REVIEW - PAUL ZINCK GRAND CRU PFERSIGBERG 2008

 REVIEW - 2008 Riesling Paul Zinck Grand Cru Pfersigberg

Alsace, France
SKU: 722356  

Origin: France  |  Alsace
Agent: Crush Imports

I've become more than just a little familiar with this wine but I came across it again not too long ago and was startled to be reminded just how much I liked it. It's done up by the same makers of the Pink Zinck Cremant (I know, who would have guessed right?) and that was my "go to" bubbly for an entire summer a few years back. Now, I'm not a huge Riesling fan, but this is definitely one that makes me think twice about blanket statementing a varietal.

In the glass – It is clear medium lemon with just a hint of green around the rim, but it may have been the office lighting.

On the nose - This wine has a medium intensity, with key notes of smoky petrol, orange and lime peel. With clear over all stone fruit, floral, and honey.

On the Palate – dry, and just a smidge less then high acid. Yes, that's a technical term. It had great flavors of fresh green fruit, pears, kiwi, pine apple. Just lots of warmer citrus fruit all around. It really reminded me of the canned fruit salad that you had as a kid. It's fine fruit was complimented with  a smooth minerality, and a touch of petrol. Over all this wine had a medium body, medium finish with a 12.5% alcohol

 This wine is, and has been for a while, very good in my books, and will probably be very good for at least another 5 years. It should run you less than $35 in a store

For me this would go with any kind of seafood, and spice. Like sushi. Also it would be great with English style fish and chips.

Cheers!

Chardonnay - the white grape of domination

Chardonnay; sweet, sweet chardonnay. How we all love you so.

Statistically speaking of course.

So, on day two we went over the fine and the filthy of Chardonnay. Which is supposedly the world's most purchased grape. I don't have a stat for that; it's just what I was told. But it seems believable enough. But why is that? Why are people buying this grape? It's not overly aromatic on its own; it’s generally very neutral over all. Nothing to write home about. It is however incredibly versatile. It can grow in almost any climate and in any number of soils. In the world of grapes it's like Wolverine; (from X-men, don't make the "I don't know what you're talking about" eyebrows. I know you’re just as geeky as me), indestructible and universally cool. Actually it’s probably closer to Mystique, and her ability to transform and shape-shift to her environment. Yeah. Mystique. Totally.

Chardonnay is grown all over the world, but it is best known for is classic regions like White Burgundy, Chablis, Cote d'Or and Marcoconais.  So let's start there.

White Burgundy - this is where you are going to see the most expensive and the best expression of Chardonnay in the world, undoubtedly. What determines the price? Well, that is determined by what's written on the label. Prices vary according to which region, district, village and vineyard the wine is made from.  Specifically we have Chablis; the key to Chablis is to know that it is a bone dry white wine. Which I love. It's a crisp, refreshing, cool climate white. With high acid, austere green fruit and citrus, and notable limestone minerals. And it's got its own rating system - Grand Cru (being the very best), Premier Cru (being exceptional in its own right) and Village Level (which is still a Burgundy wine and still amazing but not as good as Premier Cru).  Then we have the Cote d'Or; there are a few “smaller” regions included in this - we have the Cote de Beane, Puligny - Montrachet, and Mersault. These wines are typically fuller bodied, oaked and are a reference point to most chardonnays on the market. In Maconnais we have the warmest Burgundy climate because it is the furthest south. In here we see the sub regions of Poully-Fuisse and Macon. Because of the warmer climate, we see a larger volume produced and more of a tropical fruit expression - but it's also a bit simpler of a wine. Not necessarily a bad thing because some of these top notch Burgundy wines will cost you well over a thousand dollars a bottle. So selection is good for the non-millionaires among us.

Some other regions where we find excellent expressions from Chardonnay are Australia (Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills and Margret River), New Zealand (Hawks Bay, Gisborne, and Marlborough), throughout North America in places like California (costal, Sonoma or Carneros), Chile (Casablanca Valley), Argentina (Mendoza) and South Africa (Walker Bay Ward).

Wine making technique plays a huge part in how a Chardonnay is going to taste. It can be tampered with a little or a lot, and its ability to stand up to this tampering is why it’s often called the Photoshop grape. You can take a Chardonnay that is less than what it should be, and makes changes to it after the fact. This can be a good thing, and this can be a bad thing. 

Some of the techniques that we see being used are the use of malolatci fermentation, which creates a buttery cream quality to a wine; it can also be used to soften some of the harsh tannins in a wine from the oaking process. Another one that we see is the Lees. These are the dead yeast cells kept behind after fermentation. These are stirred in to add creamy and savory notes similar to the malolactic fermentation. There is also the (over) use of oak to give wines a toasted, vanilla, coconut, spice flavor. It also adds tannin and gives a wine structure and helps with its age ability. A lot of the new world wines will state the kind of oak they use. A good guideline is that American oak is like American culture – big, fast-acting, sweet flavors that can leave you feeling a bit shocked. And French oak is like French culture – laid back, slow to integrate but generally better in the long term*.

Another thing that winemakers do is ferment in stainless steel and just add oak shavings, chips, dust, and even something called “oak essences”, all of which progressively cheaper then the last. And you can taste the difference. But by using things like oak essence we are able to get bottles of oaked Chardonnay for under 10$.

The above fermentation is seen most often in bulk production for inexpensive Chardonnay, but it’s fairly easy to spot even if you don’t know the price point and have never tried the wine. It’s cheaper to pull grapes from a number of locations than it is to take it from one specific vineyard. However, the areas being sourced from need to be named at least in a general sense. They are often sold as  “South Eastern Australia”, “Western Cape”, “California”, ‘Chile”, or “Vin de France”. Another way that makers cut costs in bulk production is to blend in other less desirable grapes in with the Chardonnay, like Semillon, which adds acidity and citrus notes.

Over all, I imagine Chardonnay to be less like Photoshop and more like one of those play-dough sets in the hands of a 6 year old. Where the medium holds whatever shape the kid gives it. However, you may feel obligated to praise the child for making you this creation, even though you really aren’t sure what the hell it’s supposed to be.

Cheers!

*This is just my being bias to a preference of French oak, so you should try a few and see what you like.

REVIEW – 2008 GILBERT PICQ & SES FILES PREMIER CRU VOSGROS CHABLIS, FRANCE

REVIEW – 2008 GILBERT PICQ & SES FILES PREMIER CRU VOSGROS CHABLIS, FRANCE           

SKU: 737386  

Agent: Galileo Wine & Spirits Ltd.

In the Glass – clear, pale to medium lemon

On the Nose – clean light to medium intensity, white citrus fruit, with some honey and buttered popcorn on the nose. It’s obvious that this is a cool climate gem.

On the Palate – This wine is dry, with medium to high acid, light to med body, citrus, gooseberry, stone and steely quality. With solid minerality (like oyster shells), orchard fruit, some tropical notes. It has a strong to medium finish.

The winery of Domaine Gilbert Picq et Ses Fils in the village of Chichée. They make this very terrior driven premier cru of Vosgros, from the family’s oldest premier cru vines. The label is now run by two brothers, Didier and Pascal, and sister Marilyn Picq Gilbert after their father retired. The vines they govern are between thirty-five and forty years old.

In Chichée, Vaucoupin is a highly regarded premier cru on the right bank (east side) of the river Serein. The slopes along the Serein River face primarily due south. All seven of Chablis’ grand crus are also on the right bank. This is the steepest section of the vineyard, on a 45 degree slope, obviously its all cared for and harvested by hand. The soil is what gives this wine the oyster shell character because of the slat quality of the soil. Over all right bank premier crus produce heftier and more masculine styled wines and the left bank has more of a feminine and elegant flavor

My closing thoughts - This is a fantastic Chablis, rich austere and great lively acidity. But it can use some more time in the bottle to age. However if you cant wait I would recommend you decant it and give it an hour or two.  This wine will run you less then $45 and would be a great addition to any celler.

Cheers!

WSET Intermediate Day 1 - Hook, Line and Sinker

So! Class one. Exciting stuff!

On day one of my WSET I think one of the best things that I walked away with is the wine tasting and evaluation technique. I kind of went over this when I talked about the foundation course, but this is a more in depth way of breaking it down. You can of course go much further than what I’m going to talk about here, but it’s a great way of distinguishing it from just red white or pink.

How do we break it down? It comes in 3 stages once it’s in the glass: how it looks, what it smells like and how it tastes.

It starts with a look. Regardless of red or white wine you’re going to be looking at the wines clarity, intensity and colour. With clarity you need to take into account if it’s clear or hazy  (turbid). The best advice I was given with this is to put the glass of wine over some writing. Can you see through it? Yes, ok, if it’s an inky wine it’s going to have too much tannin in it but use your best judgment. Next is intensity, is the colour pale, medium or deep intensity. This one is hard to describe in words, but try to think of it like this. Grammas dusty rose couch vs. generic pink vs. electric Barbie lipstick pink. Each one is its own distinct intensity of the same concept of pink. Finally in the glass we see the colour of the wine – red, white, and rose. Colour can indicate age in a wine, but that’s another topic for another day. Each one can be broken down further. In white we range from lemon to gold to amber, in rose we get pink to salmon to orange and in reds we get purple to ruby to garnet to tawny. There are of course a MILLION other options in addition to these, but I feel that WSET and I try to use the same lines when analyzing a wine. KISS – keep it simple, stupid.

Next up we have the nose, how does the wine smell? Does it smell clean, clear and identifiable? Or does it smell muddled and off? How’s the intensity? Is it light and reserved in the glass? Do you need to swirl the crap out of it to make the wine come you? Medium where it comes to you or pronounced where the sucker hits you from across the table with big fruit, floral, spices, vegetables, or oak aromas? This is also where we are going to find our first real fault; cork taint. WSET estimates that between 2-5% of bottles with corks has cork taint. That seems really low to me. I would guess that more than that are off, but people just don’t know what the wine they are drinking should taste like. Cork taint is most easily identifiable by the wet cardboard smell. Not pleasant.

Finally we have the palate. How do we break down all those flavors into the good, the bad and the ugly? WSET recommends that you do it like this. Start with sweetness, is it dry, off-dry, medium or sweet. Sugar is first registered on the palete at approximately 4grams of sugar per liter, which with all things considered it a fair amount of sugar, so sometimes when we think we taste sweetness in a wine it may just be the fruit. Acidity is next; this is the balancing force with sugar. We describe acidity in a range of low, medium and high. A good indicator is how your tongue feels after the wine has left your mouth. Does your mouth water along the sides? If so how much, acidity makes a wine feel bright and refreshing and it makes your mouth water. Next we have tannins and like acidity it’s measured in a low to high scale - but this isn’t just for red wine. Because a lot of white wines are oaked they gather tannins from the types of oaks they are fermented or aged in. Keep this in mind when tasting some buttery chardonnays.

Next we have body, this can be described as light, medium and full. This is the key to most food pairings and is why a light body red can go just as well with a fish as a big oaky white will stand up to red meat or heavy sauce.

Next we have flavors but lets do this with length, which is just as important. We can get hints, memories and nuances of almost any flavor, good or bad, on a wine. Some wines are going to be true to there varietals or regional flavors while some blends will leave you guessing and reaching in all directions for a hand full of different flavors. But what matters is narrowing it down, going from fruit to stone fruit to peach. Build up your own flavor and memory banks, try new things; you’d be amazed at the way it comes out in a wine. And length ties in to this a lot. So you taste peaches on a wine, so what if it’s gone in less than 5 seconds? (That would be a short finish) what if it tastes like dirt and it lasts for over 3 minutes? (That would be a long finish) the length of the wine should reflect the wine itself, specifically the quality. As far as measuring a length of time, I would say it’s mostly instinctual, but a 1-2 minute finish is where I like my wines because I typically try to pair food.

Before any of this can really be done, rather, before it can be done accurately, you need to make sure you’re in the right circumstances to taste. You need to not be sick, or have coffee breath, and please don’t have a smoke before you taste. Yes after a time these flavors become part of the back ground and you can say they wont impede your tasting and flavors. But what if you’re tasting a 1992 Freemark Abbey, where it’s got that gentle tobacco finish? It’s going to get lost ‘cause you’re used to that taste of cigarette tobacco on your pallet. Or espresso in a merlot after a tall triple shot mocha latte, or anything that offers small wisps of animal or telling the differences between cooked and stewed fruit when your sick and your senses are dulled. Not judging, just sayin’. I’m not to say don’t do have your cigar or your banana nut muffin, everyone’s got their own vice, but maybe don’t mix those vices with the wine.

Cheers!

REVIEW – 2008 FISHER CHARDONNAY

REVIEW – 2008 FISHER CHARDONNAY

SKU: 1081843  

Agent: Richmond Hill Wines

In the Glass – clear, deep lemon.

On the Nose – medium to pronounced aromas of oak, charred and smoky wood, pineapple, ripe/baked fruit  (clearly warm climate grapes) with notes of honey and cream.

On the Palate – I found this wine dry with medium acid, medium to full body. It has flavors of tropical fruit, apple pie, clove/cinnamon, butter, (lee stirring) weighty and richness with a strong to medium finish. It has a noticeable bitter/burnt finish, which is from the warmer climate.

This wine is 100% Chardonnay sourced out of the Oak Knoll district of Napa. They use yeast that’s present in the vineyard and facilities and they use 100% French Oak to age for 14 months. Now I have a bit of an opinion on American wine (and Canadian wine too for that matter).  Its considered new world, because we haven’t been making wine for as long as the rest of the world has. I’m sure there is a more technical reason for it but that’s basically what it equates to. Because we haven’t been doing it as long we don’t know what exactly which grapes work in all the different regions we have here. Which is fine. But I think a lot of the California producers have jumped on this Chardonnay bandwagon for the instant revenue when they should be trying to branch out to varietals that would better suit their land and help thin out an already saturated market. Every ones got an oaky Chardonnay in Napa. Everyone. Its like going through your sex ed. class in high school. We’re not really sure how putting the rubber on a banana is helpful but everyone has done it.

In the end I don’t think $42 for this wine is a far price unless you were really hard up and really want oaked Chardonnay, and even then I would probably point you to another one. But that’s just my personal preference. Yes, it has a full mouth feel, yes it has tropical fruit and yes it had the butter from the oak. But it didn’t blow me away; it didn’t really stand out or draw me in. it was just too simple to be in that price point. If some one ordered it for me I would certainly be happy enough to have it, but I wouldn’t order it my self.

Cheers

REVIEW - 2007 BISCHOFLICHE AYLER KUPP RIESLING SPATLESE

 REVIEW  -  2007 BISCHOFLICHE Ayler Kupp RIESLING SPATLESE

SKU: 705326  

Agent: Trialto Wine Group Ltd.

In the Glass – clear pale to medium lemon with almost no legs or coating on the rim

On the Nose – light/ medium intensity. I got a lot of stone fruit, ripe melon and sweet fruit like over ripe pineapple, mandarins and late harvest apples.

On the Palete – off dry, balanced, with medium body, which I attribute to the higher sweetness. With flavors of peach stewed fruit, and your basic Riesling flavors and a medium finish.

I would serve this with just about any white meat, or with anything spicy, and at 25$ a pop it’s not bad to have with Thai take out at home. Not that I would know anything about that…

The front of this bottle advertises that it’s a Saar wine. What is a Saar wine?

Good question.

German has 13 wine regions that are sub divided into smaller regions. Saar is a sub district of Mosel. It’s a collection of steep southern slopes along the Saar River in the north and follows the river down where it eventually feeds into the Mosel river. This division occurred in 1998. It’s just a young’en in the Germany senses of wine making. I’m not sure why but labeling a wine from its mini district has fallen out of style so we typically only see things like “Mosel” on the bottle. I like that this one is proud of where it comes from.

Cheers!

REVIEW - NV MARTINI & ROSSI ASTI (D.O.C.G.)

REVIEW - NV MARTINI & ROSSI ASTI (D.O.C.G.)

SKU: 1875

Agent: Bacardi Canada Inc.

In the Glass – Clear but pale lemon yellow with soda sizes bubble coming up the side of the glass. It immediately stuck me as something that had been carbonated after the fact because of soda pop look it had.

On the Nose – clean, light with a strong peachy fruit and floral aroma. It just kind of lays the cards out for you on that one and I didn’t get much more.

On the Palate - stone fruit and peaches with a touch of citrus, medium sweetness, aggressive and prickly bubbles; this is due to the tank fermentation, light to medium weight. Over all this one strikes me like a honey soda. Sort of mixed with the pineapple crush that the Newfies drink.

Over all, it’s pretty easy to drink, either sipping with appys or to finish a meal but I like my bubbly on the dry to very dry side so it’s just a touch too sweet for me. But a nice cheap treat at under 15$ a bottle on the shelf.

This Asti is made from the Moscato Bianco grape and is actually DOCG certified. Which surprised me because its sooo mass-produced that I thought they would have to source out for the grapes. Here's a quote from their web site.

“MARTINI® Asti is crafted from 100% handpicked* Moscato Bianco grapes, grown in Northern Italy. It is ranked D.O.C.G. (denomination of controlled and guaranteed origin), the highest classification granted to Italian wines. Its aroma will lure you in like a siren’s song, boasting fruity and floral notes. Sparking on the tongue, the natural sweetness of the grapes comes through with full flavor and wonderful texture. Recommended for after dinner, pairing with cakes and other desserts or sweet fruits.”

The more I researched Martini & Rossi the more respect I had for them as a mass production organization. From what I can tell the business was family started and Rossi’s sons took it over in 1982, then his grand sons took it over in 1930. In 1977 the company became part of the “General Beverage Corporation”. Then in 1993 they merged with Bacardi. I’m not sure when the Martini Vermouth came to be a part of it but no doubt that was a huge win for Bacardi. 1993 was also when the asti received it DOCG designation.

Cheers!

*I don’t mean to be rude but I highly doubt that this is accurate simply because of the price point; handpicking grapes is VERY expensive. So unless they have a team of fiddler elves picking grapes for them out of the kindness of their heart this would be near impossible to achieve. Not judging, just sayin’.

REVIEW - NV CHAMPAGNE DEVAUX GRANDE RESERVE

REVIEW - NV  CHAMPAGNE DEVAUX GRANDE RESERVE

SKU: 1082284 

Agent: Tandem Wine Selection Inc.

Here we have a champagne by Veuve A. Devaux  which from  Champagne, France

In the Glass - This wine is a pale yellow with a bit of gold, bit is almost clear. It has fine lines of bubbles rising through the glass. It's really very pretty to see.

On the Nose – clean, light and bright with strong fruit and bready notes . Stone fruit such as peach are easy to pick out along with some honey and light floral

On the Palate - Fine smooth bubbles over the tongue, and flavors keeping with its stone fruit and biscuit nose. Dry with medium acidity, light to medium body, medium length. Its weight is due to the fact that this wine is done in the traditional champagne method.

Due to the nature of champagne and legal requirements it is a blend of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay higher than average proportion of about 30% of reserve wines. All of which is matured in oak barrels

According to Wikipedia The Devaux Champagne house has been part of the legend of Champagne since the mid 19th. Century. Founded by the Devaux brothers, Jules and Auguste, the company was how ever controlled by a widow named Madame Veuve Augusta Devaux. She was one of the famous ladies of Champagne who directed their companies with great energy and talent and one of the select band of widows seeming to hold the key to Champagne during the nineteenth century. Because of the talent and energy that she put in her work the people that came after her inscribed her name on the facade of the house in Epernay to continue her memory. It was in 1986 it was decided to entrust the future of The Devaux Champagne house to Union Auboise, which is one of the largest groups of Champagne growers in area of Domaine de Villeneuve at Bar sur Seine. Since then  Devaux has been a co-operative label.

At under 60$ on the retail shelf I would drink this one fresh with appetizers, popcorn, chicken, oysters or anything... really.

Wine and You - The Restaurant

Carrying on with a series of ideas on how we interpret the commodity of wine, we have wine and the restaurant. As I said in the consumer-based post, there are a much higher percentage of people that are open to trying something new. Because most people treat dining out as a ‘new experience’ they become more open to the inspirations and suggestions of their fellow diners and service staff.  This gives us the ability to discuss, segue and over all generate conversation over a bottle, or glass, of wine and is an often-utilized tactic with people that you may not know or like. How do I know? Because I’ve used it.

For a restaurant there are many things to consider for their wine service, from staff knowledge and incentive to sell, wine makers dinners and tastings, the actually wine list and wine availability and how it goes together with their menu and atmosphere.

A restaurants service staff is like its front lines. They immediately reflect how much time and care the establishment has put into their wine. You want them trained, in how to serve wine, not just properly but with style, you want them knowledgeable and most importantly you want them to SELL. And I say that with no shame. Wine is a commodity, just as cars, paintings and toilet paper is. So you just gotta sell it.

So how do restaurants sell it? First and foremost you want your staff to know about the wines that you carry. From my personal experience in this side of the industry I know that most of the restaurants that pride themselves on their wine list will do tastings with their staff on all their wines by the glass. They can have different companies, some retailers and some importers, that will come in and train them on wines that they do by the bottle.  I LOVED these events, and quite honestly it’s where I started. I feel that providing staff training is not only good for sales but also very much drives staff moral. ‘Cause who wouldn’t want a glass of wine after work once a week? During these tastings we can also address staff incentive – “ if you sell the most glasses of XYZ wine then you get a free bottle to take home”. Uhhh Score! This is even more motivation for the staff to get out there, get educated and sell it to the patrons.

But how does the specific selling work? Way back when I was a server *insert flash back sequences here* I would often start out by trying to get to know my customer, seeing what they were in the mood for, even if they didn’t know the what they were ordering to eat yet. From there I would make a few suggestions and tell them why.  This is where a lot of food pairing knowledge came in handy. But more often than not it didn’t matter what they were having as long as I knew about the wine. For example (and I don’t mean to step on any toes here) the wines produced by Blasted Church in BC, were super easy to sell because they blew up a church; hence the name. Of course, my selling it was much more then “it got blowed up” but it made for a nifty story. And stories lead to conversation, conversations lead to memorable experiences and now suddenly you have a restaurant that has become a part of an experience. What greater publicity can you ask for?

Now, depending on the restaurant, there may be the possibility of wine makers dinners. This is where a wine maker, or producer actually comes in to the restaurant and host a dinner for 10 – 25 people. Typically the menu is crafted to specifically match the wines that the host represents.  They are an immense amount of fun and incredibly informative. If you ever get the chance to go to one of these – JUMP ON IT. You won’t regret it, I promise.  Typically tickets to these events are all inclusive. As in, they include dinner, drinks and typically as well gratuity.

The most essential item that a restaurant has in selling wine, aside from their staff, is their wine list. Just in case you don’t know what a wine list is lets go to wiki for a definition.

“A wine list is a menu of wine selections for purchase, typically in a restaurant setting. A restaurant may include a list of available wines on its main menu, but usually provides a separate menu just for wines. Wine lists in the form of tasting menus and wines for purchase are also offered by wineries and wine stores.”

Typically a wine list is built by the restaurants’ sommelier but there are some companies that offer this services to places that don’t employ sommeliers. Over all, an effective wine list covers all counties and appellations - within reason - and it accents, highlights and in some cases, compensates for their food menu. For example, if there is a lot of red meat on the menu, then you wont see a lot of white wine on the list. If there is a lot of spicy food, then you’re going to see a higher proportion of sweet wines on the list.

The retailer(s) the restaurants buy their wine from and also the availability to get the wines in the province (or state) can limit a wine list. However, a good wine list will have enough selection to compensate in the event of a shortage, or it should be updated to include wines that they can get. Over all a wine list is can be viewed like the restaurants resume of wines.

In general for what a wine is to a restaurant is still a commodity, but just like a painting it needs to fit with is surrounds and accent the decorum. A lot of time and preparation goes into the training of the people who sell and serve it, its availability to be sold and the way it interacts with the other components of the diners’ experience. Finely picked and cared for it can truly make a great restaurant exceptional.

Cheers!

Wine and You - The Consumer

So I’m all set to start my WSET level 2 in the next 3 weeks.  But before I start up on all that fun stuff, I want to discuss with you a series of ideas on how we interpret the commodity of wine as consumers, retailers, restaurants, importers and makers. These aspects are all very much related.

First, and most importantly in my opinion, we have wine and the consumer. I am a wine consumer, and if you’re reading this blog, then I can only assume that you have consumed wine yourself. If not, then you should, I definitely recommend it.

When we go into a liquor store or a restaurant, what exactly are we looking for in a wine? Do we know what we want or do we let inspiration take us? Do we actually see it as an experience we are purchasing, be it the flavor of the wine or the company and atmosphere we whish to propagate?

Yes and no… ehh, lets go with “kinda”.

I think as a consumer we are looking for something that does speak to our specific taste and when we go shopping for a wine in a store, none of us bring a strict shopping list but we do have a motivation. Be it price point, varietal or food to go with it, we have something in mind. It’s not often we just magically find our selves in a liquor store with our eyes closed as we blindly fumble down the isle playing musical chairs with our wines. How ever entertaining that notion may be.

I would estimate that 4 out of 5 times that a normal consumer buys a wine from a liquor store, they have gone in for a purpose; be it a brand they recognize or a pairing they’ve been told about.  It’s safe. There is a list to follow. Just in and out. Hopefully there’re no lines.

But that 1 out of 5, and honestly them ain’t bad odds, will meander through the store, picking which isle to go down and looking at labels and reading descriptions. Waiting for a gem to call out to them so they can try something new. I think the BEST wine shops hire people that do that themselves. Because it takes one to know one. And while the staff may lose 15 minutes discussing 2003 California wines, the consumer is going to be happy as a clam, and satisfied with their experience even if they don’t take to the wine they’ve bought. And heaven forbid if one of these wine pioneers finds the boutique and high-end wine! The racks become library shelves and hours can be lost.

However when a consumer buys a wine in a restaurant, there is a much higher percentage that are open to trying something new. Most people I believe treat dining out as a ‘new experience’ and open to the inspirations and suggestions of their dining guests and service staff.  The whole notion of going out and ordering a bottle of wine with dinner, or even just a glass, is seen as an event and people are with peers where they can discuss this new experience.

I think a wine that will ultimately appeal to a consumer is one that they know about, which is hard, because lets face it. Wine isn’t self-explanatory. There are so many label variations, varietals, appellations and years that it simply cant be helped that you don’t know what the stuff in the bottle is going to taste like. I think some of the best ways to counteract this is simply to educate yourself. Ask your friends, what wines they drink what they like in wine and why. Or ask your store clerk, or your server. If you’re too shy to ask, or if you are unfortunate enough to have been dealing with someone who knows less then you do, then Google is going to be your best friend. But even then, it’s not like buying a liter of Pepsi, where it’s the same flavor every time. Get informed on your wines and keep an open mind. Just as it is with most product choices; you wouldn’t go with the first insurance company you found, you’d shop around and see what other quotes you could get and educate yourself.

And yes, I know for most people picking a wine isn’t as important as insurance. Well, maybe for me it is. Kinda.

Cheers!