Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips

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Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 2/29/2024 11:11:27 AM

Ibetian

Posts: 3568
Joined: 7/15/2007
From: Sarasota, FL and the Berkshires
Status: offline

Inspired by the enduring popularity of annerk’s “under $15” thread and recent posts by those new to collecting, I thought it might be useful to start threads that can be used by anyone, but especially those new to wine.

So I’ll start a series of threads of Recommended Wines at various price points: under $30, 30-50, 50-100, and over $100. Of course, everyone has different financials constraints. For the vast majority of drinkers in the world, $30 would seem like an insanely high price to pay for a single bottle of wine. For others, $100 might seem like a starting point.

Some years ago, as my wife and I were giving our son driving lessons, someone asked him which he liked more. He said,”I like them both the same, but Dad doesn’t give me as many helpful tips.” (He really should have gone onto the diplomatic core.)

Many people, especially those starting out on this passion have questions about wine. I’m sure plenty of us have made mistakes that we could help others avoid. So I thought a thread where we could share our ideas and experiences might come in handy.

_____________________________

“I was a glutton at the banquet and spilt the finest wine,” Mick Jagger, Wandering Spirit

Post #: 1

RE: Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 2/29/2024 11:51:26 AM

BobMilton

Posts: 2876
Joined: 1/29/2010
From: Newbury Park, CA
Status: offline

When I started in wine (many decades ago) I spent time reading all the critics. It took me a few years to realize that there were no critics I always agreed with, and none I always disagreed with. So my advice - trust your own taste buds. Second advice - don't be surprised if your tastes change over time. Finaly, have fun.

(in reply to Ibetian)

Post #: 2

RE: Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 2/29/2024 12:45:48 PM

DoubleD1969

Posts: 3594
Joined: 8/19/2008
From: New Jersey
Status: offline

I disagree with not following critics. I enjoyed following the critics at Wine Spectator. I didn’t always agree with their assessments, but it was always educational.

If I could tell my younger self:
1. Don’t assign scores when writing a review.
2. Good and bad wines come in all price points.
3. Try the older wine of a wine that you want to purchase on release.

(in reply to BobMilton)

Post #: 3

RE: Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 2/29/2024 1:00:40 PM

wine247365

Posts: 1009
Joined: 5/1/2012
From: OC, CA
Status: offline

My tips form my children starting their wine journey would be...

- Sample as many varieties as possible from all around the world to get a sense of how truly varied wines can taste and what resonates with your palate.
- Read CT notes extensively before buying an "expensive" wine or numerous bottles of a wine.
- Understand which locations typically produce wines that won't show "best" for 10-30 years and buy a bottle or two already aged from a reputable auction site to get a sense if you'll like that aged wine before you commit precious storage space to a wine you may not like in 10-30 years.
- Occasionally blow your per bottle budget on a bottle or three of very "expensive" wines to get a sense of how good a "better" bottle of wine may taste. This will expand your wine horizon.
- Incorporate winery visits into your travel and vacations.
- Be doubly sure before buying wines being sold at an incredible, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN discount!
- Go to as many wine tastings as possible
- Share your wine with friends and enjoy this hobby!

_____________________________

The number of bottles I buy is nothing in comparison to the bottles I don’t buy. Let’s have a little perspective please.

(in reply to Ibetian)

Post #: 4

RE: Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 2/29/2024 2:11:10 PM

wadcorp

Posts: 9330
Joined: 10/29/2008
From: Kansas City, MO
Status: offline

– Agree, with wine247365: go to as many wine tastings as possible.
– Try a number of the same varietals by different producers at the same time. You'll discover favored regions (or producers).
– Go back to a varietal you didn't care for. Years later, your palate will have changed & it might be a revelation.
– When at a tasting, get your wine & move away from the table. Cardinal rule of wine tasting.

.

_____________________________

"Wine is light held together by moisture."
— Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

(in reply to wine247365)

Post #: 5

RE: Recommended Wines and Helpful Tips - 3/1/2024 11:18:50 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

quote:

Incorporate winery visits into your travel and vacations.

We've been doing this for close to 20 years. Before moving to Washington in 2008, we explored the Mid-west/Midatlantic, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina. You really appreciate winemakers who can make a good wine in those states, because frankly, most of it is NOT good.

Moving to Washington for a job in the fruit industry opened my eyes, and my memory says the wine tastings during the interview trip were not a small part of why I chose Yakima over Omaha. We've continued to explore the west coast, including Baja Mexico and British Columbia.

We have visited every WA region and I lost count at over 400 Washington wineries sampled/purchased. A few of those were big events like Taste Washington/Tri-Cities Wine Festival, but the vast majority were tasting room or private tastings with winemakers/growers. In my first couple of years 2008-2010 I visited everywhere I could as a walk-in taster mostly, and wrote a wine blog much of that time, which granted a little bit more access to some places of interest. It was, and still is, amazing how assessable Washington wineries are if you live here and take an interest in getting into the weeds.

Work trips and vacations to Oregon and California have led to probably close to 100+ winery visits in each of those states as well.

We have booked trips to Italy, then Spain, but backed out each time for health or family reasons. Oh well, we still sample European wines, with Italian BdM and Barolo becoming favorites. Spanish wines harder to find the right fit, mainly due to lack of range of regions and types readily available to us.

Tasting room tips:

- Ask the pourer to let you taste without their commentary. Sometimes it is helpful to know some info about the wine, but having a server describe what I am about to smell/taste is very annoying to me. I have my own palate, and prefer to approach a wine however I want.
- Avoid food other than a bland cracker. Plain mushrooms work great too, but I've never seen them in a tasting room. The food, cheese, fruit, salami, chocolate all can greatly enhance the wine experience, but it also can cover flaws in the wine itself. Better to think about how it would work with various fats/proteins and do the tasting absent these. Sometimes that is hard/impossible particularly if food is integrated by the server. There is a Yakima winery that insists on a sip, sip, eat regimen. I haven't been back there in 15 years.
- Drink at proper temperature. If a wine is straight from a cold frig, warm it on your hands. If it is too hot, not much you can do, ice maybe, but that can really ruin the experience as much as an 80 degree wine.

Other Tip:
- Taste blind as often as possible. We have been fortunate to be included in dozens of blind tastings in Seattle, Portland, OC, Atlanta with mostly other CTer's. We are trying for about the 5th time to start a local to us tasting group again this spring. Nothing compares to sampling side by side similar wines, same variety at various price points and regions and producers. A ringer thrown in can help too, different variety maybe, or a cheap wine, or a very expensive wine.

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(in reply to wadcorp)

Post #: 6