Originally Posted by
fs2k2isfun
Any red grape that decides to go white, i.e. White Merlot or White Zinfandel.
Actually, the ones you drink are made to a "style" that is not very good, but if made into a proper dry rose, can be excellent. Most "white" reds are too sweet and made to make the non-wine-drinker drink wine. They taste the same from week to week and year to year, made with "Fresno's Finest" harvest, no matter the Napa or Sonoma (etc.) winery label. I've had quite a number of non-French rosès that are delicious, crisp, and dry, including recently, a malbec rosè.
As for wines I generally don't like, California Pinot Noir and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. (There are a few exceptions to this.) Pretty much every thing else, for me, can turn into a nice wine, each for its own mood and place, if made properly. For example, finally a number of California winemakers are leaving the oak and butterbomb ruination of Chardonnay. It is a nice grape, but "the people" want their wine to taste like an oily tree, so the winemakers make it to this style. Merlot is another fine grape, but when made to fill bottles of Martha Stewart NV Merlot, it is going to be bleh. I cannot tell you how many times people have said "I only drink this," or "I don't drink that" and I pour something and they can't believe that they are drinking it. (That's a zinfandel??? But it is so smooth, blah blah blah.)
Don't blame the grape. It is just like the puppy pit bull before the bad owner taught it how to fight.