- Producer or name of winery
- Varietal name of the grape that the wine is made from
- Where the grapes were grown
- The alcohol content of the wine
Learn to Buy Wines Using the Back Wine Label!
Many people can be intimidated by the selection of wines available to choose from in a store. Let’s say you go to a wine store to buy wines for your guests. You find a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand on sale for $7.99. Question; Do you buy wines you are not familiar or not? As you are still a wine beginner and not familiar with this wine you need to do a little digging. You look at the front wine label first for some wine information. It tells you who the producer is, that the grape varietal is Sauvignon Blanc, vintage is 2010, grapes grown in the Marlborough vineyard area in New Zealand and the alcohol content is 13%.
But what does it not say? It does not say what the wine will taste like. Should you buy wines you don’t know and will you like them?
To buy wines is an adventure. When looking to buy wines we are not familiar with, we need to look at the back wine label for the wine maker’s notes and wine information.
“This wine is produced from the world famous Marlborough vineyards. The Sauvignon Blanc is classic Marlborough in style – vibrant, crisp, fresh and fruity.”
Produced and bottled by (name of winery), Auckland, New Zealand.
This wine maker lets us know that the wine comes from the famous Marlborough vineyards in New Zealand. The wine is made in the classic Marlborough style which is good. It is vibrant, crisp, fresh and fruity. Our question – buy wines or not?
Maybe this is your first experience with this varietal wine. This is where experience would help but you are just a wine beginner. Luckily you have studied the wine makers tasting notes post that is designed to help you understand the terms needed for you to buy wines you will like. That post is a must read. It supplies the most common wine terms and wine information to help you understand the wine makers note allowing you to buy wines with confidence.
The winemaker says the wine is fresh and you know from your study that “fresh” probably means a clean looking wine on the dryer side. Crisp also signifies a dry wine with some acidity. From this wine information then we should know this white wine is going to be on the dry side and crisp. It is going to have some acidity to cleanse your palate, which you will feel on your tongue. Depending on just how crisp the wine is, it may be better served with food.
Question: Do You Buy Wines You Don’t Know?
You decide this wine sounds interesting and is the type you have read about on the wine blog. Your decision: To buy wines. You may want to buy the new wine and another that you are familiar with to be safe.
Again the key to learning to buy wines, is you need to be looking to buy wines you want to try. Use the information available to you in the wine blog and on the back wine label to make a educated decision. Buy Wines ! Drink Wines! Learn from the experience and repeat process. Buy Wines! Drink Wines!
Finally, it is time to evaluate and taste what you selected. You slice up an apple and have a piece or two to cleanse your palate. Open the bottle and pour about 1/3 of a glass.
You remember what you learned on the wine blog. With wine you need to use more than one sense. Use your eyes, nose and then your mouth.
Eye: First you need to look at the color of the wine in the glass. Make sure you are holding the glass by the stem. Clean looking? Can you see through it? Pleasant to look at? Little pale green? What do you see? Read the back wine label.
Nose: Stick your nose into the glass and sniff, what do you smell? If a light aroma then try slowly swirling the wine in the glass and stick your nose in again. Did the bouquet become more pronounced? Did you like the aromas; did you get a grassy smell? Read the back wine label.
Don’t taste it yet!
Tips: if you can not smell much from the wine it means the bouquet is closed which happens many times because the wine is too cold. Swirl the wine and put a sheet of paper or napkin on top of the glass. Count to 20 and stick your nose in again. Swirling is made easier if you put the glass on a smooth surface and move the glass around in a small circle.
Now to the wine back label. The winemaker notes says it is vibrant, crisp, fresh and fruity. Winemakers often use words that describe flavors from fruits and vegetables in the wine information they supply. You may taste or smell these in the wine. These are natural tastes coming from the vine, the grape, the sun, the cool or warm breezes, the minerals in the soil, maybe another grape blended in, etc. No artificial flavors are every added to the wine. If so it is not wine.
Lets look a little harder at what the winemaker is saying on the back label. Do we agree?
So we took a good looked at the wine and then took a good sniff of the wine in the glass. Was it….
Fresh – a good clean nose with a fresh aroma, not musty. A nice looking wine that has a very light green or light straw color.
Vibrant – pure, bright, not mixed or dull. Sometimes wine seems to be alive and pulsing with energy. Watch how the light bounces off it.
Now you can taste the wine – take a small sip and move it around in your mouth.
Crisp – on the drier side with some acidity. A almost green after taste. Reminds you of a grapefruit flavor.
Fruity- means you can taste and smell the fruit of the grape. A little grassy? A lot of people assume fruity means sweet, it means the fruit of the grape is coming out. Can you smell and taste the uniqueness of the Sauvignon Blanc grape?
How does what you smell and taste compare to the winemakers notes. Think about this smell and taste, associate it with the Sauvignon Blanc grape as it will help with future wine adventures.
Ok, now lets gets down to the most important question, do you like it or not?
Was it a good wine buy?
Would you buy wines like this style again?
Was it too crisp and/or dry for you? Just right? Try another slice of apple or a little cheese and cracker with the wine. Many wines are blended to go with food. Try a piece of bread and a nice salad with an oily dressing before you decide. Do a little pairing wine with food. Play with the wine and have fun before you decide if you would buy wines like this style again.
Tip: I suggest to many of my customers that a fun way to experiment and learn about wine is to have a wine tasting party with friends. If done right this really increases your learning curve while saving the buy wines budget. I suggest you go through the wine information in the Wine Beginner’s Wine Blog first then click the link to order the Wine Tasting With Friends instruction book. This is a good value and you will surprised what you know already and what you will learn.
Don’t be afraid to experiment when you buy wines! That is how you learn!!!!!!