How does one choose a good whine?

Question

im not too wine savvy, basically i go the store and pick a neat label....not a good way but hey....are there any tips for choosing a good wine?

Answer 1

Your best bet is to go to a wine store, not a liquor or grocery store. And don't be worried if you are looking for less expensive wine - just tell them a style, a varietal, what you're eating it with or some other hint and your price range and they'll help you out like crazy.

If they don't, go to another store. When looking for less expensive wines, I tend to go to the bigger wine stores. I figure that the people working there are not the owners and probably aren't getting paid much. So they get to taste the high end wines when the store gets them in and they are learning about them, but they aren't buying high end wines for themselves out of their own pockets. So there is a good chance they'll know what's good for under $10.

And in the future, when you have a wine you like, try to take some notes - even if you can't find the exact bottle at the store, at least you'll know the varietal, the region, etc. - the kind of stuff that will help you pick wine on your own.

Answer 2

Lucy Ball had a great whine.

Answer 3

first of all, being able to spell it, sorry

Answer 4

Do you want some cheese with that whine ?

Answer 5

Good wines will be laid horizontally rather than standing up on a shelf.  They'll be from a winery you probably never heard of.  As a general rule of thumb, they'll cost more than $10; yeah, you can find good wines under $10, but it's harder to find a bad wine over $10.

Get to know which type of wine you like (I mean Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel, etc).  Then look up where the grapes grow best.  Perhaps a Malbec from Argentina would be a good thing to look for, or a Pinot Noir from Northern California.

Finding differences in years is a hard thing to do, it takes a lot of effort to do that.  I would stick to how old something should be before its ready to drink.  For example, a Pinot Noir from 2005/2006 is ready, but a 2007 would still be young.  While a Cabernet Sauvignon from 2005 is still a bit young, one from 2003 is perfect.  If you found one from 2006, it would be harsh; it was meant to be aged by the consumer or is just inferior and wouldn't benefit from barrel aging.