Learning about wine

WINE TALK
21

Onion: Man Blames Hangover on Everything But How Much He Drank

22

For me, Stage 9 was “RAGE.”

23

[worship.gif]

I think I need to work that into my signature.

24

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?

25

This is classic! Well done [winner.gif]

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

26

I bet you scared her off now with all that crazy talk [wink.gif]

27

Burial for Pharaohs. Not much demand these days.

28

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.

29

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!

[berserker.gif]

30

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?” [swoon.gif]

31

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.

32

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

New York Cork Report: The Four Stages of Riesling" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

33

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

34

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

35

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.

36

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.

37

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

38

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). [grin.gif]

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). [truce.gif] 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. [rofl.gif] I didn’t say it’s a perfect world. [truce.gif]

d

39

Bill,

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