Getting to Know Wine

by A beginer

     About 6 months ago I knew very little about wine other than I liked it. The experience of drinking wine was different ever time, which was exciting for me. So I began a quest to learn more as well as share my wine experience with others. As I am relativly young my budget would not allow me to start with the "better" wines on the market, so I started with what I like to call "budget wines" or as my father calls them "house wines". These are wines that are in the price range of $6 to $15. I already had a beverage store with a large selection of wine, so all I had to do is start buying and drinking them.
     I decides to start on the low end of the wine spectrum, buying bottles in the $6 to $8 price range. I suprised to find a large variety to choose from. I found that choosing wines from some of the less popular wine producing countries you can find some very good wines that are realy cheap. I started out buying wine form Spain and South America. Because these regions are just becoming widly available, the retailers are able to offer them at a much lower price than similar wine from say, Califoria or France.
    As I started to go through bottles and refine my tastes, I relized I could remember all the bottles I was drinking. That of course led me to th building of this website. Here, each time I open a bottle I enter it into my wine log. From there I can enter tasting notes and reviews so I will never forget what I thought of that one particular wine. When I look back I wish I would have started this list sooner, as I drank and threw out many bottles before this site was up and running.
    My process for selecting a wine is very simple. I think of the occasion I am buying the wine for; Is it a party? Is this a bottle I will drink alone? Or maybe I'm having quests over. If I will be serving this bottle to others I want a wine that has been tested. This reminds me of something Michael Douglas' character from 'Ghost and the Darkness' said, "You never go into battle with an untested weapon.". When serving wine, make sure it is a wine you have tasted so you know you'll guest will at the very least be drinking something that is paletable. On the other hand if I am drinking alone or with my girlfriend, I will choose a wine I have never had. First, just to try another label, second to broaden my tasting experience, and third to add another wine to my list. If I hate the wine, I add it and make a note to never buy it again. If I love the wine I have found something I enjoy drinking as well as a suggestion for other via this website. You should ub=nderstand that I am still a beginer at this whole wine culture, so I am currently trying as many different varieties as I can. Another major factor for my selection is price. I am always looking for a deal. Most wine stores will run specials or buys of the week. Definatly take advantage of these deals, you will be suprised to find some excelent wine for a very reasonable price.
    Once you have bought 10 or 20 bottles you'll start to see the range of wines that are available. When this happened to me I started to focus on one region for a period of time. First I started with Spain. I found many wines in my price range from Spain, some good, some not so good. This is an excelant way to learn what types of wines come from what areas. You'll also start to learn about the grapes used in each wine. Read the labels of each bottle. Is this bottle a blend of multiple grapes? Or is it made of only one varietal. You'll start to recongnize names like cabrenet, tempranillo, merlot, and bordeaux.
    Start with these suggestions and form your own wine path. Remember, drinking wine is about you and the wine. Some may like a particular wine, some may not. It's all a matter of taste. Don't let some wine snob bully you into buying a $100 botlle of Silver Oak when your not ready for it. Start small and when you do fianlly make it to the 'best' wines you'll appriciate them that much more.