Why it probably tasted bad
Two things make wine hard for a new drinker, and both of them are concentrated in cheap dry reds. Tannin is the drying, chalky feeling on your tongue — it comes from grape skins, and red wine has far more of it. Acidity is the sharpness. Sweetness masks both, which is exactly why sweet wine is where most people should start and almost nobody is offered it.
There is nothing unserious about sweet wine. It is the biggest category we sell, by a distance.
Start here
| If you like… | Try |
|---|---|
| Sweet drinks, soda, juice | Moscato — light, sweet, low alcohol, serve very cold |
| Fruity cocktails | Pink moscato or a sweet rosé |
| Nothing too strong | Riesling — sweet or off-dry, and lower in alcohol |
| Beer more than spirits | Prosecco — bubbles do a lot of the work |
| Whiskey or dark spirits | A sweet red blend, which is closer than you would expect |
Serve all of these colder than you think. Cold suppresses bitterness and lifts the fruit, and a warm sweet wine tastes syrupy in a way the same bottle chilled does not.
Working towards dry, if you want to
- Start with moscato or a sweet rosé until it stops tasting like a treat and starts tasting normal.
- Move to pinot grigio or an off-dry riesling — still light, noticeably less sweet.
- Try a chardonnay, which is fuller but not tannic, so it is dry without being harsh.
- Then a pinot noir. It is the gentlest red on the shelf and the right first one, not cabernet.
- Cabernet, malbec and the big reds last. If you jump straight here you will decide you were right the first time.
There is also no obligation to finish that list. Plenty of people stop at step one and drink moscato happily for the rest of their lives.
Two other ways in
- Sangria — red wine cut with fruit and citrus, which softens everything difficult about it.
- A boxed wine, so you can pour a small glass and come back to it in a week without wasting a bottle.
Tell us what you normally drink and roughly what you want to spend, and we will pick a bottle. Getting it wrong on a $12 bottle costs you nothing and tells us what to hand you next time.
Quick answers
- What wine should I try if I do not like wine?
- Start with moscato, served very cold. It is sweet and low in alcohol, which hides the tannin and acidity that make dry red wine hard for a new drinker. Pink moscato, sweet rosé and off-dry riesling are the next steps.
- What is the difference between sweet and dry wine?
- Dry means the sugar has been fermented into alcohol, so little or none is left. Sweet wine keeps some of it. Sweetness masks both tannin and acidity, which is why sweet wines are easier to start with.
- Do you sell sweet wine and moscato?
- Yes. Emporium Liquor at 3900 147th St, Midlothian, IL 60445 stocks Barefoot, Sutter Home and Stella Rosa across the sweet range, plus moscato, sweet reds and boxed wine.