Choosing wine is the topic for this installment of our wine 101 guide…
Choosing wine can be a confusing task given the amount of options available. So, how do you go about making the right choice? The first step, as in all purchases, is to know what you like. Being offered the finest Cabernet Sauvignon is of little benefit if your preference is Zinfandel. Therefore, you should taste each of the different types of wine (Nebbiolos, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, etc.) to decide which you like and which you don’t.
On deciding which variety of wine you prefer, you’ll have made your wine buying trip significantly more straight-forward. Go into your local wine shop, and walk around the section dedicated to the type of wine you decided upon. Check out the blurbs on the wine racks. Pay attention to the wine shops handwritten notes more so than any “winery notes” provided by the wine producer (as these tend to be no more than marketing material).
If there’s a wine shop employee free, call them over. Explain your wine preferences to them. Give them details of the tastes and flavors that you like or dislike. The more you tell them the better their wine recommendations for you will be. Some will even offer free samples to you to help you make a decision.
Take down the details of any recommendations that you don’t purchase, or of any other wines that take your interest. You can then look out for them the next time you dine out or do some internet research on them.
Finally, keep in mind that there is no such thing as a universally perfect wine. 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’ll like it. Similarly, you may find yourself favoring wine that has been given bad reviews.
