First and foremost I will clearly state that I am by no means an expert! Just a mere mortal who happens to have been bitten by the wine bug. I have no formal training just a passionate interest in wine and I am trying to learn everything I can about it. Here are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way.
There is no way to know everything about wine. Things change to often. Vineyards here today could be gone tomorrow. Wine can be very intimidating especially the restaurant presentation in front friends. Those who have seen it know what I am talking about. What I will cover will give you the foundation you need to feel comfortable with wine and your decision in picking a wine for any occasion.
You can never learn enough but it is very easy to come across as knowing too much. No one wants to be thought of as a wine snob. There is so much to learn about, wine regions, varietals, vintages, methods and so on. To get a good understanding we will start with regions. There are several countries from all over the world that are famous for wine France, Italy, German. And those are broken down even further into regions Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont. Grapes are grown everywhere but climate, soil, preparation, harvest and many other factors go into what you are about to drink. Here are a list of some countries and their regions.
France:
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Rhone
Loire
Alsace
Italy:
Piedmont
Tuscany
Vento
United States:
California
Washington
Oregon
Spain:
Rioja
Navarra
El Toro
Now under each of those regions are sub regions and it can get very complicated for example Bordeaux has two regions the left bank and the right bank the left bank being to the lies west of the Garonne River the right to the east. In those sub regions there are districts ex. Left Bank: Haut-Medoc Right Bank: St-Emilion. You could spend months just learning the lay of the lands where your wine came from. For the most part learn the difference between the countries then work on the regions and then districts if youd like.
My best tip would be to become friends with someone who knows wine pretty well such as say your local wine merchant. I live in Pennsylvania so sales are all controlled by the state and for the most part the people who work in our Wine and Spirit stores are just retailers. I have yet to come across someone who knew anything about what they were selling. I also like to go on tasting/vineyard tours where often you will meet people who know boatloads of info. You will also meet other people who share the same interest in wine as yourself. Those tips have proved invaluable to me when first breaking into the wine scene.
Now lets get to the good stuff .. Time to start drinking!!! Soooo Red or White Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. You will need to get a feeling for what you like so try them out see what you like. Get used to the certain qualities of each type of grape. Every one is different and every vintner adds his or her own special characteristic to their wine. Sometimes you will come across something you really just wont like. It really is ok to get rid of it if you really cant stand it.
When tasting a wine you really do need to rely on your nose to get the full effect and the first time you see someone stick their nose deep into a wine glass can look a little strange but some wines can be very complex and in order to get the full flavor characteristics of a wine you will need to have your nose work with you tongue. Take a little bit of air in with your sip of wine, feel the wines texture in your mouth swirl it around in your mouth with your tongue and swallow. You really will get the taste of different types of fruit or pepper maybe smell tobacco or flowers. There is no advice I could give anyone to pick those out and thats the best part, its your nose no one can tell you that isnt what you smell but take your time concentrate on what youre going to drink and decipher what you smell then taste. Then decide on the finish of a wine does it make you pucker is it too bitter or maybe sweet does it dry your mouth out. Tannins will make your mouth feel dry after you drink your wine. It really is for you to decide but once you do you have your foot in the door.
When choosing wine for dinner or when having friends over or sometimes a special occasion really depends on you as a person. Usually people drink white wine before dinner and red with the entrée depending on what you are eating most have red with steak and white with fish but it really is ok to have whatever you want. If in a more upscale restaurant most will have a sommelier or an in house wine expert who knows their selection and can make recommendations for you after asking you a few questions. Having friends over? Have what you like or ask what they like or have them bring a bottle of what they like and pass them around almost like a mini tasting. If you start building up a little collection and have some older bottles aging in the cellar these are usually for the special occasions. Sometimes you just have to pull the top off of one of those just because you want to for no reason at all but to drink it up on the porch or in front of a fireplace. Whatever you want to do Enjoy it.
Most wine is served in my opinion wither too warm or too cold. Reds should be around 62 or 63 degrees not really room temp but chilling for a bit in the fridge say 10 or 15 minutes will almost completely change a wine that is served at say 72 degrees. Whites should be between 58 and 62 degrees. You could always buy a wine thermometer if youre unsure.
There really is no ritual when opening a bottle of wine. Remove the top of the capsule which is the foil or sometimes wax seal at the top of the bottle with either a waiters corkscrew or a foil cutter and place the worm or corkscrew in the center of the cork and turn. There are several types of corkscrews available that you can look into but remember the purpose is to open wine. If you want a $200 dollar tabletop job thats ok but a $3 waiters corkscrew does the same thing.
If you order a bottle of wine in a restaurant the waiter or sommelier will open it for you pour a bit into a glass this is so you can sample the wine and check the quality. Smell it this is your first indication whether its bad or not. Is it vinegar does it smell like mold? If it smells ok taste it and if all is well give him or her the ok and they will usually begin serving your guests most likely starting with the women and ending with you. Enjoy it.
I dont know a ton about collecting wine as I am just getting started and hopefully someone here can add some tips but keep your wine in a cool dry location on its side to keep the cork moist. You do not want a lot of movement in the temperature between 50 and 60 degrees and not too humid as humidity breeds mold. Take an inventory and know how long to keep something to mature it. If you keep some things too long they will turn into vinegar.
I hope I was able to shed some light in wine and wine tasting. There are a lot of good books and magazines out there to read and the best advice I can give is to just get out there and drink up. It really is all about what you like. Someone can say a wine is great but you if you dont like it doesnt really matter. As I learn more I will update this thread with recommendations or other things I learn as time goes on. Hope this helps a little.
There is no way to know everything about wine. Things change to often. Vineyards here today could be gone tomorrow. Wine can be very intimidating especially the restaurant presentation in front friends. Those who have seen it know what I am talking about. What I will cover will give you the foundation you need to feel comfortable with wine and your decision in picking a wine for any occasion.
You can never learn enough but it is very easy to come across as knowing too much. No one wants to be thought of as a wine snob. There is so much to learn about, wine regions, varietals, vintages, methods and so on. To get a good understanding we will start with regions. There are several countries from all over the world that are famous for wine France, Italy, German. And those are broken down even further into regions Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont. Grapes are grown everywhere but climate, soil, preparation, harvest and many other factors go into what you are about to drink. Here are a list of some countries and their regions.
France:
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Rhone
Loire
Alsace
Italy:
Piedmont
Tuscany
Vento
United States:
California
Washington
Oregon
Spain:
Rioja
Navarra
El Toro
Now under each of those regions are sub regions and it can get very complicated for example Bordeaux has two regions the left bank and the right bank the left bank being to the lies west of the Garonne River the right to the east. In those sub regions there are districts ex. Left Bank: Haut-Medoc Right Bank: St-Emilion. You could spend months just learning the lay of the lands where your wine came from. For the most part learn the difference between the countries then work on the regions and then districts if youd like.
My best tip would be to become friends with someone who knows wine pretty well such as say your local wine merchant. I live in Pennsylvania so sales are all controlled by the state and for the most part the people who work in our Wine and Spirit stores are just retailers. I have yet to come across someone who knew anything about what they were selling. I also like to go on tasting/vineyard tours where often you will meet people who know boatloads of info. You will also meet other people who share the same interest in wine as yourself. Those tips have proved invaluable to me when first breaking into the wine scene.
Now lets get to the good stuff .. Time to start drinking!!! Soooo Red or White Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. You will need to get a feeling for what you like so try them out see what you like. Get used to the certain qualities of each type of grape. Every one is different and every vintner adds his or her own special characteristic to their wine. Sometimes you will come across something you really just wont like. It really is ok to get rid of it if you really cant stand it.
When tasting a wine you really do need to rely on your nose to get the full effect and the first time you see someone stick their nose deep into a wine glass can look a little strange but some wines can be very complex and in order to get the full flavor characteristics of a wine you will need to have your nose work with you tongue. Take a little bit of air in with your sip of wine, feel the wines texture in your mouth swirl it around in your mouth with your tongue and swallow. You really will get the taste of different types of fruit or pepper maybe smell tobacco or flowers. There is no advice I could give anyone to pick those out and thats the best part, its your nose no one can tell you that isnt what you smell but take your time concentrate on what youre going to drink and decipher what you smell then taste. Then decide on the finish of a wine does it make you pucker is it too bitter or maybe sweet does it dry your mouth out. Tannins will make your mouth feel dry after you drink your wine. It really is for you to decide but once you do you have your foot in the door.
When choosing wine for dinner or when having friends over or sometimes a special occasion really depends on you as a person. Usually people drink white wine before dinner and red with the entrée depending on what you are eating most have red with steak and white with fish but it really is ok to have whatever you want. If in a more upscale restaurant most will have a sommelier or an in house wine expert who knows their selection and can make recommendations for you after asking you a few questions. Having friends over? Have what you like or ask what they like or have them bring a bottle of what they like and pass them around almost like a mini tasting. If you start building up a little collection and have some older bottles aging in the cellar these are usually for the special occasions. Sometimes you just have to pull the top off of one of those just because you want to for no reason at all but to drink it up on the porch or in front of a fireplace. Whatever you want to do Enjoy it.
Most wine is served in my opinion wither too warm or too cold. Reds should be around 62 or 63 degrees not really room temp but chilling for a bit in the fridge say 10 or 15 minutes will almost completely change a wine that is served at say 72 degrees. Whites should be between 58 and 62 degrees. You could always buy a wine thermometer if youre unsure.
There really is no ritual when opening a bottle of wine. Remove the top of the capsule which is the foil or sometimes wax seal at the top of the bottle with either a waiters corkscrew or a foil cutter and place the worm or corkscrew in the center of the cork and turn. There are several types of corkscrews available that you can look into but remember the purpose is to open wine. If you want a $200 dollar tabletop job thats ok but a $3 waiters corkscrew does the same thing.
If you order a bottle of wine in a restaurant the waiter or sommelier will open it for you pour a bit into a glass this is so you can sample the wine and check the quality. Smell it this is your first indication whether its bad or not. Is it vinegar does it smell like mold? If it smells ok taste it and if all is well give him or her the ok and they will usually begin serving your guests most likely starting with the women and ending with you. Enjoy it.
I dont know a ton about collecting wine as I am just getting started and hopefully someone here can add some tips but keep your wine in a cool dry location on its side to keep the cork moist. You do not want a lot of movement in the temperature between 50 and 60 degrees and not too humid as humidity breeds mold. Take an inventory and know how long to keep something to mature it. If you keep some things too long they will turn into vinegar.
I hope I was able to shed some light in wine and wine tasting. There are a lot of good books and magazines out there to read and the best advice I can give is to just get out there and drink up. It really is all about what you like. Someone can say a wine is great but you if you dont like it doesnt really matter. As I learn more I will update this thread with recommendations or other things I learn as time goes on. Hope this helps a little.
