I'm a wine virgin. How to learn?

[cantdrv55]

I live 13 miles from the Napa Valley but I dont know jack about wine. I feel like I'm missing something. How should I go about learning all about wines? I've never even gone wine tasting on my own so am completely clueless about the etiquette.

[trekkor]

I have the connections...


KT

[RWebb]

the Dummies Guide is not bad

my advice: work your way thru France & N. Italy

[LWJ]

Go to a wine bar when it is not busy and tell the bartender exactly that. There are "classes" to take as well.

It sounds like a great problem to have! My cousin is in Sonoma. Wine is a big part of her life. You live in a great place to partake.

Have FUN.
Larry

[rusnak]

Napa Valley is a bit snobby.

I would recommend joining a wine tasting club, or a wine bar. Sonoma is not bad.

[cantdrv55]

Wine tasting club? Is that different from wine clubs?

[rusnak]

We have some wine tasting clubs, wine "meetup groups" etc. A wine club is one that will send you wine in the mail. I don't recommend those because you don't know what you're buying yet.

Sometimes you can sign up at gourmet markets. Try Andronico's or look for a nice deli with a good, friendly wine salesperson. Or call a wine distributor and try to find a wine tasting. Usually these are around $10 for enough wine to knock you on your butt.

[madmmac]

You may quickly find that what you may like may not cost not nearly as much as what you don't like. That's one of the beauty's of wine.

Find what you like, red, white, blends, dry or not. Lots of choices.

I always say, keep you nose down in the glass than up in the air. Meaning: Find what you like, not what you are supposed to like.

Enjoy. The choices are endless.

[imcarthur]

To learn about wine, you have to read & drink. Repeat 500 times.

The only reason to really make an effort to learn is so you can buy better wines that you like. Step 1: Learn the grape varieties. The same core vines are grown in many regions around the world - even though their character can be quite unique to each region. Red wines: Cabernet sauvignon. Merlot. Syrah. Pinot noir. Sangiovese. Nebbiolo. Tempranillo. Granache. Lesson 1: Research & discover the 'home' region for all of the above & sample several bottles of each. Take notes.

Come back for Lesson 2 when you have sobered up in a month or two.

Ian

[red-beard]

If you are smart, you will not start down this road. It only ends poorly...

[Head416]

Whatever you do, don't start drinking expensive wine! Just start drinking a bunch of wines and see what you like and what you don't. Chatting in a tasting room is great.

But, once you get a taste for expensive wine, you've set yourself up to only ever drink expensive wine, you can't go back! It's like feeding your dog bacon for a month and then trying to give him a bowl of kibble. Not gonna happen.

[Zeke]

I've had many great wines and beers. I guess I'm not so fussy as to deny myself a beer because I can't spend 2.50 a bottle at the store or 9 bucks at a fancy beer garden/restaurant.

If I want a beer and there's one in your fridge or mine, I'll drink it no matter what it is.

And that makes you appreciate what is really good and not necessarily expensive. Some people said awhile back on another thread that Two Buck Chuck was passable. Tell you what, it's the same stuff in the 5 liter box for 8.99. Now it's buck point 35 Chuck.

But some would tell you they would never drink wine out of a box or gallon jug. The rest of the wine world is much like that.

[Jim727]

A great journey!

Learning about wine is, in a nutshell, learning about what you like. That's not easy, however, if only because of the incredible number of candidates to select from and the expense (pleasure?) of tasting enough wines to learn. In the Napa valley that can get rather expensive as the tasting rooms have pretty much learned how to pick your pocket. Many wineries are fabulous places to visit, some are just tourist traps. If they want you to drop $10 or $20 to taste, then your call. The other wine areas in California are more visitor-friendly but are also learning how to charge, unfortunately. In the Napa Valley, Grgich Hills, Teaderman, and Silver Oak are generally excellent. In the Sonoma Valley, Kachina, Silver Oak, and Rafanelli are generally excellent.

Good bottle shops are, imo, the best place to get oriented, but finding a good one is problematic. If you ask for a wine recommendation and hear "this got 93 points" or "Wine Speculator gave this wine..." or "Wine Advocate [Parker - ugh] gave this wine..." RUN AWAY! If, however, they ask you about your taste preferences and how/when you plan to drink the wine then you have a great candidate. Kermit Lynch in Berkeley and Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa are both excellent.

Start here: Quality is not necessarily proportional to cost.

There's a lot of consolidation going on in the wine biz, however, so expect things to change. My Spousal Unit is in the wine biz and is a wine judge so we get to taste a lot of wines. As you learn you will become much more discriminating - kind of like cars. Enjoy. It's lots of fun.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

I feel like I'm missing something. How should I go about learning all about wines? I've never even gone wine tasting on my own so am completely clueless about the etiquette.

The best thing that happened to me wine-wise was working in a french restaurant as a waiter...several, in fact, with deep wines lists. College was good to me.

Forget the snob aspects and price: learn how to prepare and drink wine, with the proper glass, at the right temperature, etc. It does matter. Learning how to smell before you taste is important.

Find what you like at the mid-range. I do not like white wine at all, so I focused on red wine and am now fairly sophisticated in my tastes and preferences. That is my palate.

There are a lot of resources available, but it really comes down to what you like. Approach the wine-ex logically: don't buy into the blather about which side of the vineyard hill got the right sun with the right humidity with the proper bugs and soil.

That can come later when it might matter to you. Spend your time trying different wines at the mid range. Form a foundation for your palate and go from there. And, for goodness sake, enjoy!

FWIW, there are some amazing wines in a box.

[vash]

best thing for me to learn about wine was to hang out with
beers, ag and JP.

55, we have great wine resources in our friends.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by vash

best thing for me to learn about wine was to hang out with
beers, ag and JP.

55, we have great wine resources in our friends.

you coming to beers' sat chris? talk to him, working in the industry he will talk your ear off on it. he's all ghey that way.... JP is in, pops & i, imagine if JP is in cliff is, and AG? never know til he showes, or not he's like rude dog rudy that way....

[PFFOG]

Buy 2 bottles of everything and send me one.

I will call you when it arrives and we will open and taste them, simultaneously. I will tell you what to look for smell and appearance, what flavors you should be looking to taste, what foods to pair it with and what temp it should be served at. I will even put together a spread sheet for you.

I figure 2 bottles a week and in about 3 years I can make you an expert

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by red-beard

If you are smart, you will not start down this road. It only ends poorly...

best advice yet

tho I think he meant to type "poor-housely"

[imcarthur]

And if you are truly interested & want to learn, buy this:



Hugh Johnson's The World Atlas of Wine. $31.50 on Amazon.

If there is one publication that could be called 'The Bible of Wine', this is it imho.

Ian

[rouxroux]

Find a nice vineyard that offers a nice selection of wine flights. We've got a nice regional vineyard that has a nice little restaurant with a nice assortment of tapas and long flights.