Category: Reviews of Wines

As I am a Sales Associate at a large liquor store chain, I have had the experience of seeking out good wines. It is a hit or miss affair, choosing wine. Sometimes wines can have bad structure and turn to vinegar over night. Sometimes the flavors are just banal. Other times you find a good wine.

“I do not know what I am looking for,” say many customers. When I ask how much do you want to spend, they say “it can cost any amount” or “it does not matter.” 

In my honest opinion, this is not a good strategy for selecting a good wine at your local wine shop. People have high expectations of high cost wines. When the wines are anything less than remarkable, it is not a good wine.

• Choose Californian/Oregonian/Washingtonian pinots or chardonnays before you go paying for the high dollar French Burgundies. West coast American wines have brighter, stronger flavors than French wines. They are also more affordable, not only because the idolatry of brand names is less of a cost-increasing factor, but also because Americans who buy American wines skip paying import taxes included in the overall price.
• This is the best advice that I have for you as far as how to select a good wine at your local wine shop. Listen to your wine shop’s Sales Associate and buy the wines that they suggest.
• Do not obstinately seek an unavailable wine, leaving the store without any good wine. When it is unavailable, just buy another good wine.
• Flexibility in the process of selecting a good wine is key to creating new discoveries. A new discovery fills your heart with joy.
• Buy a lot of wines from the wine shop. That way you can sample many at the same time. That way you will be able to like or dislike according to your own palette. 
• Consider choosing either pinot noir or chardonnay, as those are the only varietals grown in Burgundy, the most expensive and most highly-coveted wine region in the world. 
• Experiment by dividing the wine into quantities. Put some in your decanter. Put some in the refrigerator. Drink some right out of the bottle. Drink some after it has decanted. Let some stay over night and see whether it is vinegar. If it is vinegar, then it has poor structure. Grenache has poor structure. It turns to vinegar. So do the wines of Beaujolais. 
• Try the famous wines. Some famous Cabernet Sauvignons are Stag’s Leap (with that placement of the apostrophe) and Caymus. 
• Catena is a famous brand for Malbecs. For pinot noir, try Rochioli. For rose, try Whispering Angel. For Bordeaux, try Haut -Brion. For port, try Taylor. For champagne, try Veuve Cliquot. For Pinot Grigio, try Santa Margherita. For Sauvignon Blanc, try Kim Crawford. These are very successful brands for a good reason. Sometimes they are even more affordable. The wines are doing so well that the prices can go low, the producers profit enough to make the wines marketable by price.
• Do not fall into the trap that expensive=good. You can get some good wine for cheap. You can get some bland wine for expensive.
• Have some good wines that you keep in your bar for years. Let them age. Open them at the right moment in time. 

If you find yourself near a wineshop, go in and buy some wines. Any wine will do. Drink wine just to know the flavors. That way you will try a lot of wines. Then, you will know how varied the tastes can be. You may discover something you really love. And your brain will release happy chemicals.