Trouble identifying wines

[bill]

hello, i posted on here a while back re the Blossom hill brand of wines . They have a picture of some grapes on the back label with a number. Now i have sussed that the higher the number the sweeter the wine.

as im new to the wine drinking im finding it quite difficult to sus out whats dry/sweet etc. the blossom hill with the indicator on the back has helped but today i bought a Blossom hill california red and the picture of grapes had a letter in it instead of a number

does anyone know what this equates to? it had the letter B so i presume its not the dryest they do but it was quite dry..and nice..

i have tried a few reds and didnt like any of them but this one was nice so it has given me back an interest for tasting them again.. im just confused to the letters instead of the numbers now..

i have tried getting on blossom hill sites but nothing is mentioned about the scaling on the bottles.

any help appreciated..

also i have been looking round wines and find no clue on many as to if its dry or not ???

billy

[lockwood1956]

A to E is normally a grading of the size of the wine....


A being a lighter style and E being a massive oaky tannin bomb of a bordeaux

if you are not sure of dryness.....drop your hydrometer in it

Your hydrometer is your friend (is there an echo in here?)


most supermarkets have staff that are trained to assist you in the selection and purchase of the wines they stock....I find they are normally pretty knowledgeable and helpful. Also somewhere in the wine aisle there should be a giude to the letters and numbers used on the bottles, have a look for it, and perhaps ask if they have a spare you can take home to study.

If not sure just type the name of the winery and the grape varietal into google and you can find tons of information.

hope this helps
regards
bob

[lockwood1956]

see here

http://www.statwine.com/en/grading-system.php

[lockwood1956]

and here

http://www.winepocketlist.com/about-wine-ratings-guide.asp

[lockwood1956]

And a very useful section of morrisons website

http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Drink/Wine/

[lockwood1956]

this page is great
see about halfway down on the right it has a wine chooser that lets you track what you want by colour style and fullness

http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Drink/Wine/Enjoying-wine/

[bill]

thanks for that.. my local tesco workers couldn't advise you on baked beans..

i have been picking leaflets up as i see them .. its becoming clear now.. more reading needed i think , im not doing too bad iv already "advised" a couple of birds in the wine isle at tesco..

i had a laugh with my mrs, i asked her to watch as i hung around the zinfandel after hearing two birds trying to remember the name , two birds came up debating as to what a mate had told them to try. it was evident they meant zin, i started my speal... and reccommended the grenache also as if i was some expert.. they were very impressed ..

talk about a blagger.. stood there crew cut, fully tattooed i felt strangely refined.. :-)



billy

[lockwood1956]

Top Banana

[lockwood1956]

thanks for that.. my local tesco workers couldn't advise you on baked beans..

ah but.....
the wine aisle people will be WSET trained (wine and spirit education trust) and will know their stuff

[bill]

i'll ask next time im in.. i have a lot to learn but its coming.. i have tried to find the coding for the wines a few times with no look so thats a great help..

cheers ,billy

[Duffbeer]

Billy, if you have a bargain booze shop anywhere nearby, they do a handy little leaflet called 'choosing the right wine for the uneducated' or something to that effect, it's a light hearted humorous leaflet explaining what to expect from some wines & what foods they compliment without the winebuff jargon.

[bill]

yes, i picked one up the other day, quite a good little booklet but no mention of the codes used..

once i found out what the number codes were for it made it a lot easier to decide what type to go for .. the zin and grenache i like is a 4 which is ok for me , the chardonnay is a 2 if im not mistaken and not to my taste..

the Blossom hill california red is labelled B which i thought was nice so again i can look based on the tastes i have had up to now..

just makes it that much easier to choose a wine with the info.. as im new to wine , both making and drinking..

the wines i have tried before were ` not my taste hense never likeing them but now im picking a bit of knowledge up im finding ones i like..

cheers

billy