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Beginner's Guide to Choosing Wine
- By Mark Thomas Walters
- Published 12/24/2009
- Food and Drinks
Mark Thomas Walters
View all articles by Mark Thomas Walters
Choosing a nice bottle of wine, when there are such a multitude of options to choose from, is no easy task. So, how can you narrow down the choices, and consistently pick ones that are right for you?
The first step, as in all purchases, is to know what you like in general. It will not matter if a wine store owner finds you the best Chardonnay on the market if what you really like are Merlots. Therefore, what you first need to do is taste a wine or two from the different types available (Shiraz, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, etc.), and figure out your general preference. When doing so, spend around the same amount of money on each bottle, so as to ensure that you are making fair comparisons.
Once you have found out which wine variety you prefer, you will then need to delve deeper, to establish which countries, wine producers and vintages of that particular variety are best suited to your tastes. There may well be thousands of different bottles of wine within just a single variety, so you will need to seek some advice in order to narrow down the choice further.
Go into your local wine store, and walk around the section dedicated to the general variety of wine that you decided upon. The wine racks should have blurbs on them containing information on the wines. The handwritten notes provided by the wine store are what you should be most interested in, not any "winery notes" suppli
ed by the winemaker, which are often no more than marketing material.
If there is a wine store employee free, call them over. Explain what kinds of wines you have tried in the past, and what you are looking for in future purchases. Do not be afraid to be specific about your likes and dislikes. They will have a good understanding of wine, and can make a reasonable guess at what would be best suited for you based on what you tell them. They may even offer tastings to let you sample various wines to determine what your favorite is.
Any recommendations that you do not buy, or any other wines that take your interest but you do not end up buying on the day, note down the details from their labels. You can then research them on the internet when you get home, or look out for them the next time you are looking through a wine menu at a restaurant. On that point, every time that you go out to a restaurant, remember to take with you a shortlist of wines that you are interested in but have not yet tried, as it is an ideal time to try out a glass or two of something new.
Lastly, remember that the enjoyment of wine has nothing to do with what "the perfect wine" is. What pleases you personally is all that you should be concerned with. No-one else, whether they be a wine reviewer or shop owner, will have your exact taste in wine. A wine expert saying that a particular wine is amazing is no guarantee that you will like it. Similarly, you may find yourself favoring a wine that has been given bad reviews.
The first step, as in all purchases, is to know what you like in general. It will not matter if a wine store owner finds you the best Chardonnay on the market if what you really like are Merlots. Therefore, what you first need to do is taste a wine or two from the different types available (Shiraz, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, etc.), and figure out your general preference. When doing so, spend around the same amount of money on each bottle, so as to ensure that you are making fair comparisons.
Once you have found out which wine variety you prefer, you will then need to delve deeper, to establish which countries, wine producers and vintages of that particular variety are best suited to your tastes. There may well be thousands of different bottles of wine within just a single variety, so you will need to seek some advice in order to narrow down the choice further.
Go into your local wine store, and walk around the section dedicated to the general variety of wine that you decided upon. The wine racks should have blurbs on them containing information on the wines. The handwritten notes provided by the wine store are what you should be most interested in, not any "winery notes" suppli
If there is a wine store employee free, call them over. Explain what kinds of wines you have tried in the past, and what you are looking for in future purchases. Do not be afraid to be specific about your likes and dislikes. They will have a good understanding of wine, and can make a reasonable guess at what would be best suited for you based on what you tell them. They may even offer tastings to let you sample various wines to determine what your favorite is.
Any recommendations that you do not buy, or any other wines that take your interest but you do not end up buying on the day, note down the details from their labels. You can then research them on the internet when you get home, or look out for them the next time you are looking through a wine menu at a restaurant. On that point, every time that you go out to a restaurant, remember to take with you a shortlist of wines that you are interested in but have not yet tried, as it is an ideal time to try out a glass or two of something new.
Lastly, remember that the enjoyment of wine has nothing to do with what "the perfect wine" is. What pleases you personally is all that you should be concerned with. No-one else, whether they be a wine reviewer or shop owner, will have your exact taste in wine. A wine expert saying that a particular wine is amazing is no guarantee that you will like it. Similarly, you may find yourself favoring a wine that has been given bad reviews.