For those who want to start learning about wine
Do you enjoy a glass of wine and want to know a bit more about what’s in your glass? Do you want to be able to navigate confidently around the shelves of your local supermarket or wine shop, and order wine in a restaurant without embarrassment? Then this bit is for you.
First, learn how to taste. The more wines you try, the more you’ll develop your palate – it really is that simple. And how you try wines makes all the difference. We’re talking swirl, sniff and spit. Learn what to look for when you’re tasting wine: acidity; alcohol; dryness/sweetness; fruit and tannin. And write it down – disciplined note-taking makes you more aware of your own developing palate.
Learning the lingo is essential – a guide to wine jargon like the one at jancisrobinson.com will help you sound like a pro in no time. But you’ll need some basic wine knowledge to back this up.
Everything about the way a wine is made – from the grape variety and the conditions in which it is grown to what happens to the grapes once they are back in the winery – has a bearing on its taste.
You can read a beginner’s guide to wine if you’re pushed for time - there are numerous publications out there – but there’s nothing like going back to school with a few evening classes to really drum it home.
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust runs the best – the basic Foundation Level 1 is what you’re after – and although its headquarters is in London, there are outposts around the country. There are also numerous independent wine schools around the nation with their own basic wine courses. Make a night of it with a couple of mates.
For those who know a bit about wine but want to know more
Here’s an idea – start a wine-tasting group. It’s much easier and more cost-effective to taste with others, so get four or five like-minded people together and put, say, £25 each into the pot and you’ll have enough in the kitty to get six half bottles of classic wines to try. Later, try focusing on wine from a particular area, or theme your evening to a grape variety – you could even throw a dinner party with a themed wine selection, such as chardonnays from different parts of the world.
Go to tastings. There are an increasing number of consumer wine events taking place all over the country, from the Real Wine Fair to Three Wine Men, and wine merchants also stage their own events. Find a good wine shop and build a relationship with them – and get yourself on the list for any wine tastings they organise. Ask as many questions as you can when you’re there.
You could also seek out a great little wine bar or restaurant that has an interesting wine list; become a regular and grill the staff at every opportunity about which wine to try, or their latest new find - and always order wines that you aren’t familiar with.
Follow the experts. There’s a whole army of wine writers who spend their lives at tastings sorting the dross from the gems so you don’t have to (ruining their teeth in the process). Pick a palate you are in tune with and follow their advice, especially when it comes to pricier bottles. Scribblings are published in everything from national newspapers to wine magazines such as Decanter - and don’t forget the bloggers.
New blogs pop up weekly and the best offer an entertaining alternative to conventional wine writing. Blogs such as Matt Walls Wine Blog and The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club offer a personal take on what’s out there, while more established names, such as Jamie Goode also offer their views in the blogosphere.
Take another course. We’re talking levels 2 and 3 at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust at this stage. But it’s still fun so, again, make a night of it.
For those who want to know lots about wine
Ok, so we’re getting into wine dork territory here, but there are worse things to obsess about. In qualification terms we’re talking WSET Level 4 Diploma – or for those wanting to take it to stratospheric levels, there’s the Master of Wine. But be warned: it has an exquisitely low pass rate (reputedly around 20%). Since 1953, a total of 391 men and women have passed the exam and there are only 338 living Masters of Wine out there in the world today – which is not to say one of them couldn’t be you.
Hang out in vineyards and wineries instead of lying on a sun-lounger on your annual holiday - it all starts to make sense when you are actually there. You could even sign up as a “cellar rat”, scurrying between barrels day after day. Or just spend a harvest picking grapes, if your back is up to it.
Know your vintages. Growing seasons vary enormously year to year – learn the most relevant vintages in the most significant years. Wine magazines have vintage charts and Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book (Octopus Publishing, £11.99) is an invaluable reference tool.
Learn how to store wine correctly. There’s no point in keeping your precious bottles in a hot kitchen or in a cupboard under the stairs near a radiator – how you store wine will affect how it ages. And while we are on the subject of oxidized wine – by this stage you should be able to spot a fault at twenty paces.
Become a master of food and wine matching. The first basic rule is to balance the weight of the food with the weight of the wine. Learn how to heighten the flavour of a dish with an acidic wine, and smooth out a tannic wine with meat. Go to matchingfoodandwine.com for lots of advice and inspiration.
