Merlot 101

What's a good website that gives me the differences between the types of wine?

I'm a very big fan of wine and I've try to get my hands on as many types as I can.. I'm still trying to find my favorites: I love white wine: riesling is so good as a dessert wine.. but too much makes me sick. Chardannay is really tasty. I'm trying to love red wine: Merlot is as far as I go. Any suggestions on websites? Or personal favorites?

Public Comments

1. Welcome to the wonderful world of wine! My first advice is to trust your own palate before anyone else's. Having said that, there are a ton of great websites out there: This is a fun one, many videos on his experience with wine, and he has a great library of all sorts of wines (he also caters to those who are new to wine): http://tv.winelibrary.com/ This site will give you the "dictionary" of varietals: http://www.winepros.org/wine101/grape_profiles/varietals.htm Riesling technically isn't a dessert wine, but it can be made into one. there are a lot of non-sweet ones, especially those from Alsace. I wouldn't rule out any reds just because they aren't Merlot. There are a ton of other great wines that fit that style, you just need to find them! My best suggestion is to join as many wine clubs as possible and attend as many wine tastings as you can. You can try a whole bunch of stuff and don't have to buy an entire bottle to try it. Check with your local liquor stores or wine shops, and they should have information on ones in your area. Have fun! BTW, something else I wanted to add: The Varietal is just as important as the region when it comes to wine. A Merlot from CA is going to be different than one from France (St. Emillion for example) or Australia. My advice if you are new is to start with California as they tend to fit the american palate the best.
2. AA
3. You should research for local wine festivals in your area. They do wine tastings of all sorts of wine for like $30. Or look for local wineries in your town. Hope this helps
4. Wine spectator is a good website.
5. A website that has lots of information and is easy to navigate is http://www.keepwinesimple.com If you are looking to taste different types of red wine, next try a beaujolais, I think you might like it.