You NEVER have to feel lost or overwhelmed in front of a wine list EVER again.
We’ve all been there, staring at the wine section blindly trying to decipher which bottle is the best one for us – or worse, for others. It feels embarrassing to be bullied by wine labels, lists and snobs.
This post (and my new best-selling book, Wine Snobs Are Boring) is for you if you are, like me, allergic to wine snobs. Whenever one is around, I suffer from chronic and uncontrollable eye-rolling. Having studied wine for more than a decade, I know for certain that the more any rational person knows about wine, the more they learn they don’t know very much at all. It’s a humbling pursuit.
Learning about wine is only fun if you realize from the beginning that you will never know it all. If you can feel the freedom in that statement, then you are ready to learn more. I’ve put this post together to give you a few insider tips and tricks to pick the best wine for you and feel confident while doing it.
The 6 Steps to Wine Confidence
Learn Your Palate and forget about everyone else.
I can’t count the thousands of glasses of wine I have served to people over the past dozen years who initially said something like, “I don’t like wine,” or “I don’t know which wines I like.” I can give you a succinct palate profile in two questions (get that here)… or you can do the fun trial and error for yourself by trying new wines until you find what you like and then…
Ask questions to learn what you like and why you like it.
Sometimes you have to ask questions instead of going home and Googling them. Google can’t tell you WHY you like something. Befriend your bartender/wine-store-guy/grocer and ask them to explain the grape/region/style to you. Ask them questions that feel silly like, “What do you mean by Full-Bodied?” Wine culture has certain vocabulary that is completely esoteric. You can either cower in a corner at the sound of lingo like “robust, jammy, oaky, or acidic;” or you can get in the game and make your own words up. This is a medium based entirely on sharing personal perspective, so take creative control and see if you can enjoy the interplay of making up your own sensual language around wine.
Forget the technical stuff, just focus on Loving the moment.
I always tell people that general wine production knowledge isn’t really necessary in the beginning of your journey with wine. I’ll argue that the way wine has been taught for a century is exactly backwards, which is why I created the PALATE system for learning how to enjoy wine like a true hedonist. Swirl, smell, gulp, sip… do what you think is the most fun. Stay in the moment. That’s the whole point.
Go on a taste Adventure!
Did you know there are wineries in all 50 states of the US? Find your nearest winery and go to their tasting room (repeat steps 1-3). Find a new region or grape at your wine store and ask if it fits your palate – again, based on what you know you like… not on anyone else.
The Technical stuff can add a layer, for sure.
You might want to know why different grapes taste different, or what terroir is, or how bubbles get into Champagne, or why sulfites exist (did you know there are more sulfites in your french fries than your French wine?)… this is the technical side of tasting. It’s worth knowing – but it’s only worth knowing after you’ve found the wines that match your palate (thereby creating a point of reference for the technical mumbo-jumbo).
Get the Education that suits you
In my book I give you a rundown of the 5 key ways to learn wine… from free to PhD. Make sure you choose the right one for you… of course I recommend my book as a great starting point.
Snobs think their palates are somehow “better” than the rest of us mere mortals, which is total bunk. Having served thousands of glasses of wine to people varying from virginal to vertiginously above my level of technical knowledge, I believe fundamentally that every palate is its own filter for an experience. It’s totally possible that the “best” wine in the world won’t be exciting to you simply because it doesn’t match your palate.
That’s where my book is different. This book is a somewhat rebellious, definitely precocious guide to unlearning the myths and misperceptions that may have held you back from experiencing the deepest pleasure, the widest outstretched freedom, and the sweetest sense of thriving that can come from the self-confidence given by the grapevine.
Enjoy, and ask any questions below, I’ll try my best to answer them all.