If You Can't Rely on the Bottle Labeling

Yesterday, I came down fairly hard on bottle labeling, not because I think it lies, although occasionally it does, but because it doesn't necessarily tell you what you want to know. Or, at least the labeling that we tend to look for doesn't really tell you what you want to know.

So, there's an easy solution, right? Well, no, there's not! And, a major reason is that there is no consistent labeling around the world. We have one set of requirements in the US, but there is something entirely different in France. And, while most of the European Union labeling is similar to each other, the historical underpinnings of the different countries in the EU make them a bit different. Then, of course, we have all the other wine-producing countries, some major and some far less so.

So, how do we get past this? Either we can learn a lot about what we like and how to find it, stick to just a few wines that we like (I think that is incredibly boring), or find friends, family, or wine shop staff who can help you.

Suppose you take that last approach. Wine shop staff. How do you tell them what you like? If, for example, you tell them you love Chardonnay, they could point you to everything from $3 jug wine to something mass-produced for about $8-15 to one of the finest from California putting you in the $100+ range (sometimes far more than that) to the quintessential white Burgundies from Meursault and Montrachet for which you might pay several hundred dollars per bottle.

You need to know why you like them. Do you like the flavors? If so, which flavors? Do you like the way they feel in your mouth? Can you describe that? Do you like the way they pair with food? Some combination? Something else?

These are the sorts of questions I might ask people along with how much they want to spend. But, sometimes people just can't answer those questions. Then what?

If I'm asking, I'll ask a person to tell me 5 wines that they like, however it is that they describe them as well as their price point. I might also ask them what food they are having. 

All this gives me pieces of a puzzle, but then I need to put them together. Sometimes that's easy. Other times it's not.

But, this should make it pretty obvious. The more you can help the person who wants to help you, the more that person actually can help you.