For many people, picking a good wine can seem like a bit of a mysterious and confusing experience. Their probably not big wine drinkers, and their significant other has asked them to pick up a nice bottle on the way home from work. More than likely, they’ve resorted to a number of strategies. One, is to simply go by price. Many amateur wine purchasers simply assume, that buy buying the higher priced bottles they’ll guarantee a good choice. Well, that’s not entirely true. Sure, you may increase your odds of getting a good wine, but there are other factors at play here that are more likely to an effect on your success. The other much used strategy, would be to simply ask a sales person for their recommendation. While this approach is likely to guarantee you get a bottle that the sales clerk would like, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get one you like.
There are better ways to pick a bottle of wine. It will require a little effort and practice on your part however. If your looking for that perfect bottle of red wine at the last minute, then your likely going to have to resort to one of the earlier mentioned approaches. Really though, the best thing you can do, is try out different types of wine ahead of time. Buy a few different wines from different regions, countries, and at different prices. White wine, red wine, riesling, chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, zinfandel and merlot are all good places to start. Try the different wines on different nights with a variety of meals. While the standard rule of white wine with fish and red wine with red meats is good starting point, your taste buds may not agree. So expirement a little, and have fun with it.
The other thing you can do, is plan on taking a wine tour. If you happen to live close to a wine region, then it’s pretty easy. If not, then try and work one in to your next big vacation. They are a lot of fun. You usually get to sample a lot of different wines in a day. In addition you learn a lot about the history of wine making in a specific, and will likely learn a lot of good tips and tricks for picking your next bottle.