That’s a question I hear often from Wine Beginners.
Many people I come across have a fear of being known as a “Wine Beginners“ or “Wine Novice.” Growing up, wine was never a big part of my family’s life. My parents did not have a wine education or even much wine knowledge and believe me, they never offered to send me to wine school. In fact, when we had wine in the house it was wine like Mogan David, or a generic California Rhine. The only time they purchased it was at holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas. Our family was truely what you would call true wine beginners. I am sure some of you can related to this story.
When I was younger I worked at a family liquor store. The store sold a lot of beer and liquor but not much wine. Any wine we sold was just a jug wine ( cheap wine ) which came in big bottles. I am sure most of our customers were wine beginners. But as time progressed many customers started asking for a thing called varietal wine with names such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, etc. It was embarrassing for me that I did not have any wine knowledge about these wines. I was determined to learn so I asked one of the wine salesmen; “ How do wine beginners get a wine education? Do they have to go to wine beginners school?” The answer he gave me was simple, or I thought. First thing, have your staff read up a little about the different grape varieties and terminology in a wine beginners book or guide. Second, look at the wines in the store. Look at the labels, front but mainly the back label. Have them find wines that havetasting notes from the wine maker on the back label. Have them read the wine information and tasting notes as they drink the wine. Compare their opinion as wine beginners with the wine maker notes.
Simple right? Wine School 101!
He also stressed one thing - “wine is an opinion.” Each individual will taste something different in the wine because our palates are different. Our goal as wine beginners is to see if we can taste and learn what the wine maker is saying about the wine.
Wish I had a Wine Beginners Wine Blog
As I said, when I began, my wine education wasn’t very sophisticated. (remember the Mogan David? We were truly wine beginners) I had trouble understanding some of the terminology. (I wish I had a wine blog for wine beginners available to read way back then) The staff or my palate were not very good and we preferred the slightly sweeter wines. At that time the new world wine from New Zealand or Australia were not around much. As wine beginners, we drank different wines and learned that some wines were dry with no natural sugar left and some were sweet with sugar left in. We earned some wines were meant to be a beverage and some were meant to go with food. As eager wine beginners we tried different wines with foods and also tried some just as a beverage. We slowly started to learn and understand some of the wine information and treminology that was being used to describe the wine. We looked up unfamiliar words in a wine information book. The staff and I still felt like a wine beginners so we continue to drink different wines. Over time we started to learn and understand more and more about the words, how they were used and their meaning. As time past, we starting to feel we were not wine beginners anymore.
As wine beginners or a novice, you are going to have to follow the same path. You can not just read about wine, to have full wine enjoyment. You need to look at it, smell it and drink it. Wine enjoyment is more than learning wine information and terminology. Besides what could be easier than drinking a glass of wine even for wine beginners?
So, you have studied a little bit. You are feeling good about yourself then you walk into a local wine store, look at all the wine on the shelves and it does not take you long to display ignorance. So many labels and so many choices, what if I am wrong? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list designed for wine beginners that had some good producers and suggested wines?
My friend Ed Gandia has a great list of wines called ”Fool Proof Wine Values” He developed a list of 44 producers from around the world that make over 140 excellent wines for under $10. I love the list because no matter where you live, you will find that the majority of the wines will be available. Plus Ed shares some valuable information for wine beginners to continue your wine education past this site. Well worth the money for wine beginners!
Click Here for Fool Proof Wine Values
The Wine Retail Shop
Sometimes we will be fortunate enough to walk into a wine retail shop or wine store with a knowledgeable staff. If we are really lucky, we will find one that will not talk over our heads. If you find a such a shop ask for help. Let them know what type of wine you have enjoyed before and could they suggest something similar. If you can find such a shop, your wine shopping just became easier. Remember no short cuts, you still need to read the labels and taste the wine. That is how you learn.
Like most wine beginners, you probably will start out with an easy to drink wine. In the beginning you need to determine your palate, do you prefer sweet or dry (no sugar) or some where in-between. I suggest starting with a white wine such as Riesling or Chenin Blanc which tend to run on the sweeter side and can be chilled. Merlot or a Pinot Noir is a good mellow but still dry red to start with. I like to put a 20 minute chill to the Pinot Noir. Chill the bottle not the wine.
My Last Note:
As I stated before it is not easy to a find a knowledgeable wine staff that speaks English. Some will be talking over your head and using words you are not familiar with. Most store staff I have seen, have limited knowledge. If they use words such as Yuck, Yummy or Ick when describing wine, they are from the latter group. I suggest you educate yourself by studying the wine makers notes and drinking the wine. Are you going to buy wines you don’t like, yes. (they make great cooking wines) Ask yourself why you don’t like it. Too much tannin, the taste of the grape, acidity too high, etc. Did the wine maker use a word to describe that taste? Look at the Wine makers Tasting Note blog. If you can figure out the word and remember it for the next time your wine education just took a leap! You are starting to move away from the wine beginners title.
That is how you learn and remember it is “your opinion” so drink the wines you enjoy.
Tip: Ask your wine shop what their return policy is on wine. They should take back any wine that is bad. This includes wines you just don’t like, spoiled or not spoiled. Don’t worry about the wine shop, it will get it’s money back from the wine salesperson when they turn it in for a credit. Be careful when buying wines out of close out barrels, some will be old and bad. Ask about the store’s return policy on those wines.