Most people on this forum sound like excellent wine conoisseurs, and I'm wondering how everyone learned about wine? Just by tasting many varieties and growing up with it, or do some take courses or go on wine tasting tours? I myself would like to be a little more experienced with varieties of wine.

Caroline, welcome - though I'd call us enthusiasts rather than connoisseurs, which sounds pretentious to me.

I can only speak for myself. I learned by tasting, tasting and more tasting . . . along with quite a bit of reading. Just jump right in. You'll swim just fine.

Hi Caroline. Welcome to this Board.

There is probably no one correct way. I learned through trial and error, finding styles I enjoyed, reading a bit and using Boards such as this one to hone in on producers. My learning curve has been gradual, halting ... and I've made lots of mistakes and wasted some money. The nice thing is that this is a social hobby and the journey can be a lot of fun.

Don't take the knuckleheads on this Board too seriously!

I resemble that remark.

I was a solid Napa Merlot drinker before I reg'd on Parker's board 5 years ago. I ran into few people who turned my head towards Spanish wines and I started drinking them in $8-$35 range.

After I was banned from eBob one month later, I started going from one board to another, and before I got banned, I always learned something new, as every board has it's own flavor and wine styles/varietals/geo regions preferences.

I think I covered all boards out there and accompanied them with wine tastings.

Now I can give Leve classes how to buy, drink and enjoy Burgundy.
Leve, you are in the good hands, after you are banned from eBob, I'll take you under my wing.
:)

Start with a corkscrew and a glass. :)

Welcome. Understand that everyone's palate is unique and different. Drink what you like and drink as widely as possible. Don't fall into a clique that for psychological reasons beyond my ability to explain only drinks one thing.

If able, and alot of fun with your friends, is to drink different wines blind (bagged and numbered) to see if what you think you really like, is what you really like.

Pretty much what Bob said (and Peter, too). If you can find a good wine shop with a knowledgeable staff, go during quiet hours and pick their brains. Start out with relatively low-priced wines - no need to buy a Ferrari to learn to drive. Plus, if you don't like the wines of a region why spend a lot of money to find that out?

If you can, join in some of the more controlled offlines (in other words, Berserkerfests are not great vehicles for learning ) featured here, as you can taste quite a few more expensive wines while buying only one.

Bob nailed it. Try to find some folks in your area interested and do some group events where everyone brings a bottle of a certain area or variety or both. Do some bagged and some unbagged.

Welcome!

So you're saying throwing shrimp, green beans, duck parts and corks wasn't a learning experience at PDH a few weeks back?

1) Reading is fun [and can be very informative], but at some point you have to quit reading and start tasting.

2) Unless you are a billionairesse trust-fund baby, you need to get to as many FREE [or highly subsidized] tastings as possible - do NOT waste your own money on purchasing wines to experiment with that merchants ought to be opening for you for FREE.

3) Your tastes will not necessarily agree with other peoples' tastes, and if you're with the kinds of people who like to ridicule you for having the wrong tastes, then just IGNORE them, and drink what you enjoy.

4) In all likelihood, your tastes will change over time - what you enjoy now will not necessarily be what you enjoy five years from now. Also, the "flow" of your tastes might not necessarily be "linear" - you might find that that "flow" will "loop" around over itself in time - you might love a style of wine right now, hate it five years from now, then in another five years, come to discover that you love it again.

5) All the Central Coast pinot guys will hate me for saying this, but red wine will give you REALLY BAD HANGOVERS. Long term, you will be a lot happier drinking a single glass of Riesling [or Prosecco or Chablis or Gruner Veltliner] every night rather than an entire bottle of red wine.

There is another way to learn about wine:

I drank beer and scotch throught college. I found out in medschool that if you drink 4 drinks a night you are an alcoholic, but if you drink a half a bottle of wine a night you are a bon vivant, I like the frenchie sounding word better, though I drink very little french wine.
I would advice that you read, read, read in boards. Pay no attention to reviewers until you figure out what you like at first. Dont buy extreme ammounts because your palate will shift over time. Dont buy into any "wisdom." Not everyone ends up liking Burgundy and Bordeaux. Try to get into a tasting group or form one with your friends. Doesnt have to be fancy or expensive just a reason to taste different bottles in any range. And dont do what a lot of us do often and forget that it is just wine and its meant to be shared and enjoyed.
Oh and if you find yuorself bitten by the bug and start buying more bottles than you can drink, plan on a huge cellar. Itll become that anyway ;)

Lots of good advice here. My Dad had cellar growing up. I took over the beer & wine dept in my Dad's grocery store after college and figured I should learn something; plus, I knew that I already enjoyed wine.

I subscribed to wine mags, read books, took classes, went to tastings put on by retailers/restaurants, etc... I also tasted just about everything I could get my hands on, too. All the reading is great but always remember the best wine is the wine you like best. Even tough someone from a magazine says its great it may not be great to you.

Oh, and reading the comments of the besotted reprobates on boards like this can also be a great help....

JD

Have to disagree here. Alcohol causes hangovers. Correlation with anything else causing them has yet to be accomplished.

Tender souls might blanche.

Or...you could use common sense and drink a glass of red wine as you would a glass of any white junk ;)

Define "Correlation".

Welcome, Caroline. Here's my first piece of advice for someone getting into wine. Take notes about what you drink and what you taste in it and why you like it. Assigning words to attributes helps you to gauge your pallet and better understand what you'll want to look for in wine.

Beyond that, there are fun things that can help. Acid and Tannin can have similar qualities when you are drinking wine. Get some acid-free orange juice and you'll appreciate what acid brings to the wine. Taste a wet teabag for half a second and you'll get what the tannin brings to the wine.

The book the "Wine Bible" is a general good primer for beginners. Read a lot. The online forums are a good resource but take things with a grain of salt and don't rush out to buy things that each poster extols.

Taste a LOT of wines of ALL styles and varietals. Attend cheap to free tastings like at your local Whole Foods or wine shop. Don't let the price tag influence you on whether you enjoy a wine or not.
On a related note, learn how to spit wine so you don't get wasted at the tastings.

Try to get a group of friends to share in the price of an expensive bottle so you get to try the extravagant bottles that you read about in books and online.

Getting hooked by going to wineries and tasting and learning by reading books (back then Al Gore had yet to invent the internet ). The web today offers a huge resource to draw from, but remember, not everything on the internet is true . I also see a lot more retail tastings where you get to try before you buy. I have been doing this since 1982 and still learning. I just asked the board for info on Prosecco. The wine world is so large you can and do spend a lifetime learning and exploring, that is why it is never dull. Welcome to the insanity.

A true wine geek goes through the following spiritual stages:

Stage 1 "Genesis" - Have an epiphany wine that makes you want to get more serious about wine
Stage 2 "Confusion" - Realize that there are so many bewildering choices that its difficult to decide what to buy
Stage 3 "Discipleship" - Start following the ratings of a respected wine critic as a guide to what to buy
Stage 4 "Cognitive Dissonance" - Do your best to tell yourself that you are actually enjoying all the highly rated wines you are drinking
Stage 5 "Awakening" - Realize that taste in wine is subjective and you need to determine for yourself what you like
Stage 6 "Rage" - What the f*ck am I going to do with all this wine I bought that i don't actually like?
Stage 7 "Dinner Parties" - Unload the wine on friends at non-wine-geek dinner parties. They will likely be impressed as the wines are highly rated.
Stage 8 "The Quest" - Taste, taste and taste some more to see what regions, producers and vintages you like
Stage 9 "Enlightenment" - OMFG! Burgundy!
Stage 10 "Dark Night of the Soul" - OMFG these things are expensive!
Stage 11 "Inner Peace" - German Riesling! And cheap too!

For me, Stage 9 was "RAGE."

I think I need to work that into my signature.

Classic! I went thru it all!

I'm at Stage 11... but there is a Stage 11a: "Relapse" - What are these Goldkapsel and auction thingies and why are they stupidly expensive...yet so tasty?

This is classic! Well done

Now stage 9a leads right to stage 10. WTF am I paying so much for fermented grape juice?

Stage 12 - I am going back to gin. It is not expensive, and it is never corked or heat damaged or suffers from bottle variation.
Stage 13 - you die and go to a place where you drink wines that actually taste the way Parker describes them. No wine is ever corked and you get to drink 82 Mouton and it performs each and every time and it is never shut down...the end

I bet you scared her off now with all that crazy talk

I am ready!!!!



and it's TEMPERATURE controlled!!!

Burial for Pharaohs. Not much demand these days.

I would agree with much as what has been posted. Drink with others as much as possible, so that you can taste a wide range. Taste at wineries and wine stores, and Industry tastings if possible. KNOW what you are tasting, and when you like or dislike something, do a little research to HELP find out what you liked and what you did NOT like. IE: Was it too sweet, too dry, tannins too strong, too much oak, too much vanilla/bubble gum/candyish flavors, or visa versa. What region did it come from. See if you can find out how the vintage was thought of, what grape(s) were used, etc. Be confident in your own opinion for YOU. But at the same time, try to be open to changing how you feel. Try to understand if the wine is too young, or too old, before making a defining judgement.

And always know, that your tastes and opinions WILL change. And enjoy and laugh at those who think they know it all....and in time, that might include yourself.

Good luck.

Welcome to the board! Would echo many of the statements above. Joining a local tasting group is a good way to get exposed to lots of different wines and make new friends. Also, echo the view that experience really is the best teacher, taste as much as possible. Trade tasting can be helpful (generally open to both trade and consumers), like Family Winemakers, Pinot Days, etc. if in the Bay Area. About 200 to 300 producers pouring in one room can be quite educational.

As you explore, take the advise of those with similar palates. As you drink with friends, you may find you have similar likes and dislikes, and they may offer good suggestions. In terms of professional reviewers, there are some good ones, and not so good ones. Relatively new to Burgundy and find Burghound an excellence source for example. Finally, listen to us and ask questions on the board, collectively, we drink A LOT!

Caroline. Mine was slightly different than those already posted.
Have rich friends with amazing cellars that open bottles of 30 year old unbelieveable wines for you and then allow you to bid with them at auctions for said wines as they restock their cellars.
That way you get to bypass stages one through eight and when you finally get to taste Burgundy, you state "who brought this tasteless crap, if I wanted to drink friggin Pinot I would have enjoyed watching that psychopathic movie Sideways?"

That about says it for me, too. I was really helped by reading a couple of general wine books like Wine For Dummies and The Wine Bible. I also taste as much wine as possible. In-store tastings with retailers can help a lot.

Jack, I am afraid you are still too young to get into Burgundy, but not young enough for Sideways
;)

Great stuff, so true. I summed it up as the Four Stages of Riesling, which Caroline will indoubtedly explore:

http://lennthompson.typepad.com/lenndev ... sling.html

So you think I will finally get it when I turn 70 Serge?

why not? My father discovered that younger women may be fun at....79 (she was 73)
:)

I'd never sell you short, Jack!
;)

Its the Burgs I don't get not younger women Serge. I am 60 with a 5 year old son.

Jack, I know your story, we met on eBob, under different name!

Wanna friendly $1 bet that in 5 years you'll smack yourself on a head and ask yourself:
How the hell I didn't like Burgs!?

I can give you odds 2:1 , that's how I am sure about it!


...and I will NEVER bet that eventually you'll get Sideways. I only make SAFE bets!
;)

I still consider myself a beginner, but here is how I'm approaching the learning process. Of course, YMMV. Buy the Hugh Johnson wine atlas. Taste as many different wines as possible, from as many different regions/vintages/producers/appellations. For each wine you taste, look up where it is from, what grapes compose it, the character of the vintage, anything you can about the producer and importer, etc. Sign up for Cellartracker and try to write tasting notes, no matter how brief, on wines you taste (or as many as possible). Read some books and this board.

This exercise is greatly facilitated by an exceptional wine store with knowledgeable staff. In the absence of a great store, I have found it helpful to buy wine based upon trusted importers, who can serve as de facto sommeliers. Some of my favorites include Kermit Lynch, Neal Rosenthal, Weygandt-Metzler, Dressner, and Terry Thiese. There are of course many more of note.

Good stuff all but I'm surprised that there has been little or no discussion of wine and food. (Maybe I've read through too quickly.)

Me, I love wine with and without food. There will be those who will tell you that wine is best only with food. Ignore them. Wine is best...well when it's best. I often prefer to drink my "best" wines without food and then pair them with the meal. Sometimes they taste better with the food and sometimes not.

It adds another wonderful and fun angle to wine. For example finding that Asian cuisine (boy is that frigging broad -- apologies ahead of time) can go really well with Gewurztraminer and other aromatic whites. Or that you really love Zins with BBQ. Or the white wine with blah-blah-blah and red wine with zlah-zlah-zlah rule is a bunch of bull.

As to the reading part. I started with tons of reading. I love the history, the role of wine in society, yada, yada. It's fun but not necessary.

Berry, you should make T-shirts with that list of the Stages on it. Add one though: "Moscato d'Asti" 'cause chicks dig it!

Caroline.

Welcome to WB.

I got my start in the late 80's when I started going to California on biz trips. FYI, I was in my mid-30's, late by board standards. At the time, chard was the big drink. People who ordered this were considered 'in the know' (by this New Yorker). On my 2nd trip, a biz associate introduced me to Kendall Jackson. It was a revelation, and only 10 bucks. Remember, as a college student, I grew up on 5 dollar swill (although it wasn't swill at the time).

One of the boutique hotels that I stayed at in San Francisco offered free wine in the late afternoon. They also had the current issue of Wine Spectator available. Hmmm. Seemed like a good way to learn about wine.

As the WSJ wine writers would say, read and taste, taste, taste. Explore. This is the only way to learn about wine. That would have been my advice in 1990. Today, I'd tell you to follow the same advice... and read the various wine bulletin boards (sorry Todd). Even if everyone here writes about some good/great wine, it may not be to your liking. As for me, I still don't like Italian wines, and i've tasted some 'expensive' stuff.

Anyway, after my Kendall Jackson (KJ) revelation, I started tasting new wines. Some that I purchased at random, and some that I read about. From here, I took it up a notch and bought $15 chards. Hmmm. I liked them, but was getting bored. Have you ever tried at Viongner or a Gwertz? Plenty of those available at all price points.

Sometime in the mid-90's, I had my first ohh/ahh wine. It was a Cain Five Meritage (sounds like heritage). And while you're at it, google the pronounciation of viogner. It's Vee -on-yay. This wine opened my eyes to the wine world.

There would have been a time that I had a couple of emergency bottles in the house (all priced at $10 - $15). These days I have 125 bottles (a drop in the bucket compared with others); with the average value in the low $40's (a drop in the bucket compared with the others).

I've read.
I've tasted.
I've gone to offlines; and suggest you do the same. For the admission charge of the cost of the bottle of wine, it will be an eye opening experience. The only downside is that you have to hang out with these people. I didn't say it's a perfect world.

d

Bill,

For some reason I can never see anything you post...as I'm always too busy gawking at your avatar.