The secret to choosing a good wine

Of all the questions faced by the new wine enthusiast, perhaps the most asked, yet unspoken, question is, How do I choose a good wine?

Your average wine shop will stock several hundred different wines. They come from all over the world: California, New Zealand, France, Chile, Italy, South Africa, Austria, Argentina, Hungary, Australia, China, Mexico, Canada, and more. They come in all kinds: Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, Cabernet-Merlots, Vidal, Grüner Veltliner, and more. Plus, there’s not just one or two of each. There’s a dozen or two different Pinot Noirs. Ten different Chenin Blancs. Then there are these things that you can’t figure out what they are–they come from France and the label says something about St. Denis. Or worse, it’s German and it might as well be written in Sanskrit.

Given the bewildering selections in a decent wine shop, it’s a miracle that more people don’t swear off wine forever and stick with Bud Light.

Even if you’re somewhat familiar with the wines you like–perhaps a Shiraz is your favorite wine–there are a bunch of these wines, only one of which you’ve seen before. How do you know which one is a good one?

If you have a photographic memory, you can go to the local library and look at a bunch of past issues of Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast to memorize the wine reviews and scores. For most of us, that’s not a practical option. (I can barely recall what I had for lunch yesterday, so I’m about as far away from having a photographic memory as possible.)

Another choice might be to look at price tags. Generally speaking, the more expensive the wine, the better it is going to be. But this isn’t true all the time. In some vintages, an expensive wine ends up being a clunker, and there are enough good quality cheap wines to keep lots of us checking out the bargain bins to find that ridiculously low-priced wine that should sell for five times its price. This isn’t a very good option either.

So what is one to do in the wine shop? The answer is really simple.

Ask the people working there.

Really! Any decent store with a good wine selection is going to have a few people who know a thing or two about wine. There may be some working there who don’t have a clue about wine, but they might be able to direct you to an excellent tequila. Ask who the wine guru working that day is and ask for some recommendations. If you’re in a restaurant, ask to chat with the person responsible for creating the wine list.

A good wine shop employee or restaurant wine steward will know what questions to ask you. Do you like reds or whites? Are you going to have the wine with a particular meal? What price range are you looking at? Do you like a wine that gets in your face, or do you like wines that are more about finesse than power? With that information in hand, most good wine shop employes will be able to direct you to a few selections that fit your budget and should be enjoyable wines.

At this point, however, there is one thing that you must do: write down the recommendations! Ask for a pen and paper if you must, but write down the name of the wine, the region, the grape, and the vintage. Unless you’re going to buy each of the suggested wines, you’re going to want to have all of the pieces of wine information available for future reference. If you have a cell phone with a built-in camera, use the thing to take a picture of the label. (In my opinion, this one use is the only reason to have a camera in a cell phone.) Record the information somehow so that when you next visit the store, you can purchase one of the recommended wines.

Of course, sometimes you can go back and the wines will be sold out. Tragedy? Absolutely not! This is an opportunity–an opportunity to ask for more recommendations and build up your database of good wines. As you do, you’ll learn which wine producers in your particular market are reliable across the years. Before you know it, you’ll also begin to recall which wine regions seem to make a lot of wines that suit your preferences. It won’t be long until you can walk into a wine shop or review a restaurant’s wine list and make a selection without hesitation.

There’s one more part to this secret–don’t stop asking for recommendations. When I visit my favorite wine retailers, I know which employees know their stuff, and I’m always up for asking them what they have that’s new and exciting or that they really enjoy. I’ve been introduced to a lot of fantastic wines that way–wines I would have never discovered if I didn’t ask.

Enjoy your wine explorations–but keep this secret to yourself.