Walking into a wine store can be intimidating. James Bond could fall out of a plane, crash through the ceiling, and still pick out the perfect Bordeaux. Not you, though. Hundreds of bottles stare back at you, mocking your inexperience. The labels are in different languages, you can't pronounce the grape varietal, and you wouldn't know what to serve with a Spatburgunder if someone put a corkscrew to your head.
Well, relax. The wine store is there to impress you, not the other way around. You're not supposed to know all the different wines. They are. Great bottles exist at every price range for all occasions. The key to finding them is to pick the right store, develop a relationship with the staff and learn more about your personal taste.
Follow Adam Morganstern on Twitter: www.twitter.com/owj
Snooth: The 10 Most Common Wine Questions
Tony Sachs: Notes From A Tasting Of 120-Year-Old Cherry Heering
Kurt Michael Friese: Screwcaps on Wine Are Here to Stay
Karl Kozel: The Art of the Manhattan (The Old School)
Snooth: The Most Annoying Wine Words
Wine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Organic Wine Journal (OWJ) on Twitter
Organic Wine Journal | Facebook
|
Post a Comment
I also like the advise below...buy it, try it, if you like it buy it again..
Patrick
1.It's all about referral, not about price nor label. Whether at your local shop or your online community, tasting what your friends who know your taste suggest is the best method. Feedback loops over time get it right...and it's just more fun.
2. Biodynamic or natural or living...without being academic, what we are tasting is what wines tasted like before industrialized farming and preconceived notions of what a grape should taste like became 'gospel. In my mind, an organic approach in the vineyards and the cave are just a real drive towards the true meaning of terroir. Check out Arbois in France, Etna in Sicily or Ribeira Sacra in Spain where regions themselves seem to have adopted natural and well...the 'natural' and right way to discover wine.
An passionate amateurs view of organic wine @ http://arnoldwaldstein.com/wine.
Chances are, you will have a few choices to sample right in your back yard!
2) If you like it, buy it again.
3) If you don't like it, buy a different one next time.
It's only "intimidating" if wine snobbery affects you.
Here are a couple of additional tips for those new to wine from someone who loves his grape juice...
Remember that wine drinking is about pleasure and enjoyment and celebrating life, so as Adam said, never feel intimidated. I've discovered lots of great bargains by asking a shopkeeper "What are your best wines for under ten dollars?". Up that to fifteen dollars and the list grows substantially. As you get better acquainted, kick the price up another five dollars and the world becomes your oyster. Someone who is knowledgeable with wines is invaluable in the hunt for a great wine but if you feel a seller is trying to be intimidating, repay the favor by taking your business elsewhere. And don't forget to smile as you go!
Try starting out tasting different varieties first to discover what you enjoy the most. Often, even if you didn't much care for a wine to drink on its own, you might find yourself saying things like "This would go great with..."; that's when it pays to keep notes.
Sometimes, wine sellers are such die hard wine lovers that they will try to shoe horn wines with meals that don't go well with wine at all. Asian cooking, such as Indian or Chinese food for example, is usually better paired with a good beer, rather than wine. It is after all, not about keeping up appearances, it's about what you enjoy that matters most.
La dolce vita!
As for the hocus-pocus, biodynamics has it's staunch defenders as well as the people who make fun of their practices. They follow lunar cycles for planting and harvesting, spray small amounts of "preparations" on their vineyards and treat their property as a self-contained ecosystem; making sure they have a balance of plants, animals and insects that work together.
Those who practice biodynamics swear by it, and also claim it is one of the best ways to restore a vineyard that has previously been chemically farmed. However, they will also admit that it is a very faith-based system. They aren't out to scientifically prove anything, they just "know" it works for them.
At the very least, all biodynamic practices are in harmony with organic farming and don't do anything harmful. Whether or not it does anything extra is what people debate.
Avoid the woman pictured in the link to this story.