Although it is known as the “god’s elixir,” “truth serum,” and “beauty potion,” oddly enough, not everyone loves wine. One of the most versatile alcohols ever invented, pairing perfectly with all kinds of foods and a great mixer, there are still those who don’t like it.
It is all fun and games at first, but wine does have a dark side that some people legitimately don’t like, which is understandable, as it takes a particular person to love a particular wine.
In the endless sea of opportunities, there are countless types of wine intended for different people with different tastes. However, it takes some work and learning to find out which types of wine fit which tastes.
The sad truth is that most people judge wine in general by the type of wine they have, which isn’t a problem if they liked it, but if they don’t, they tend to close up to the art of wine-drinking.
The fact of the matter is that not all people are wine drinkers, as some prefer another alcohol, but that doesn’t change the general truth that everyone can find their type of wine, even those who don’t like wine in general.
There is a saying that goes, “you only think that you don’t like wine,” and I consider it to be entirely true. If you don’t like wine, it means you haven’t found your wine yet, which isn’t a problem as it is probably closer to you than you would think.
Also check: What Does Red Wine Taste Like?
So what are the types of wine for people who don’t like wine?
If you don’t like wine but you are resolved to find a type of wine that you like, you must first determine what it is about wine that you don’t like. You may not like wine due to some of its characteristics, but also simply because you haven’t developed a taste for wine yet.
If you don’t like wine for some of its features, such as smell, taste, texture, heaviness, finish, body, or kick, the first thing you need to remember is that those features differ from wine to wine.
If you had the misfortune to try a wine you don’t like on your first go, that doesn’t mean that all wines are like that. Again, there are as many types of wine as there are wine drinkers.
More: Top 10 Wines with Highest Alcohol Content
If, on the other hand, you don’t like wine because you haven’t developed a taste for wine, you have work ahead of you. Things are much easier when you naturally have a sense for wine and only need education, but if you haven’t got that x-factor, you need to develop it.
Of course, you absolutely don’t have to develop a taste for wine, but it is a shame not to enjoy such a drink when it already exists.
If you want to see the beauty of wine, you have no other option than to try as many types as you can until you learn how to differentiate them, what constitutes a good wine, and ultimately find your poison.
In this article, I will give you a list of 20 wines suitable for people who don’t like wine.
1. Qupe Chardonnay
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Refreshing, fruity, zesty, and soft, this wine is for you if you don’t like grape-tasting wines expressively. It has a high viscosity giving, coating your mouth and creating an extra layer on your palate, setting the terrain for the next sip.
It is also easy to drink, sliding down gently and smoothly, with a slight acidity at the very end, which comes in very handy to round up the flavors nicely.
It did best when sipped and chilled correctly, as the flavors tend to become more acidic as the temperature rises. All in all, this is a very drinkable wine and a great starting point in your enology journey.
2. Alma de Cattleya Sauvignon Blanc
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Citrusy and grapy, this wine is the perfect representation of how nature always finds a way to balance things out. If you like citrus and grapes, but you aren’t too crazy about either of the two, you should give this wine a whirl, as chances are it will become your new favorite.
The slight acidity you can feel in the wine comes from both the citrus element as well as the grape juice. They are further enveloped in an oaky dimension as the wine ages in oak barrels. It is gentle, soft, and very refined. From the first to the last point, the sip is wrapped in fruity notes, ever more accentuated by the slight acidity of the wine, crowned with a gentle and long finish.
3. Kopke 2003 White Colheita
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This is a complex and deep-flavored wine, sweet, smoky, and oaky. It is very flavorful and highly fragrant, rich, and creamy. It combines flavors of dried fruit, cherries in syrup, and molasses, acquiring a refined, almost leathery dimension.
If you like stronger tasting notes, palpable grape taste, and assertiveness, this wine would be the perfect fit for you. On, the other hand, if you are looking for something softer, this may not be the perfect place to look.
Even though it is exquisitely delicious, this wine may contain the pungent and heavy notes, because of which you don’t like wine in the first place. Other than that, I highly recommend this wine to beginners.
Keep the bottle upright to prevent sedimentation, and store it in a cool place. Serve chilled, and enjoy.
4. Luna Nuda Prosecco Rosé
Rose and white wines are always recommended as a starting point for people who want to learn about wine, as well as for people who don’t like wine but they want to start liking it.
This is a very gentle yet luxurious wine with a distinct floral aroma that transpires all the way through the sip. The most noticeable flavors are the sweet berry notes that round up and carry on the tone of the sip. It then continues to exhibit notes of golden apple, ever so slightly and more in the background than in the spotlight.
In the end, it slides gently, releasing a bit more flavor while swallowing. This is a perfect starter pack wine to get you gradually acquainted with the world of wine. If you don’t like explicit grape flavors, go with this wine.
5. Pinot Grigio
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This delicacy is a white grape wine combining sweet and slightly sour tasting notes. It is a dry wine with a low alcohol content making it perfect for you if you don’t like wine because of the alcohol amount.
It is a light wine with an easy and soft body, easy to drink, and very delicious. Some would even describe it as more juice-flavored than actual wine-flavored, which is why it has found itself on this list.
As white wine, it is better suited for beginners, not that white wine is any less complex than red, but it is a bit lighter. Furthermore, this wine is perfect to pair with fruit salad and fruity desserts, so you may want to take a sip with a piece of fruit in your mouth.
6. Beaujolais Nouveau
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Unusually light, considering that this is a red wine, you will love its ease and cheer while enjoying its expressive grape and berry-tasting notes. It smells sweet with floral and fruity notes that transfer onto the plate as well.
Although red wines are known as more pungent and heavier, this wine is surprisingly bright. It isn’t very high in viscosity, making it easily washable. However, it is expressively flavorful and has that typical red wine grape sourness. Although the sourness is significantly discrete, it still exists, and it can be a deal-breaker if that’s why you dislike wine.
If you don’t have a problem with the grape sourness, which is an issue for many, you should give this wine a chance.
7. Alma de Cattleya Pinot Noir
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Fruity and fragrant, this is a complex wine that perfectly combines and balances tasting notes and aromas of raspberries, cherries, wild strawberries, and just a whiff of vanilla.
It is a rich and refined wine, gentle, soft, and smooth, giving you a mouthfeel of flavors and fragrances in a perfectly rounded balance, creating a single flavor that is different with each next sip. This wine is a true form of art, and an absolute must, regardless of whether you are a beginner or an experienced wine drinker.
It is low-tannin, which is a perfect fit for people who don’t like wine, and they only want to enjoy the combination of flavors and aromas. It is so abundant in taste and fragrance that it will stimulate your senses and make you yearn for the next sip.
8. Qupe Syrah 2019 Central Coast
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This is a very flavorful and an unusual wine. Not that it isn’t good, far from it, but it isn’t what you would imagine that wine would taste like. It tastes like it has already been mixed with coke, which is excellent if you like coke and dislike wine.
It isn’t carbonated if that’s what you think, but it has the particular coke sweetness. Other than coke, it includes a slight leatheriness, black raspberry notes, blackberry, and woody whiffs. This is a very smooth and gentle wine with high viscosity.
It is a little strong on the nose, but the slight floral aroma tones the smell down, balancing the fragrances nicely. It is slightly acidic, which you can feel at the very end. It goes down easy and it is excellent to pair with any type of food, from sweet to savory, from main courses to desserts.
9. White Zinfandel
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This wine is a true testament to how quality can resist the test of time. It is one of the oldest wines that still goes strong and has managed to remain almost the same as it was when it first came out.
It is a delicious, light, and an easy to drink wine, fruity and gentle to the palate as well as the throat. It simply glides down, releasing notes of melon and strawberry. It is soft and well-balanced, making it perfect to combine with stronger-flavored foods.
If you don’t like pungent and strong wines, this is one of your best options. Soft, supple, simple, yet delicious and memorable, this wine is perfect for any occasion.
10. Kopke 20 Year Old White Port
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Aged for 20 years, this wine is rich, complex, smooth, and creamy with a rich yellow-amber color, combining lighter and darker shades at different lights. It is just as decadent as it seems and even more delicious.
It exhibits notes of figs, walnut, and almond enveloped with a certain smokiness and wood notes it acquired from the 20 years of aging. It is impeccably gentle and deep-flavored, which is a common trace for well-aged wines.
Lin addition to the main tasting notes, it also incorporates hints of candied orange peel and just a tad of spice. If you don’t like wine because you deem it too sour, try this one, and you will be amazed by the explicit yet refined sweet tasting notes.
A piece of advice, though, is to serve it cold, as the temperature rise makes it feel sticky and overly sweet.
11. Woodbridge Wines’ Sparkling Infusions
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Ideal as a summer refreshment, this wine will amaze you with its enthusiasm and cheer. Explicitly floral and fruity, this wine will interject your day with color and spirit, especially on a summer afternoon.
Tasting like a fruit cocktail, it combines notes of sweet peach, black raspberry, strawberry & kiwi, so if you like wine that tastes like fruit juice, this one would be the perfect fit for you.
This wine is excellent to drink alone, but it also pairs great with sparkly water or soda water. The added carbonization makes it irresistibly bubbly and extremely gentle to the palate. If you didn’t like wine before trying this one, you would undoubtedly become a sucker for wine after the first sip.
12. Alma de Cattleya Chardonnay
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This wine is exploding with citrus, pears, and luxurious floral notes, explicitly fruity, highly aromatic, incredibly seductive, and amazingly gentle, just when you think that it couldn’t get better, a splash of butteriness slaps your tongue, further playing with your palate.
If you don’t like wine because you haven’t developed a taste for it, this is the perfect way to start educating yourself. It is refined and elegant, supple, but strong at the points where it deems it appropriate. This wine knows what it is doing, and the best way to enjoy it is to give in to its wisdom and completely surrender to its power.
13. Wagner Riesling Ice Wine
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Known as a dessert wine, this one is very luxurious, fragrant, and flavorful. However, if you don’t like wine because the grape notes are just too much for you, you may want to skip this one, as it tastes explicitly like grapes.
It has been produced by pressing frozen grapes so that the grape flavor isn’t so expressive, but it is still pretty much out there. It is sweet and refreshing, with notes of dark fruits and a bit of smokiness.
14. Kopke 2002 Tawny Colheita
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This is a dense and pungent wine, requiring care and time to be appropriately enjoyed. You cannot just jug it, as it needs to be pampered and savored.
Seducing the eye with its deep red color, creating a symphony of flavor notes, and combining dried fruit and spice notes, this wine is definitely a very special one.
It is smooth and elegant, with a slight but noticeable acidity. The finish is long and delicious. The sip doesn’t end with the swallowing, as it keeps releasing flavors long after.
If you like to experiment and try new things, this wine is for you; however, if you don’t like the wine’s acidity, maybe this isn’t the perfect fit for you.
15. Laetitia 2019 Estate Chardonnay
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Refreshing, zesty, vibrant, and playful this wine is definitely the perfect pick for you if you like citrus and apple flavors and don’t mind the acidity.
It combines notes of lemon and green apple wrapped in a pie crust dimension, creating an overall result of tasting like fruit and dessert at the same time.
The finish is even more vibrant than the wine itself, including notes of vanilla and a slight buttery dimension. You can pair it with desserts, as well as fruit salads, so if you are into these things, you should definitely give it a whirl.
16. FitVine Red Blend
If you like fruity flavors and are looking for a wine that tastes like small dark fruits enveloped in a slightly burnt wood dimension, look no further and grab a bottle of this fruity delicacy.
Combining notes of ripe black cherries, blackberries, ripe plums, and currants, you will enjoy every sip with the same passion. The fruits interchange; each is shining when its time comes, only to subside and show itself again.
The finish is long and slightly smoky, just enough to accentuate the rest of the flavors and make the aftertaste noticeable and lingering.
17. Kopke 20 Year Old Tawny
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Since it has been existing for centuries, you can imagine how the craft has been perfected over the years to make this wine. It is fresh, high in viscosity, citrusy, velvety, fruity, and woody.
Some would even say that it reminds of brandy, and though there is some truth to that statement, this is a wine in its own right worthy of being treated as unique.
If you like orange liqueurs and love the taste of grapes and citrus at the same time, this would be the perfect fit for you to start exploring the world of complex wines.
18. Laetitia Sparkling Brut Cuvee
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Sparkling wines are also one of the recommended wines for people who don’t wine. They are slightly carbonated, which helps milden the flavor, and they are usually sweeter than non-sparking wines. Champagne is a sparkling wine, so if you like it, you will love this one too.
This one combines flavors of Gala apple, citrus, and gentle melon notes creating a playful unity of flavors, not too complex, not too simple, but perfectly balanced. It is gentle to the palate and even gentler going down, leaving only sweetness after it.
19. Laetitia Sparkling Brut Rose 2017 Arroyo Grand Valley
This wine is easy to drink and very supple on the palate and the throat. Combining notes of strawberries, watermelon, and slight acidity with subtle brioche notes and baking spices flavors, this wine is as complex as it is rustic.
Balanced perfectly well, so you feel each note separately as well as collectively with the other tones, this wine is excellent for people who don’t like wine because they deem it too heavy.
It is very elegant lo look at and even more refined to drink.
20. Cabernet Sauvignon
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Probably one of the best-known on this list, this wine is a delicacy to sip on, even if you don’t like wine for whatever reason.
Whether you don’t like the acidity, the smell, or flavor of wine in general, or maybe you haven’t developed a taste for wine; this one will defy all your previous beliefs about wine.
Combing notes of green bell pepper, mint, and cedar, it is refreshing and exquisitely flavorful, and fragrant. The older it gets, the more pronounced the tasting notes become.
What Is A Good Wine That Doesn’t Taste Like Alcohol?
In general, wine doesn’t taste like alcohol in the sense that spirits taste like alcohol, for example. However, wines that are generous in alcohol content tend to have a certain alcoholic whiff that can repulse some people, making them never try the wine again.
The good news is not all wines are like that, and there are those you can have without getting an alcoholic sensation.
Such wines are White Zinfandel Wine, Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon Wine, Ariel Chardonnay Wine, S.T Regis Chardonnay Wine, Torres De-alcoholized wine, Muscat wine, Spanish wine, Martinelli’s Gold Medal Sparkling Cider wine, Pierre Chavin Zero wine, Sutter Home Fre Chardonnay. These are all sweet and fruity wines, each with its own features, sharing the non-alcohol flavor dimension.
What’s A Good Red Wine For People Who Don’t Like Red Wine?
People who don’t like wine usually won’t start liking it with red wine, but still, there are some reds that can change your mind.
Gamay, Pinot noir, and Barbera are light, gentle, easily drinkable, and delicious red wines that won’t give you the wine sensation, but rather they will treat you more gently than other red wines.
What’s The Easiest Wine To Drink?
If you are a beginner and are trying to find the best wine for you, starting easy is always a great idea. There are lots of easy-to-drink wines you can choose from. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon are among the easiest wines to drink. I would recommend sparkling wines, white wines, and rose wines.
Sweet Wine That Doesn’t Taste Like Wine
Port, Muscat, Zinfandels and Rieslings, and sauternes are what you need if you want to drink wine that doesn’t taste like wine.
How To Drink Red Wine If You Don’t Like It
If you don’t like red wine, you don’t have to drink it, but you will be missing out n a unique form of pleasure, so I recommend you try making it more drinkable by adding a few things into the equation.
Needless to mention, the first thing you need to do is choose a good red wine. Another thing to do is to mix it. Add coke or seltzer water to make the wine more drinkable and alter its taste. Whatever you do won’t make a bad wine taste good.
Red wine is excellent for pairing, and with the proper food, it will get an entirely different dimension. Fresh fruit, meat, nuts, cheese, deli meats, or dried fruits are the best pairs for red wine.
Resources
- http://wineonmytime.com/how-to-drink-wine-if-you-dont-like-it/
- https://www.foleyfoodandwinesociety.com/6-wine-recommendations-for-beginners/
- https://www.caller.com/story/life/columnists/2017/10/03/wine-red-wine-people-who-dont-like-red-wine/729320001/
