New to wine
If wine were a video game, I’d be on beginner level one.
After organizing and attending last week’s Foodie Meet (wine edition), I’ve gained a little more understanding of wine, but if anything, I’ve learned that there’s more to wine than I imagined. The experience has only increased my interest in learning more about the good grape and I know I’m not the only one.
Starting today, on a semi-regular basis, I’ll be posting my wine-learning experience and knowledge here.
I’m starting off on my wine journey by keeping a wine journal. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s OK to like what you like. Wine is intimidating because of the snobbery associated with it, but at the end of the day, if you enjoy it, no one should tell you otherwise.
If you have any suggestions for how I and other wine newbies should start learning about wine, please leave a comment. Whether it’s a book, a website or something else you think would help get us started in the wonderful world of wine, please let us know!
I’m the daughter of a wine lover (who also sells it for a living). Something I learned–you can get a damn good bottle for under $20. Wine Spectator is a great magazine. If you see a rating number on wine displays, the closer to 90 or above the better. Other than that, drink it a lot and don’t forget to eat a lot with it too!
justalittlepiece.wordpress.com
P.S. love your about me!
justalittlepiece
August 31, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Andrea, I get asked “How do I learn about wine” or similar such questions VERY regularly so I’ll tell you what I tell all of my friends who ask me that very questions.
Taste, taste, taste, taste, taste. You’ll soon determine what you like from a wine and what regions are your favs.
I take a picture of the label of every bottle I’ve tried and comment on what I thought of it. I also regularly twitter a Mini review of every bottle I’ve had.
I regularly get asked if I can recommend a good wine, enough that I blogged a while ago about that very topic.
http://randommusingsofp.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/can-i-recommend-a-good-wine/
Have fun on your quest, I was where you are about 5 years ago. Ironically I’m typing this comment from San Francisco and will be visiting Sonoma in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to all that great California wine I can bring home with me!
Cheers!
Paul aka @paulmon
paulmon
August 31, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Hi Andrea,
I, too, feel woefully behind on wine, and one helpful resource for me over the past few years has been reading my friend Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson’s wine column in the Winnipeg Free Press here: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/33845604.html . It’s always very accessible and covers a range of prices and tastes. He also writes a wine blog, the Grape Nut, for the same paper.
saleema
September 1, 2009 at 12:05 am
@Justalittlepiece: Thanks for the “about me” compliment and your wine advice. I’m relying on getting good bottles for under $20 because I can’t afford much more than that. If you have any wine recommendations, especially from your region (California?), I’d welcome them.
@Paul: Loved your blog and I have bookmarked it for future reference. I look forward to reading more comments from you as I’ll be soliciting readers for their suggestions.
Saleema: Thank you for sending me a link to your friend’s blog. There’s some great content there and it’s especially nice to get a Canadian perspective.
andreachiu
September 1, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I’m not a wine drinker but I enjoyed reading “Red, White, and Drunk All Over” by Natalie MacLean. (I bought it for a friend’s birthday, but he already had it, which is how I came to read it!)
Clare
February 1, 2010 at 5:49 pm