It is an new year and we want to improve ourselves and learn more about everything. This also includes the area of wine. In fact, many people want to learn more about wine to the point of becoming a wine aficionado. As you can imagine there are several approaches you can undertake to accomplish this goal. So, we found some ways that you can increase your knowledge and become an expert in a fascinating field.
Learning Your Wine Preferences
Wine is a personal choice. Not everyone likes the same thing. I may love a good Merlot but you might prefer a Pinot Noir. How to tell what you like takes a little detective work. Here are a few suggestions:1. Pick up a journal and make it your wine tasting notebook.
2. Go to a local wine shop or a large liquor store where they have a decent selection of wine. Get to know the manager or the wine buyer for the shop. See if they have wine tastings, if not ask what restaurants in the area conduct these and get on their email lists.
3. Start with a wine that will match the food you are serving. Ask for help from the wine shop. There are wines available for every taste. Buy a couple different varieties that will pair well with food.
4. Make this fun. Don’t just stick to the traditional California wines. There are wine regions from around the world that offer great taste at tremendous value. Try wines from Spain, which has excellent values; Argentina and Chile as well as the popularly branded French and Italian wines. Even in the states there are great wine regions besides what we see in the store. I love Oregon and Washington State wines as an example. There is a difference in taste between a California Pinot and an Oregon one. Develop your palate with wines from our country as well as from around the world.
As you become more comfortable with wine tasting, understanding what you like and what you don’t, the next step to becoming an aficionado is education.
Developing Your Wine Aficionado Knowledge
There are tons of books, newsletters and online education out there to help you become a lover of wine. Start by subscribing to online free newsletters on the subject. Stay tuned to wisewinechoices.com, bookmark us, as we review books that we feel are valuable to the up and coming connoisseur of wine.
I would caution a person just starting their education not to subscribe to expensive magazines and newsletters until you have a clear understanding of what you like as you develop your palate.
Along with education, now should be the time to introduce your new passion to others. What better way to do this then to host an informal wine tasting night with friends. I recently attended an informal wine night. This was a great way to taste wines without it costing a fortune. Each of us was assigned a specific wine. We started with 3 different white wines, than moved to 3 different reds and a dessert wine for the finale.
No one spent more than $20 per bottle. A fun night and affordable too! We all learned something about wine, what we liked and what we didn’t, plus we had so much fun doing this that we booked another night at a different person’s home. This may turn into a monthly social event, and it’s all focused on us learning more about wine.
Storing Your Wine
The other crucial part to developing your wine persona, is how one stores wine. Most people buy wine and drink it immediately. Others, who have become accustomed to drinking wine and find one they really love, would like to store the wine and drink it over time. Either way is fine. If you are storing wine it is important that it is kept in a cool, dry place. If you become a true aficionado, temperature of wine will become important to you. In the meantime, there are wine refrigerators available for storing wine. You can buy them at Home Depot or a BJ’s Warehouse for a reasonable price.
This is a good starting point on your journey to become a wine expert. Thanks to wisewinechoices website for this useful guideline to use. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback you can reach us by email.
Thank you for visiting!
Joseph A Jones & The WellLife Team
