Verve Wine, San Francisco:
In THE BATTLE OF COLD FINGER FOODS, cheeses won, with boiled eggs, sandwiches, nuts and salted snacks (eg crisps/chips) coming next in the poll.
It's now the turn of wine to do battle. Italy, France, Spain, America, Australia, Argentina, China, South Africa, Chile and Germany are the world's ten biggest wine-producing countries. America, France, Italy Germany and Britain are the world's five biggest wine-consuming countries. Though if adjusted for wine consumption per head of population (ie per capita), Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria come out on top.
This poll is only concerned with wine made from the grape, so coconut/palm wine, honey wine (aka mead), pear wine (aka pear cider or perry) and rice wine (eg mirin, sake) are excluded from the poll. Also excluded are fortified wines, such as Commandaria, ginger wine, Madeira, Marsala, port, raki (Turkey's national drink), sherry and vermouth, in which a spirit (often brandy) is added to the wine. Finally, mulled wines, spritzers and wine cocktails are excluded because they have other ingredients added to the wine.
There is no way I could meaningfully compile a poll covering the most popular brands of wine. There are nearly 100,000 wineries in the world and there are over 10,000 varieties of grape used to make wine. Instead, I've compiled the poll by the colour of a wine - white, red and rosé (or blush) wine, by the sweetness of the wine - dry, medium dry/sweet and sweet wine, and whether the wine is non-sparkling (still) or sparkling.
Using this categorisation of wines gives me 18 poll options. Throw in dessert wine and 'other' and, Bob's your uncle, I now have my 20 poll options. There are no separate poll options for alcohol-free wines, craft wines, home-made wines, low alcohol wines, organic wines and wild wines, but those wines are covered by the poll options.
Unlike with other polls, I'm quite confident that I've got nearly all bases covered with this poll.
For each option of wine, I've cited a few examples of wine. For three options (eg sparkling dry red wine), I can't think of any examples; that doesn't mean there aren't any, just that I don't know of any. Also some wines are difficult to classify. A Rioja can be a white, red or rosé wine. Likewise, a Lambrusco comes as a red, white and rosé sparkling wine. A Vouvray can be a white or red wine.
The difference between a sweet wine and a dessert wine is very fuzzy. The difference is that the former is drunk with the main meal and the latter is drunk with a dessert.
Chardonnay, the world's most popular wine, caused me most grief. Some regard it as a dry white wine, I see it as a sweet white wine. I compromised and classified it as a medium dry/sweet wine. Dryness and sweetness are all matters of degree and are somewhat subjective descriptors.
My favourite types of wine are sparkling dry white wine, dry rosé wine and sparkling dry rosé wine, with dry white wine being my most favourite type of wine. I used to be a rosé wine drinker, even a Mateus Rosé man, but my palate has moved onto the dry white wines, the sophistico I am though not so sophisticated to get into red wine!
Italian, Spanish and especially French dry white wines, particularly a Chablis a Pouilly-Fumé, a Rioja, a Sancerre, a Soave and a Vouvray, are my go-to wines. When it comes to wine, I'm an Old World man!
My least favourite types of wine are sweet white wine, sweet red wine, sweet rosé wine and dessert wine, with Retsina being by far my least favourite type of wine. Though a dry white wine, Retsina is a Greek wine flavoured with pine seeds. It tastes disgusting and, I believe, is an acquired taste!
Retsina:
What are your most and least favourite types of wine?
How often do you drink wine?
If you drink wine, what wine would you order at a restaurant (please assume it has every wine produced in the world in its cellar)?
Have you ever made your own wine?
I have a couple of glasses of dry white wine almost every day, always in the evening and never in the morning. If I was in a restaurant with a fine wine cellar, I'd order the most expensive dry white wine on the restaurant's wine list. Perhaps a Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc 2018, an American wine costing over £2,600 a bottle (nearly $3,500 or over €3,100). Who would have thought that an American wine would be one of the world's most expensive wine?! Generally I've found that the more you pay for a wine, the better the wine is.
I've never made my own wine. And to be honest, I've never enjoyed drinking anyone else's home-made wine.
Below is a poll where you can anonymously select your most favourite type of wine. Unfortunately only one pick is allowed in the poll.
I think or rather I'm guessing that medium dry/sweet white wine (eg Chardonnay) will win the poll but sparkling dry white wine (eg Champagne) may do well.
Please see the first comment below to see what has won each battle of the food and drinks so far.
Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc 2018:
18
39 comments
Of course, the obvious elephant is that you can only choose one...
Well, it's not an elephant. I'm just asking people to choose their most favourite elephant!
@spunkycumfun My God - that's an impossible Tusk!
@RavenGB Fleetwood Mac!
Red wine all day long...
Red wine can give me a bad head sometimes, especially after I've drunk white wine.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sparkling Sweet wine. I am a toddler
I cannot condone under-age drinking!
Just to clarify, mirin is a seasoning and not for drinking.
I like sweet wine, red or white. My preference is sparkling, although I have had some nice wine that’s not bubbly.
On a recent bus tour where we stopped at a winery, there was a sweet wine made with Delaware grapes that I really liked.
Yamanashi and Hokkaido have some nice wineries. I’d like to do a winery tour in Hokkaido sometime.
@SubWithBrains
I know, right? 😂
Thanks for your clarification. That's the internet for you!
@JN63JPN @SubWithBrains
This is the Wikipedia entry for mirin:
"Mirin (味醂 or みりん, Japanese: [miɾiɴ]) is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content."
@spunkycumfun
Key word: cooking
@JN63JPN I probably stopped reading the entry once I got to "a type of rice wine"!
Rose! Always Rose!
I used to be a big rosé wine drinker but them moved to dry white wine.
Riesling
There are some good Riesling wines around.
Thanks for stopping by.
I love my Mistress golden nectar wine.
I hear that's the best wine!
There's a great deal to be said for a sparkling shiraz or similar, ideal accompanient for poultry, and refreshing on a hot day. A full bodied Australian version is around 13 per cent alcohol, so quite like a regular shiraz, cabernet sauvignon or merlot but lifted by being sparkling.
I've never had a sparkling Shiraz. I've only drunk sparkling white and rosé wines.
Thanks for stopping by to comment.
I pretty much gave up drinking at the beginning of the year in hopes of getting the best chance of success with my ablation surgery. Last night I had my first glass of wine since then! It was a dry red and I just had half a glass but enjoyed it quite a bit.
I've heard that drinking wine has health benefits. I hope so for my sake!
@spunkycumfun I’m sorry to report that that conventional wisdom is being revised these days. But, just don’t google it to find out and I’m sure you’ll be fine!
@smartasswoman To be honest, I don't really care when I die!
I used to be a red wine snob. But, the morning headaches were well, a pain. I switched and discovered that I quite liked pinot gris. 1/2 bottle a night with dinner. But, my doctor told me that I should dial it back. perhaps to help lower my blood pressure. So, I stopped completely. On a rare occasion I might have a little splash ~ more like a taste.
Red wine gave me a bad head the next morning as well.
My doctor advised me to reduce my wine intake but I haven't done so ... yet!
@spunkycumfun ~ I never had an issue with white win. There are some additives that are not in white wine.
@6shivashakti9 I believe that to be the case too.
@spunkycumfun My late (and extremely gorgeous, intelligent, witty - OK, you get the picture!) wife worked in Allergy and Immunology - there was a conference paper which claimed taking an anti-histamine prior to drinking red wine eliminated the hangover risk (due, she said, to "congeners" in the wine).
@RavenGB It seems easier to stick to white wine despite what your gorgeous, intelligent, witty late wife told you.
Love a Chateau Neuf (and a soixante-neuf for that matter )
I hear Châteausoixante-neuf is a great vintage!
Love a Cateau Neuf
I've not had a Châteauneuf. I'll look out for it now.
Like wine. Favorite balance Blush or Rose. However drink others and cook with some. Don't care much for the Super sweet German Ice Wine or Hungarian Tokaji. Do like Champagne pink version.When travel do try the local variety. Georgia some that were delicious
🍷
I've heard that Georgian wine are good though I've not tried any yet.
I like a little of both worlds...depends on mood, company and food pairings. But I'll rarely turn down a nice Riesling, Malbec or Red Zinfandel 🍷
When it comes to wine, you're clearly flexible which is always when good when being invited out for a meal.
@spunkycumfun Flexibility is the spice of life!
@CuteBBW1973 Very true.
Dry dark reds for me....Malbac, Merlots sometimes a blend. Never sweet wines for me.. and rarely white ~
Some dark reds give me a bad head the next morning.
@spunkycumfun ya ,people say that. Its something about the tanins. Ive never had that prob, though im not a usual wine drinker. Would prefer to spend my calories on tequila/s.
@jajo696 I believe it's the tanins in red wine causing bad heads.
I said other because unfortunately I can't drink wine because it gives me a severe headache. I am glad that everyone else can enjoy it..
You not drinking wine means that there's more wine for me to drink!
What are your most and least favourite types of wine? - I drink dry reds almost exclusively.
How often do you drink wine? - TOO often, several times a week. I've noticed how it spikes my blood pressure so am trending towards less often.
If you drink wine, what wine would you order at a restaurant (please assume it has every wine produced in the world in its cellar)? - Here in the US, where we drive ourselves almost ALWAYS, I rarely drink at all outside home.
Have you ever made your own wine? - Never even considered it.
I don't mind the odd glass of red wine particularly at the end of the meal. But I've learnt never to mix red and white wines.
Not a big wine drinker , dry red or rose if i do. Enjoy red wine with coke and crushed ice on hot summer days or at pool parties.
I've never had red wine mixed with coke. I'd give it a try.
@spunkycumfun Is called Katemba a South African -Portuguese drink . But when drinking remember there is a delayed response to the alcohol and the kick sneaks up on you.
@taurean62dbn You're selling a Katemba to me now.
For myself, I enjoy more of the dry red wine. I like the nice, distinct taste it has when I drink it. Especially it par up well with certain foods like red meat. I like dry white wine as well but if I have to choose between the two, then I’ll go with the dry red wine.
Red wine often gives me a bad head the morning after!
@spunkycumfun that's because of the sulfites chocolate should give you them too
@lustylad802 Thankfully I've never had a bad head from eating lots of chocolate.
Dry white Rioja (or still better "Rivera de Duero" ) and Dry red Rioja (I guess you forgot to include red Rioja in Dry red wines, is better than the white Rioja) I also love other less known white wines as Jurançon moelleux (Bearn, France) , Txakoli (Basque Country, Spain), Albariño and Rias Baixas (Galicia, Spain)
I had problems placing Rioja in my classification as it's served up in many guises. I like my Rioja dry and white, though a red Rioja is one of my favourite red wines.
For the record, Brussels sprouts won THE BATTLE OF THE VEGETABLES, bananas won THE BATTLE OF THE FRUITS, basil won THE BATTLE OF THE HERBS, garlic won THE BATTLE OF THE SPICES, cashew nuts won THE BATTLE OF THE NUTS, sunflower seeds won THE BATTLE OF THE SEEDS, roast beef won THE BATTLE OF THE ROAST DINNERS, cheesecake won THE BATTLE OF THE PUDDINGS, pepperoni won THE BATTLE OF THE PIZZA TOPPINGS, Caesar salad won THE BATTLE OF THE SALADS, green beans won THE BATTLE OF THE BEANS, watermelon won THE BATTLE OF THE MELONS, tomato-based pasta sauce won THE BATTLE OF THE HOT SAUCY DIPS, barbecue sauce won THE BATTLE OF THE COOL SAUCY DIPS, vanilla ice cream won THE BATTLE OF THE ICE CREAMS, capellini (aka angel hair) won THE BATTLE OF THE PASTAS, steak won THE BATTLE OF THE BARBECUE, romaine lettuce won THE BATTLE OF THE LETTUCES, honeycrisp apples won THE BATTLE OF THE APPLES, stout won THE BATTLE OF THE BEERS, whisky won THE BATTLE OF THE SPIRITS, clam chowder won THE BATTLE OF THE SOUPS, sourdough bread won THE BATTLE OF THE BREADS, liver won THE BATTLE OF THE OFFAL, roast turkey won THE BATTLE OF CHRISTMAS FOODS, Old Fashioned won THE BATTLE OF THE COCKTAILS, Americano coffee won THE BATTLE OF THE COFFEES, green tea won THE BATTLE OF THE TEAS, maple syrup won THE BATTLE OF THE PANCAKES, ketchup won THE BATTLE OF THE CONDIMENTS, ribeye steak won THE BATTLE OF THE STEAKS, portobello mushrooms won THE BATTLE OF THE MUSHROOMS, beefsteak tomatoes won THE BATTLE OF THE TOMATOES, barbecue crisps won THE BATTLE OF THE CRISPS, strawberries won THE BATTLE OF THE BERRIES, crab won THE BATTLE OF THE SHELLFISH, vanilla yogurt won THE BATTLE OF THE YOGURTS, jasmine rice won THE BATTLE OF THE RICE, chicken wings won THE BATTLE OF HOT FINGER FOODS, and cheeses won THE BATTLE OF COLD FINGER FOODS.