"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy." --Benjamin Franklin
So how do you find the perfect wine? It is very intimidating to buy wine at first. It almost feels like you are exposing your lack of refinement if you don't ask the right questions at the wine store. I wanted to alleviate this possibility with the most powerful of tools, information. After all, it is not to be expected that we all know everything about all things. The trick is knowing where to look.
Tip #1 - Wine - Food Pairing Chart
This tip is helpful for any wine buyer. It depends on the situation, of course, but usually wine is purchased to accompany some type of food. Whether you want to find the wine to serve with salmon or you just need something to accompany your cheese. My suggestion is really pretty simple. Enter "wine food pairing chart" into a Google search, when the results come up-click on the images tab at the top of the screen. There are more here than you will ever need. These charts vary slightly because they are created with the bias and taste of the creator. There is no right or wrong here, these will just put you in the ball park as they are all basically the same.
Tip #2 - Attend A Local Wine Tasting
Local wineries and even wine stores will host wine tastings with some regularity. A simple internet search for wine tasting in your town or inquiring at your local wine store should help you find one. These are great because they are truly geared toward the novice. I have been to a number of these and the people are usually quiet at first but as more wine is sampled, more questions start coming out. Pretty soon everyone is asking questions and no one feels uncomfortable. The hosts are (or should be) very friendly and helpful. They want you to buy stuff, ultimately, so they want you to feel comfortable and have fun. Believe me, you will have fun. Nothing sounded stuffier to me than a wine tasting a few years ago, now it's like an excuse to go out and be silly and have great conversation with strangers. Throughout the samplings, you will figure out what you like and don't like. They have all types of whites, blushes, and reds. They have dry wines and really sweet wines. This tip is especially helpful for the first customer type that I illustrated above but everyone benefits from this education.
Tip #3 - Store Your Wine Smartly
There are some wines that are designed to be consumed fresh and some that are designed to be stored. Not all wines improve with age. (This tip is for customer type 3 in case you hadn't figured that out yet) Usually, someone that has decided to lay out the considerable dollars involved in a wine cellar could teach me quite a bit about wine. However, if you just have piles of money but no wine knowledge, I would ask your local wine store owners or sign up to some wine cellar blogs or forums to get advice. Find out the best wines for your taste to age and then purchase wine racks. There is a science to aging wine and the angle of the bottle in storage is important to keep the wine from evaporating or the cork drying out.
There you go. Not "everything you ever wanted to know about wine but were afraid to ask" but it should get you started and most importantly get you started comfortably. With anything, the hardest part is getting started. Good luck, and happy wine buying!
