Choosing your wine is sometimes difficult. Indeed, between the wide choice in the big supermarket aisles, the wine merchant’s recommendations and the offers online, choosing your wine can be complicated. We’re sharing all the secrets for choosing your wine well in this article: it’s over to you. So pay attention and you’ll never disappoint your guests again.
Getting into the world of wine
The first step to choosing your wine well is to get familiar with the world of wine. It’s not about becoming a great specialist, but simply about understanding this world more deeply. By getting into wine, you’ll be able to understand what makes a good wine and apply it when making your choices. You’ll no longer get lost among the appellations or the grape varieties. We’ll soon make available an e-book on the great wine concepts, and the next articles should shed some light on the subject.
Learning to read a wine label
The various elements of the wine label will soon be explained in more detail. However, it’s worth highlighting certain aspects of the label, which will help you choose your wine well.
First, some mentions on labels have no value. For example, the mention “Grand Vin” is of no interest: all the wines of an AOC can use it.
That said, the AOC, or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, is a useful indicator for choosing your wine, certifying where the wine comes from. The AOC is the guarantee of know-how and of the production steps being carried out locally. Naturally, it’s not the only element to take into account when choosing your wine: there are very good wines outside appellations and appellation wines of lesser quality.
In addition, the mention “mis en bouteille au château” or “mis en bouteille à la propriété” (bottled at the château or estate) may be present on the bottle you want to choose. It’s simply a guarantee of the wine’s provenance, which can give a clue about the wine’s quality without being an absolute criterion.
Finally, the label always indicates the vintage: a precious element to take into account when choosing your wine. Some vintages are very distinctive, and this will let you anticipate the result of the tasting. You can refer to a vintage chart to get a better idea of what will be a safe bet and what, on the contrary, should be avoided. Some vintages can be excellent everywhere, while others can be very good in one region and less so in another. Refer to the vintage chart to avoid the mistakes not to make when choosing your wine.
Choosing your wine without focusing on price
While the most expensive wine in the world trades at several hundred thousand euros a bottle, you shouldn’t rely on price alone to choose your wine. Often, people buying a wine focus only on its price to judge its quality. You can find an excellent wine at a very reasonable price: a gem. For that, you can consult the guides produced by la Revue du vin de France, or by Bettane+Desseauve. A classic among the classics for choosing your wine well: the Guide Hachette des Vins, so you never go wrong with your choices again.
In the same way, you shouldn’t focus on the medals printed on the bottle to choose your wine, even though some medals can carry great value. For example, a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole or the Concours des Vins de Bordeaux is often a mark of quality. There are, however, far too many competitions involving a variety of awards. Furthermore, not all estates bother to enter these competitions, which makes them incompatible with the goal of finding the best wine. You shouldn’t lose interest in medals, but simply not make them an essential criterion for choosing your wine.
Asking for advice to choose your wine well
Choosing your wine is, above all, about sharing your taste for wine with others. So, to choose well, ask for advice around you. Whether it’s from a wine merchant near you, or by following discussions online, you’ll be able to find informed opinions on the quality of certain wines. They’ll help you form an idea about the choice of your wine. These moments are also the chance for interesting exchanges that will open your mind to the wonderful world of wine. Head to a wine merchant to get good advice on wine and be able to make an informed choice for a value-for-money ratio that’s often much better than at the supermarket. The wine merchant is the person to meet for choosing your wine well: keep that in mind!
Choosing your wine to suit your dish: food and wine pairing
Food and wine pairing is a big question in the world of wine. The idea is to choose your wine to suit the dishes you’re eating. For example, everyone has heard that white wine goes well with fish. You can then generalise this practice by focusing on the pairing you create between your meal and your wine. Such a technique helps you choose your wine well and delight your taste buds around a good meal. We’ll soon do articles on food and wine pairings so you can choose your wine with complete peace of mind.
You now have all the secrets for choosing your wine well. No doubt the subject will come up again during our podcasts with wine merchants! We can’t wait to share them with you.
