How to Choose Wine With Ease
Even though most people won’t remember the exact bottle or producer, the good feelings brought about by a special moment punctuated with a good bottle of wine can be unforgettable. Yet talking about wine can be so intimidating. Generally, it’s due to marketing (or lack thereof), unclear pricing, heavy use of jargon and complicated naming and labelling systems (France, I’m talking to you!). However, consumers supporting the industry are often just looking to enjoy a glass - can a girl just enjoy a pinot noir without having to delve into “notes of cherry and mushroom?” I know that feeling of nervousness when the wine list is brought to the table and everyone is looking to you to make a masterful choice. Choosing the perfect bottle can make the prospect of a business meal, a date, or a dinner party quite daunting. Fear not, we’re on this journey together! I’ve pulled together a few tips to help allay that sinking feeling and help you remain confident when the spotlight is on you and the eager sommelier is waiting for your choice.
~~By Womba
1. Take note of what sparks joy
Unless you're actually studying wine in some capacity or other (it takes a lot of work people!), drinking wine should be enjoyable first and foremost. If you are so inclined, and I hope you are, you can definitely be mindful of what's in your glass without having to be part of society's elite. Regardless of what your snootiest acquaintances say, you are allowed to like whatever you like! Wine drinking should be relaxing, fun, playful, romantic, delicious. Make sure to take note of the bottles that inspire positive feelings in you. Take a photo of the label, run it through wine-app Vivino, or write the details down. As you begin to build a list of what you love, you will start to notice a pattern (are the grapes consistent? Are they from similar regions? etc.)
2. Lean on the experts
You will never know everything and that is OK. Everyone is faking it a little bit (well most people are.) As a wine consumer, there are various levels and experts that you can lean on. They love being able to flex their knowledge and talk with people who are interested in their passion. These people have spent a great deal of time and effort on building their knowledge base, so by all means lean on them for guidance. That’s what they’re there for! Asking them for help, guidance or assistance does not reflect poorly on you.
At a restaurant or wine bar
It’s ideal to have an idea of what you like (remember that list?) and what you don’t like, and if you're a novice feel free to try and describe what you're in the mood for or your preferred style – white or red is as good a start as any. At a restaurant, the sommelier will be your best friend. In a casual chain-type of restaurant, the wine options are seldom extensive and will be a lot more approachable, often listing regions (Burgundy) and the grape varietal (pinot noir) for each bottle, so you’re bound to recognize something you like. But don’t feel ashamed to peek at Vivino to see if any of the previous bottles you earmarked are on the wine-list - although I would avoid using the app when a sommelier is present, major faux-pas!
At a wine shop
Narrowing things down will help you get the maximum value out of your available wine expert. Unlike at a restaurant, there’s no food to guide your choice of wine which makes it a little tricky. A good place to start is thinking about the purpose of your visit (is it a gift or are you cooking?), the style of wine you’re after (sparkling, white, rosé, red?) and finally the price range you’re working with. If you’re just picking up a bottle because you’d like to try something new, then it is helpful to think about how adventurous you’re feeling – you only really ever drink white wine? Maybe get your feet wet by asking for a light or medium-bodied red.
If you’re picking something up for a dinner party I suggest asking for the value-for-money version of the style you’re after. For example, if you know your host loves a Napa cabernet sauvignon but to get a decent bottle of those where you live, instead, ask for something as close to that is available, and prepare to be flexible.
When in doubt, reach for the champagne – there’s never not an occasion to drink it and the host will always be appreciative.
3. Know your terms
As mentioned earlier, you simply cannot know everything but there are some commonly used terms you may want to work on becoming comfortable with.
Vivino – this app is your friend; basically a trip advisor for wine but as is the case with trip advisor, there is a selection bias so beware; if not for anything else the app is a good way to check whether you’re paying a fair price for your bottle of wine or to silently judge a recent gift ;)
Vintage – the year the grapes were harvested; this is the year you see on the label of your bottle; the same wine can taste different if it is a different vintage. A non-vintage, commonly seen in champagnes, has no year listed on the label and always has a consistent taste because grapes from different years have been blended to ensure the taste is always the same, no matter what. For example: have you noticed how every year you drink yellow label Veuve it tastes exactly the same?
Varietal – the grape used to make the wine; can be confusing in places like France where labelling is centered around the region and not the grape (example: Burgundy wines are made from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.)
Body - the weight of a wine in your mouth. If you’re thinking, “the weight of wine??” Think of the difference in viscosity and weight of whole milk (full fat) vs. skim milk (low fat or fat-free). A “full bodied” red is a heavier red. Think of a glass of what some would maybe call “a medium bodied red” wine versus something lighter. The lighter bottle will be easier to drink. That’s body, and it’s often correlated with alcohol content in a wine, as well as other factors like acid
Sweetness - how sweet the wine is. So something dry or off-dry has no or little residual sugar that you can still taste on your palate after you drink it, whereas something sweet is clearly discernible, you’ll know it when you taste it (try the golden beauty that is a glass of Sauternes). Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and tannins reduce it.
Tannins – this presents as the drying, slightly abrasive sensation against your cheeks and gums when you take a sip of red wine (had a bold Chianti recently?). They come from the seeds and skins of the grape; tannins give a wine structure, kind of like a well tailored suit or a beautiful dress with some good construction! Only red wines can be referred to as tannic or having tannins.
Acid – this presents as a sharp/tart feeling in your mouth (think of sucking on a lemon or lime, google “the dribble test wine”); whilst it doesn’t sound very appealing, when combined with other elements such as good structure from tannins, a well balanced wine will have good (not unpleasant) amount of acid.
Finish – you’ve heard people say a wine has a “long finish”, well this is a “measure” of how long the pleasant combined flavours and general “taste” of a wine lingers in your mouth after you’ve mindfully had a sip or two. If the wine is still there on your lips like that first magical kiss in a special relationship, that’s a long finish (yes, you know what I’m talking about)!
Alcohol content - the alcohol content in a wine is measured by volume and is commonly referred to as ABV or alcohol by volume. In terms of taste, it’s the little warmth in the back of your throat (lower ABV) versus an overwhelming slight burning heat (higher ABV). Wines tend to vary from around 11% alcohol by volume (ABV) on the low side to 15% on the high side. Anything above 15% is considered a fortified wine (like Port or Sherry).
Balance - the harmonious combination of flavour and aroma characteristics in a wine, with the right levels of alcohol, acid, tannins, and dryness resulting in a complex wine with a long finish (see how we used all your knowledge?). In a well balanced wine there isn’t too much or too little of anything and it’s what dreams are made of!
Terroir – describes the natural environmental factors that affect the characteristics of a wine; you’ll hear people say semi-pretentious things like “the wine remains true to its terroir”…it is not nonsense (English Chardonnay is quite different from Napa Chardonnay), but let’s face it, it elicits a bit of an eye-roll. You don’t have to use this word in a sentence but you should know what the people who do are referring to.
Characteristics – these refer to aromas and flavors attributed to either the grape varietal and terroir (primary characteristics), winemaking / human intervention (secondary characteristics), or to the wine aging process (tertiary characteristics). We can go into more details on this next time. Don’t fret if you can’t smell cherries or aren’t able to decipher if a wine was aged in a barrel simply from the taste. It can be difficult to really identify or notice a lot of wine characteristics without a lot of training. Again, you don’t need to refer to a wine’s characteristics, just know what it means when you hear it.
Happy Tasting!
