dry" , a trocken beeren auslase, or "TBA" should not be too dry for you. "Halb trocken" literally means "half dry" or off dry but will probably be on the sweet side relative to other international ideas of off dry.
See if you can find a St. Urban's Hoff, a Johan Josef prum ( Joh.Jos. Prum on the bottle) or anything by Ernest Loosen (Weingut Dr. Loosen pronounced "lose'en"), in the Qba, TBA, or spatelese category. Any of these wines are delicious on their own or with food. All should be in the $15-25 range.
Have fun

Well we're getting warmer....going to get either a Riesling or Lambrusco.

Gin- two excellent choices are Monkey 47 and Hendricks.

BT and Magjoy are smart people Prosecco always works. I also really like Magjoys suggestion to ask the husband what the wife likes.

Travelers recommend a $20-$30 bottle.
I think that’s about right. Don’t over think this thing. Bringing the perfect bottle of bubbly will not make or break your night. The bottle is a gesture. It’s a way to express thanks and appreciation for being invited into their home.

Go to your favorite wine shop and tell them what you were told (semi sweet red and white wine, not too dry but not overly sweet) and ask their suggestions for red, white or sparkling wines in your price range.

I usually ask the husband what the wife likes. I bring my favorite (berringer white zin or bella serra moscato) in the winter, Alpine spice is a good wine to serve warm which is unique.

If they like red wines, can't help you there.

A nice prosecco is also a good choice over the holidays.

A scotch that is just smooth whiskey, Aberlour. No peate or smoke. Just smooth, aromatic whiskey.

To update... We got clarification tonight. "Semi sweet red and white wine. Not too dry but not overly sweet. Also a recent liking for whiskey and always a gin and tonic fan."

Now I've recently been into scotch/whiskey and my wife loves wine.

But in sticking with the wine....based on the parameters they mentioned....suggestions?

Thanks!!

I've given this same advice to many young men through the years, our own boys, employees, friends, and "boy toys" who thought ahead enough to ask. It should work for the OP's question just fine as well.

Most wine drinkers (not all, but most) like a red wine and usually a Cabernet. Start there. The under $10 bottles are crap and the over $50 bottles most people can't appreciate. Pick a Cabernet in the $20 to $30 range with a cool name. It will generally work for your purpose. The menage a trios red is actually pretty good BTW.

Bridgetender- That's an excellent idea! We can grab a nice bottle of Champagne and be good to go.

But throughout the week we'll try to feel them out a bit more.

Thanks!

Wine tastes can be as varied as sexual interests. Port is a wine I try to bring. There are basically only two types; Tawney and Ruby. To me, they are good chilled and at room temperature. To date I havent had a port I didnt like. Graham's 20 year is very good, but is about $60. Warre's is a very old family name in port. These run about $25. Joke is another good brand and runs $18-25.

If nothing else, you can discuss the history of port. :) if I remember correctly, it was developed in the Carabien as a way to dodge taxes. Run/whiskey had a high tax rate. By mixing in wine it was taxed at 5he wine rate.

WIne is one of those things that unless we know what your tastes are, we probably aren't giving it to you as a gift. You still have plenty of time until your meet so I assume you'll be chatting with them throughout the week....guide the conversation towards wine and find out what they like. Maybe they don't even like wine and prefer whiskey or vodka.

Personally, I'm not much of a wine guy so if a couple showed up with a bottle of wine, it wouldn't do much for me. Obviously I'd still thank them and I would certainly appreciate the gesture, but the bottle would definitely end up collecting dust until someone else comes along and drinks it and I'd probably feel a little guilty for not enjoying the gift myself.

T

chataeu grand traverse sweet summer red , traverse city Michigan .