If you want to start out your red wine journey then a great place to start is with a light-bodied red, like Pinot Noir - especially if you’re starting without food. This is because red wines- particularly heavy-bodied reds like cabernet sauvignon have a very high level of natural bitterness, coming from the tannins within the wine.
It’s perfectly natural to not like bitter drinks the first time- just think about the first time you tried coffee. Just build yourself up from light-bodied reds to medium bodies and then eventually full-bodied wines.
However, if you are pairing your wine with food then you can afford to get a bit more creative. The tannins in wine bond very well with fat. This means that if you want to pair your wine with food like a steak, which is full of fat and protein, the wine that you pair it with will taste nowhere near as bitter as it would if you were to drink it on its own.
In short, if you are drinking the wine on its own or with something like light food, then Pinot Noir is your best choice. If you are eating with something fatty and juicy like beef, then you can afford to try a little bit more of a fuller-body of wine, as the two flavors will pair very well together.
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