re: Wine suggestions for a beginner

9.00-10.00 i think
all about matter of your taste.
Can't go wrong with an Old-Vine Wine. Look them up. This one can get you started- You can get it anywhere!

GnarlyHead

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There's a place on Perkins that does wine tastings. I'll go!

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Cuban Liquors does it.

As far as bottles go:

For a Cab, I would suggest Robert Mondavi private selection ($8-12 per bottle). Not the best wine, but very agreeable, especially for the price point.

For a Pinot, La Crema. Pricing varies depending on the vintage and you get what you pay for, but it's very good.

For a Merlot: J Lohr Paso Robles 2007 or 2009. A little more pricy, but well worth it.

That being said, everyone likes different wines and I named some of the bigger, "cookie cutter", labels. They are easy to find and agreeable, but not always the "best value", once you figure out your tastes.

Churchill's does wine tastings about once a month. Randazzo's in DS does one on the second Wednesday of the month.

J. Lohr Cabernet. About $15 and very good.

george duboeuf beaujolais villages

This is one of my favotites and very inexpensive

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are there any places that do tastings in br?

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Matherne's does wine tasting dinners but I have no idea how you get on the invite list. I have been twice and thought it was pretty fun

iirc Matherne's does tastings at their store on Bluebonnet and Perkins.

Google search on Baton Rouge wine tastings

wine tastings

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Then you being an amateur feel like a schmuck and wonder, "why dont I get mushrooms?" Or worse you just coop the tastes of the group for your own.

While wine tastings do have value, to learn what you like take wine home and drink it preferably alone and form your own opinion.

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That is very good advice. In the restaurant industry, I've worked dozens of wine dinners, and most of them are chock full of people trying to impress those around them with their supposed wine knowledge. You're not trying to become a wine critic here, you're wanting to learn to enjoy wine. There has been some very good advice in this thread, and there has also been some people trying to make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I stand by the wine suggestions I made earlier. You need to walk before you run. You need to find one wine that you really enjoy, and from there, you can branch out to similar wines. Then, you can start exploring other types of wines and you'll learn that like a good song, you may not always love it your first time, but after a few sips or glasses, it just may become your favorite.

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Not directing solely at you ruzil, but wine tastings are a poor way to learn what you like. The problem is that people are rarely honest and everyone just nods and says "Ohhh I like the tanins" or "Does anyone else pick up cedar roasted mushrooms?" Then you being an amateur feel like a schmuck and wonder, "why dont I get mushrooms?" Or worse you just coop the tastes of the group for your own.

While wine tastings do have value, to learn what you like take wine home and drink it preferably alone and form your own opinion.

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Sorry BO,

I thought the dude was looking for tastings. My bad, I guess.

I really enjoy wine and consider it a hobby. I got introduced to wine in a haphazard way when in the biotech industry and had lots of company/work dinners where it didn't cost me anything. The company I worked for was in San Fran, and naturally had lots of wine geeks, with biotech dollars that were generous with their knowledge.

I learned early, that my palate was not the same as others, and that it was important to trust it and find a muse (expert) that had a similar palate to mine, and trust their recommendations.

I started geeking out to Wine Library TV, (Gary Vaynerchuk), would seek out the wines he listed and see if I liked them. I found that the wines I drank early, California Cabs and Zins, are not the wines I prefer now, Central Coast Pinots, Big Italian Reds, and Spanish and So. American wines.

Finding out what is drinking good to you, takes time and involves pulling many corks. I think a wine tasting, might be beneath an experienced enophile like you, but might be just the thing to wet a beginners palate and who knows, he might meet a new friend or two. In fact, this tasting, if done at Martin's, might help them decide which wines to include in that budget mixed case. Just sayin'.