10 Tips for New and Not so New Wine Drinkers

 I took 3 years off from this blog. Why? I write off the top of my head and the top of my head just wasn't coming up with new ideas. So, I stopped for quite a while and focused on some other things. 

What, you ask? Work, life, family, volunteering, debate reviews. One of those has somewhat fallen off the radar, so the top of my head had an idea.

Suppose you were a person just getting into wine or even if you've been drinking it for a while had never really explored. What might I tell you to do?

1. Do not drink Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon for a year. That's right. I'm telling you to stay away from two of the most popular grapes in the world. Why would I do that? Well, among white wines, Chardonnay is about as full-bodied as it gets (yes, I could name some obscure grapes that might dispel that, but that's not the point) and among red wines, Cabernet is about as full-bodied as it gets. So, when people start their wine adventures with those fuller-bodied wines, they get used to the extent to which those wines feel fulfilling in their mouths and hwo they coat their palates. What they ignore is that those wines often do not pair with the foods sitting next to them (more on pairing later). Cabernet has tannins ... lots of them ... and tannins can beat up more delicate foods. Chardonnay, in its most popular forms in the US tends to have lots of oak and generally speaking, oak can beat up on more delicate foods. (Note: some Chardonnay and some Cabernet are produced in somewhat lighter and more highly acidic fashions and are okay, but if you are a newbie or near newbie, you might have a difficult time identifying them.)
2. Learn some basics about pairing wine with food. Pairing wine with food or conversely is largely chemistry. If you don't believe that getting the chemistry right makes a difference, I'd ask you to watch the AppleTV show "Lessons in Chemistry." But I digress. What are a few useful basics? 1) Pair acid with acid. That is, if you have a highly acidic food, pair a highly acidic wine with it. If you don't, the wine will taste a bit flabby. Here's a little exercise you can try to provie it. You'll need a lemon or at least part of one and an acidic Sauvignon Blanc (an inexpensive one from Marlborough in New Zealand will do just fine). In addition, grabbing a plain cracker as a palate cleanser will help. Take the lemon and squeeze just a bit of the juice on your tongue and let it sit there. For most people, that's not a pleasant experience. Cleanse your palate. Take a taste of the Sauvignon Blanc swishing it around in your mouth before swallowing it or spitting it out. You might find it overly tart (or you might like it). Cleanse your palate. Now get a little bit of that lemon juice on your tongue and let it sit there for a moment and while it's there, taste some of the Sauvignon Blanc. Notice how each calms the other down. Magic! Chemistry! 2) You'll need some table salt and a very tannic red wine (if you want to keep it inexpensive, a young Tannat or Mourvedre might work really well). Taste the wine swishing it around in your mouth for a while. Notice how you might pucker a bit and how much you feel the wine on the inside of your cheeks. Cleanse your palate. Now put a little bit of salt (5-10 grains) on your tongue and do the same thing with the wine. The wine has calmed down a bit. This is why you pair tannins with salt and you could do additional exercises to see that you pair tannins with fat. Name a popular food that is salty and fatty, naturally. Red meat. It goes with tannins and tannins go with it. Magic! Chemistry!
3. Remember something about wines you like. Well, you might not be able to remember everything, but you can take notes. Where did the wine come from? What producer? What vineyard? What region? What grape(s)? What food did you drink it with? Each of those data points brings with it characteristics. The more you can replicate from a wine you liked, the more likely you are to like the next one. If you find that you really like a wine from Bekaa Valley (it's the top wine-producing region in Lebanon if you were wondering), perhaps you'll like others. Frankly, there's a good chance. Each region (and the more you can narrow down the region into appelations the better) tends to have commonalities in terroir and the terroir does much to define the wine.
4. Explore different wine regions. Every state in the US now produces wine although some of it is not really what I would consider wine (I don't like my wine made of blueberries or strawberries, for example). Most countries produce wine. Those places that are less known tend to sell their wine at much lower prices. So, find an up and coming region (in many cases, these might be areas that have been producing excellent wine for years, but simply have not exported much to the rest of the country or the world) and try their wine. Places where you might find great value include some northern US states and Canada, eastern Europe, less known wine regions in Australia (think Western Australia and Tasmania), England (now producing some excellent Chardonnay and with it sparkling Chardonnay using the Methode Champenoise), and pretty much anyplace else that you see a curious bottle.
5. Try some grapes with funny names. Frankly, almost all grapes have funny names, but we have gotten used to the more popular ones. So, what I'm really asking you to do here is to try some grapes that you have never heard of. Like traditional pizza with tomato sauce? Try some Nerello Mascalese with it. Like salty mollusks like oysters and clams? Try some Picpoul de Pinet or Assyrtiko with it. Going spicy? Try something with some natural sweetness and residual sugar to calm down the spice and while it's well known, Riesling just doesn't have the popularity that it should in the US.
6. Not all wines have to be fruit forward. Once upon a time, not all that many years ago, people gravitated to wine that did not share characteristics with fruit bombs. Yes, they had fruit flavors, but not at the expense of all others. And, then along came this man named Robert Parker who built a reputation, publication, and wealth around rating wines. His ratings became a significant part of the gospel around which wines were bad, which ones were good, and which ones were great. And his ratings were pre-disposed to fruit forward wines. Wines that are not so fruit forward can be equally or perhaps more enjoyable. Good wines tend to get that way with age. Ask your wine merchant if you can try wines that are less fruit forward. I think you might find them easier to sip.
7. Drink your white wines warmer. This is largely a US problem. Your fuller bodied white wines should definitely not be refrigerator cold. You can drink Chardonnay (I know I said not to drink it for a while, but you should anyway) at temperatures around 50-55F (10-13C if you think logically) and get the full experience the winemaker intended. Drinking them too cool takes away the flavors. Drink your lighter bodied white wines a little bit cooler, but refrigerator cold is too cold for all but the lightest bodied and or sweetest of the group.
8. Drink your red wines cooler. This is a matter of personal preference, but I like my lighter bodied reds just below 60F (15C) and my fuller bodied reds about 3-5F (2-3C) warmer. They'll be more expressive. They'll be less flabby. Try it and you'll see.
9. Buy a decent wine key. You can get one for just a few dollars. Get one that is double hinged. Insert the point of the corkscrew into the center of the cork at an angle and turn it until it is about 3/4 of the way down in the cork. Do a small pull to raise the cork partway. Then use the second hinge on the cork to pull it the rest of the way. Do not create a big pop. It disturbs the wine. 
10. Drink what you like. If you like muscadine wine, you might be accused of having poor taste, but if that's what you like, drink it. But, the real message here is that you don't have to drink what the critics say. Drink what makes you happy. Drink what makes your food taste better. Drink what you can afford.

So, am I back on a regular basis? I don't know; I haven't decided yet. We'll see.