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Anyone use an aerator for wine?
I've been dabbling with aerating wine, and it's been a delightful journey. I'm on the lookout for some "upscale" wines to try, though I'm very much a beginner when it comes to wine. Initially, wine didn't appeal to me much, but that changed during a trip to NYC where I was served Lambrusco. It was a revelation—exactly how I had always imagined wine should taste, or perhaps it's just my affinity for carbonation. Learning that Lambrusco isn't highly esteemed was a bit of a letdown, but regardless, it makes me feel sophisticated and offers the perfect buzz without needing to earmark a substantial portion of my budget for alcohol. Aerating it even improved its smoothness, though I can see how that might be risky for some. Especially for OP. Do you have any wine recommendations that won't make me recoil as if I were 16 and sneaking MD2020?
If you like lambrusco look for wines that are made with Grenache grapes. They aren't sparkling but have the same dark cherry/strawberry notes without being super sweet.
My advice if you're getting into wine is go to a natural wine store and see if they have a refrigerator with red or orange wines. Most younger red wines that are chilled, come in clear glass bottles, slightly cloudly, and look like fruit punch are a safe bet for being some good shit.
I've been big on French reds like Cotes du Rhone and Beaujolais. Can't go wrong with a Cab either. I think of that as my Anti Hero Eagle of wine.
Greek and Macedonian reds are always solid, as is a good Spanish Rioja.
I love a good German Riesling too. My favorite white wine. Nice and sweet. Been to Riesling country, so fond memories there.
I love a dry Lambrusco, and in general try to acquire sparkling reds as much as I can, they are the ultimate pizza wine. In that vein, from more traditional winemaking I would also recommend Barbera as a slightly lighter red that's also from Italy. I have found it (rarely) in the sparkling format as well but that is more of a natural wine thing. Everything else mentioned previously are also good suggestions.
Finding a good natural wine store was also mentioned and I think that might be a good idea for you. Natural wine gets a bit of a counter-reaction due to it being 'different' from the styles that wine professionals and hobbyist have learned to distinguish as "good wine". And it also attracts hipsters. Especially in the US a large part of the movement seems to be about having "fun and pretty colored and funky" wines, regardless of the taste.
While there isn't even a common description what "natural" really means, the core of it in my opinion, especially in "Old World" Europe, and "New Old World" Eastern Europe, is just about using farming practices that are as respectful to the land and as sustainable as possible, while taking a "nothing added, nothing taken away" hands-off approach to the wine making. Sort of "wine as an agricultural product" rather than "wine as alchemy" point. Still, to make good wine you need a) great grapes and b) great skills, it's not really any easier, on the contrary.
So you can regard all that as just intangible spiritual stuff, but the reason I'm bringing up natural wines is that in my experience there are some rather overarching stylistic differences that fans of natural wines have grown to appreciate:
1) Very acidic white ones, that often taste similar to natural apple ciders
2) Lighter-bodied, lower alcohol red wines, with a lot less tannins and usually more acidity. Heavy tannins are the mouth-drying sensation you get from the old style really full bodied red wines that makes it difficult to drink a lot them (without a steak to soak them up).
Point 2 might sound familiar to your experience with Lambrusco, unless you had a very sweet one, and I think the natty movement has been partially responsible for Lambrusco's recent renaissance. Many other very old and unappreciated wine regions have also gotten a new wind, like Beaujolais, where a lot of wineries have always made what is now called natural wine, they just called it wine.
There's also 3) Orange wines, which are pretty cool as well but a whole nother thing.
I don't know where you are at so I hesitate making any specific recs, if you are in the US the European wines I know will be a lot more expensive there. But if you find a natty shop selling something like "Puszta Libre" by Claus Preisinger (from Austria) that is generally the best bang for your buck fun light red natural wine out there and a good introduction.
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