My favorite type of wine is red. Now I have tried numerous cabs and have liked most of them. My question is this, are there reds out there that are smoother than cabs. Meaning less puckery(tannins I believe) taste. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I like reds as well and I usually go for the Syrahs or the Sirah blends. I usually go to Trader joes and mix up a case of 7-10 dollar bottles and find some real gems.

A lesser known red is Rhone. It's much smoother. My wife tolerates enjoys it as well. You can find a good selection at BevMo.

Skinny4
You'll find differences amongst Cabs of different makers and even vintages but, you're right, they are supposed to be a bit drier, more astringent? As you describe. I've always found Merlot to have the smooth sort of velvet feel you may be looking for. There are any number of reasonably priced ones out there. Off the top of my head I can only think of Smoking Loon and Wild Horse.

Merlot is soft and grapey...when well made, its good, but there is a ocean of swill out there, and price is not a good determinant of quality...tell us what you try to spend on a bottle, whether you drink it with food or as a "drink", and we can help you better.

I like bone dry reds Chianti being my favorite.

Try a good Pinot Noir , you won't be disappointed. They are lighter, smooth and good flavored. I just had a Charles Krug Pinot Noir and it was delicious.

My 2¢

D

Obviously, skinny, what seems to offset you are the tannins, which are quite present in cabernet sauvignon...

Someone suggested merlot, indeed more silky - that's why they add it in Bordeaux blends - but, still, you'll find plenty of tannins in there... You will also in syrahs... Côtes-du-Rhône, as someone else suggested, are smoother than a syrah, but in the same spirit (they usually blend syrah, grenache for generic Côtes-du-Rhône)...

If I were you, I gather you are a neophyte with wines, I'd go with a fine gamay based wine, such as a Beaujolais... Now, generic Beaujolais, or Beaujolais-Village, are ok but the lowest level of quality... Go for one of the Beaujolais sub-regions: Brouilly, Côte-de-Brouilly, Chénas, Juliénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Morgon, Saint-Amour... Much higher quality... Start with a Brouilly, probably around 15$ in the US...

Stear clear of California gamays!

If you wanna go with Italian, try a good Dolcetto D'Alba...

Try the Zin from Shippey Vineyards. It's an excellent wine.

www.shippeyvineyards.com