Red Wine Question

Well, the expense factor is related to the brand name and age, not the generic name. The generic name is based on the blend of grapes used. Merlot for example is a red wine made from a red grape of the same name. Anyone who grows or buys some merlot grapes can make their own merlot wine, and the results will range from $8 a bottle for a no-name brewery and aged 5 years or less, to over $100 a bottle for a famous name aged for 10 years or more.

Well, since it's at a cocktail party, maybe a French Beaujolais. If it were a formal dinner party I might suggest something else.

If the setting is the US just the fact that it's a French wine will indicate that it's a more expensive wine (not that all French wines are).

Edited to add: Come to think of it, maybe a French Beaujolais isn't expensive enough. Maybe a French Burgundy instead. I think that would still work for a cocktail party setting.

Unless it's a tailgate party, I don't seen wine as being hoity toity.

Smish said:

Unless it's a tailgate party, I don't seen wine as being hoity toity.

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Oh, come on!

Where we're from anything that isn't in a Mason jar is hoity toity.


:-")

Did we get you what you needed? We could probably find a brand name if you need it, or we could make up one.

I'm not sure how you're playing the story, but the other guests could be drinking California white wine (which is actually very good wine, but it doesn't have the snob factor that some other wines do), or a soft Italian wine, while your character insists on only drinking a fine French wine (perhaps even making a point of speaking a little French in front of the other guests to show her superior knowledge of wines).

By the way, I'm not sure how much just having a couple of glasses of red wine is going to stain someone's teeth veneers very much.

Parkinsonsd said:

lol - in our house, putting on airs is not using a straw.

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If your outdoor furniture was once your indoor furniture . . . you could be a redneck.

Stolen from Jeff Foxworthy.

Barolo - very nice and never cheap

http://www.bbr.com/region-3612-barolo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barolo

alleycat said:

By the way, I'm not sure how much just having a couple of glasses of red wine is going to stain someone's teeth veneers very much.

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I was thinking the same thing ... unless, of course, the character thinks the proper way to drink wine is to hold it in your mouth for a long time (perhaps swishing it around)?

Of course, what she has eaten/drunk recently may also play a role. For example, I've been reading that one shouldn't brush one's teeth immediately after eating something very acidic (e.g. strawberries) because that will just rub in the acid -- hurting the enamel. One expert said to wait 20 - 30 minutes; another said an hour.

So perhaps if the character had inadvertently "prepped" her teeth to take stains more rapidly before starting in on the red wine ...

As someone mentioned, the type of wine is generally named after the grapes used. The region where it is made will also factor into the name. Specific names usually include the winery. For French wines, this will generally be a chateau. If you google search, chateau expensive wine, you should find what you need.

Definitely a reserve. And, from experience, the cheaper the wine, the more it discolours the teeth temporarily, but usually that's after a half-mag on your own. (Half-magnum is 750ml, a common size.)

A nice reserve I've had was a Saint-Émilion, a red wine blend. That was a 1995 vintage. Saint-Émilion is from the Bordeaux region, and it goes well with appetisers and light meals.

Parkinsonsd said:

As a background, I need to stain someone's new tooth veneers red. She's a bit of a poser, so she's looking to drink something hoity toity.

So yeah. Red wine, expensive, hoity toity. Any suggestions?

Forgot to add, this would be at a cocktail party of sorts.

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The main issue here is not the wine, but the veneers. There are two types of veneers, porcelain and composite. Both are pretty hard to stain. Procelain though will tend to stain around the edges afer a few years. Although, they are generally pretty stain resistant, they can be effected by abrasive toothpastes which can wear away at the glaze on them. Although this takes a while and a lot of abuse to do.

Cavalier said:

Definitely a reserve. And, from experience, the cheaper the wine, the more it discolours the teeth temporarily, but usually that's after a half-mag on your own. (Half-magnum is 750ml, a common size.)

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A half-magnum is a standard size of bottle - four glasses. And red wine usually stains the lips more than it stains the teeth - this is overcome by making sure to wear lipgloss/vasaline to protect against lip stain.

Red wine tends to be higher in alcohol content than red or rose, usually in and around the 13-14% range. Something else to bear in mind - how much can they drink.

shaldna said:

Red wine tends to be higher in alcohol content than white or rose, usually in and around the 13-14% range. Something else to bear in mind - how much can they drink.

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This also depends heavily on region. New world wines are often in the high 13% range, whereas old-fashioned French or Italian may be in the 11-12% region. Some Aussie and NZ stuff is closer to 15% - apparently it's something to do with the way the grapes grow over there - or so an NZ winemaker told me. Same guy also told me a lot of French producers are now adding wine spirit to their barrels to up the percentage to compete.

if she's pretentious then it should be French
either:

Bordeaux:
Latour, Margaux, Lafite

or Burgundy:
Montrachet, Corton, Romanee-Conti

for more on those wines, JFGI

This site http://www.bpdr.com/ is the official site of Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Lots of useful info on a very stylish site about excellent wine.

I suggest you go to your local higher end liquor store and ask for the wine expert. These folks are trained to know about wines and would be more than glad to answer your questions. I've interviewed people like this for articles and nothing makes them happier than talking about wine.

StephanieFox said:

I suggest you go to your local higher end liquor store and ask for the wine expert. These folks are trained to know about wines and would be more than glad to answer your questions. I've interviewed people like this for articles and nothing makes them happier than talking about wine.

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Plus, you can learn a lot by just walking around a large liquor outlet and noting the prices. Especially the ones on the bottles in the glass case that they lock up and open only on request.

caw

espresso5 said:

As someone mentioned, the type of wine is generally named after the grapes used. The region where it is made will also factor into the name. Specific names usually include the winery. For French wines, this will generally be a chateau. If you google search, chateau expensive wine, you should find what you need.

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French wines are never named after the grape. They're named after where they are made (a Chablis, for example is a Chablis and never a Chardonnay even though that's the grape always used). The only exception is Alsace, but they almost exclusively make white wine.

The French are obsessed with terroir. I can't translate it correctly, but it's the whole idea that the greatness of the wine comes from the soil and the growing conditions.

Burgundy classification for example works like this: first you have apellation Bourgogne which is the lowest class and only says the wine is from Burgundy. One step up, you get village appellation, which means the wine is named for the village it's made in. Then you have the premier cru, which is made from the best vineyards in the village. Grand Cru, finally, is named after the specific vineyard because that little patch of dirt is the créme de la créme and produces outstanding wines. But the grape is always pinot noir.

Then again, anyone who'd drink Burgundy at a cocktail party is making a mockery of fine wine. You have champagne for that sort of job.