Well, at the risk of offending you further, I don't particularly enjoy Sauternes, even with dessert....although some of my friends do. And, you obviously like French wines more than I do.....I"m an Italian guy [which is why I'm making Sangiovese and Nebbiolo wines].
I'm certainly not a wine snob to the extent that I only enjoy "fruit forward" $50+ wines. Even though I live in California, and enjoy the wines here, my favorite winesareones from the Italian Piedmont, which are certainly not fruit forward, although some certainly approach, or exceed $50. I've absolutely had lots of good $10-15 wines, some which would challenge wines costing upwards of $30. But, I've certainly never had a $50 bottle which I would label as "plonk" as the poster above did. I didn't say that price was theONLY indicator, just that I feel it's usuallya pretty good one to weed out plonk.
To answer your question, if I have guest I know doesn't like dry wines, I do try to have on hand something they will enjoy. However, these are exactly the people whose judgement I wouldn't trust if they advised me on something I should try....which is exactly my point.
Question: doYOUenjoy White Zinfandel? Mango Chardonnay? Black Rasberry Merlot? I wouldn't think so, since in my experience that would not be consistent with someone who loves Bordeaux, but perhaps I'm wrong.I think it entirely reasonableto wonder whether people who do like those wines enjoy the kits because they are more "fruit forward" than the kind ofwines I enjoy.
And yes, I do tend to jump in with both feet. After all, if I DO like it, then I won't want to wait another 6 months to be able to drink some more. What the heck, at worst I've squandered a few hundred bucks making marinade. Edited by: rexmor