Wine

Where to Start?

Wanting to get “into wine”, but find it intimidating?

Do you freeze for a moment when you’re handed the wine list? Or when you sip a wine and are immediately asked “So what do you think?”

Or maybe you feel overwhelmed at a wine shop with its endless rows of neatly stacked bottles printed with what seems like foreign gibberish?

I’ve been enjoying wine for most of my adult life. And even though I’ve pursued certifications, read dozens of wine books, and love it enough to have launched this quasi-wine blog, none of these have magically given me bionic wine-tasting super-powers.

If you were born with a nose and tastebuds, and if you’re capable of forming an opinion, then there’s absolutely no reason to feel intimidated by wine. It makes me sad when people confess they find wine intimidating. It’s fermented grape juice, for goodness’ sake. Don’t let fermented grape juice intimidate you. And don’t feel the need to ask a “wine expert” whether it’s good or not. Either you like it, or you don’t.

Documentaries like “Somm” haven’t helped with the intimidation factor, either. I was full-throttle into my wine geekery when I saw it, and in all honesty, I was equally fascinated (by how much there was to learn) and disgusted (by the lengths people would go towards earning the distinction of “Master Somm”).  To a casual wine drinker, or to someone mildly interested in wine, I could see how wine “expertise” could be totally off-putting.

Knowledge may be power, but it doesn’t need to come with ego.

Let’s debunk the misconception that a (perceived) lack of wine knowledge precludes wine enjoyment. If Chef Gusteau can proclaim that Anyone Can Cook, then I say, Anyone Can Wine.

My sincere hope is that this post, and this blog at large, will nudge you into a wine journey of your own. Because life is too short to miss out on partaking in the very drink that Jesus chose to be his first miracle.

With that, three reasons that might prevent you from enjoying wine, and why you should let them not:

Reason #1: Foreign terminology

Most people are comfortable with terms like red, white, rose, bubbly, sweet... Anything beyond those descriptors feels like unchartered territory.

My hunch is that most Americans veer to U.S., Australian, and maybe South African wines, for no other reason than that the labels written in crystal-clear English. In other words: not intimidating. Moreover, the varietal is nearly always identified on the label (Chardonnay. Boom. Cabernet. Done.) This is NOT the case with most European wines.

I’ll address commonly used words in the wine world (you’ve heard them before: complexity, structure, acidity, terroir, etc.) — at a later time. For now, let’s talk about European wine-speak as foreign language.

For the love… Reading some of those labels can bring back memories of high school Spanish class, amirite? Or was it French? German? Italian?  Everything sounds kinda familiar but not really…

And for good reason. When you’re reading a wine label from the Old World, you are encountering a language that is not English. Just a sampling of terms you may come across: Brunello di Montalcino, Sangiovese, Taurasi, Gewurtzraminer, Garganega, Sylvaner, Moulin-à-Vent, Amontillado, Méthode Traditionelle, Schlössberg, Appassimento, Haut-Brion, Rasteau, Mouvèdre, Crémant, Tinhof, Moelleux… Gahhhhh!

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With Thanksgiving dinner being a veritable smorgasbord, planning wine pairings for all those flavors might seem daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.

On the food front, turkey and ham typically play the lead roles, strongly supported by the usual starchy suspects. But often you’ll see non-traditional dishes from a family’s country of origin. Because, you know, America is a melting pot, and people like to celebrate their heritage, old and new. So how to tackle the wine pairings?

The idea behind wine pairings is to simultaneously the enhance the flavor of both food and wine. There’s a whole science behind it (I love Wine Folly’s geeky resources like these charts). But if you’d rather not dive into wine dorkery, here’s a simple list of dependable Thanksgiving go-to wines to satisfy discerning palates.

Whether you’ve got a bird, tofurkey, lasagna, scallion pancakes, or sushi on the menu, here are 5 fool-proof wine pairings* to help you nail that wine list… Giving you extra time to kick back with your own glass and binge watch Netflix, or to take a stab at this killer onion confit.

Either way it’s a win-win.

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