I am trying to get serious about tasting and drinking. I don't have the wallet right now for anything more than $20 a bottle and cannot afford things like eBob and so on. Can some of you pros help me with some of the following: -Places to get accurate FREE wine reviews -Methods to improve my pallet -Some decent wines to start with and WHY they are important to fostering my growth -What I should concentrate on first in tasting; for example: maybe I shouldn't worry about fruit because it takes more development and should concentrate on deciphering balance or integration. ANY and ALL help would be appreciated!
One of the best bets to stretch the budget (and avoid costly mistakes) is to go places that will let you taste the wine first. There are a number of smaller wine shops in my area that ALWAYS have one or two wines out for tasting. Sometimes, they have special events where they will have more. The special events usually come with some educational component as well.
You can get tasting notes in the forums here, on ebob, tanzer's site, and wino depot.
For wine reviews, you can also visit cellartracker.com. This site is set up by users to track what wines they own as well as post tasting notes. Not all notes are accurate...well...taste is after all a subjective thing. Depending on your palate, you may disagree with reviews. A 90 point wine may not taste like a 90 to you.
One of the best ways to improve your pallet is to taste wines side by side. It's very difficult to remember what you tasted if you can't compare it to anything else. Also, remember to smell the wine too. One of my favorite nose comparisons is between chardonnay and sauvignon blanc because they are relatively easy to distinguish. Chards smell of apple or citrus while most SB smell of melon and have a fruity sweetness to them.
Starting wines is also a matter of preference. Simply put, do you like reds or whites, or both? Every wine is unique in character some with subtle nuances, some blatantly different. I personally started with whites only because someone told me they were easier to approach. But that was not necessarily true. I found that I liked reds (cab, merlot, syrah, zin) a lot more when I first started tasting. Only recently have I grown into white...chard, SB, viognier,...they're so much fun.
One might argue that learning the difference between the major varietals might be a good way to educate the palate.
Tasting is a funny business. I still haven't figured out how Parker tastes what he does. But I would recommend concentrating on major flavors first - is the wine fruity, smoky/tobacco like, buttery/nutty, earthy/musty, spicy/peppery? Also, consider how it feels in your mouth...is it concentrated or thin, stringent or smooth, heavy or light? Later you can try to pick out what fruits and specific flavors you are tasting...cherry, blueberry, peaches, apples, citrus, currants, mushrooms, chocolate, leather, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme.
I'd like to suggest reading Oz Clarke's book, Introducing Wine. You can get used copies from Amazon.com for as little as $2.00.
This book can help you organize your tastings by wine styles (ex.bold)which in my opinion is easier way to identify wines when starting out then identifying grape varietals. I don't know where you live but I do agree with the previous post which suggests you go to tastings in your area.
I used to sit down with the local paper and plan which wine tastings I was going to attend within my budget. Some weeks I could attend one per week other times I would attend four per day(I miss those days, giggles). I always carried around this little spiral note pad that fit in my back pocket and would write down the wines as they fit into the categories listed in Clarke's book.
I didn't realize the genius of this method until I went to wine school about a year later. In class we would taste a wine and we were asked to describe and then attempt to identify the grape varietal. Because I had trained myself to group the wine under a category like bold; I always had my first descriptive word. Then from there I could figure out what the wine wasn't (according to grape varietal descriptors).
This method may also work for your budget. Even if you don't have tasting opportunities in your area you can use the headings provided in the book to choose wines in an orderly fashion so that you don't just concentrate on one or two types of wines.
Let me know how things work out. Have fun for me as well.
Posts: 44 | Location: San Diego, CA | Registered: Jul 06, 2006
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tracy: I'd like to suggest reading Oz Clarke's book, Introducing Wine.[QUOTE]
Another excellent book for newbies is Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine by Mark Oldman. It is unpretentious and has many suggestions of good “budget” wines.
__________________________ Alta is for skiers!
Posts: 1794 | Location: o-HIGH-o | Registered: May 05, 2005
I found that I liked reds (cab, merlot, syrah, zin) a lot more when I first started tasting. Only recently have I grown into white...chard, SB, viognier,...they're so much fun.
I agree so much with this. I first started with random whites years ago and became a red wine only drinker. When I actaully became serious with wanting to learn, I discovered that white wine offers as much enjoyment as red when experience and enjoyment is your goal.
- Paul ---------------------------- "Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place." - John Bender
I'll add another. Don't forget to check out the step-by-step tasting, sensory evaluation methodology used by experts and the other resources available at Wine Spectator School here.
Cheers! Gloria
Gloria Maroti Frazee director of education -- and video Wine Spectator
Posts: 194 | Location: NYC | Registered: Nov 14, 2001
One of the best ways I've found to learn new wines is to attend tastings. Go through and taste a single varietal and ask the people pouring for info on it(where it comes from, how its aged, not what they taste or how they like it) and compare each. Then move on to the next varietal. Its usually a cheap way to taste a lot of different wines side by side.
Okay seriously, Wine Spectator Magazine in fantastic. Next try a wine club, like wine.com lot of different wines from all over the world come to you and facts of vinyards and points of interest are send with every bottle, and the start at $20 a month. If you like the wine you can reorder at a discount. Read trade publications.....
Tracey
Posts: 12 | Location: Charlotte, North Carolina | Registered: Aug 12, 2006
I found that I liked reds (cab, merlot, syrah, zin) a lot more when I first started tasting. Only recently have I grown into white...chard, SB, viognier,...they're so much fun.
I agree so much with this. I first started with random whites years ago and became a red wine only drinker. When I actaully became serious with wanting to learn, I discovered that white wine offers as much enjoyment as red when experience and enjoyment is your goal.
Put me on that list too. I'm new to wine as well and I would always grab a bottle of Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, but the reds have so much more variety and excitement, especially the bordeaux.
Posts: 17 | Location: NY | Registered: Oct 25, 2006
My biggest suggestion to you is to taste wines following a set method every time. It doesn't really matter if it's home on the couch or on a tasting. Do things by the numbers and soon enough you'll be naming regions. Nothing has helped my tastings more than actually taking notes and following a method each time.
Like you say, fruit characteristics are of a second nature. Focus on:
Sweetness - I'm amazed by the amount of people that buy expensive wine and call dry but fruity wines "sweet". Body - How full-bodied is the wine? Acidity - Are you salivating? Tannins
That's where the focus needs to be. You'll get the fruit characteristics and oak integration flavours soon enough.
Also, if you're serious about learning wine, you'll need to read a lot of quite boring stuff. I personally like the WSET course stuff (www.wset.co.uk). It's very concise and correct, but can be pretty "dry". There are a multitude of more "romantic" books out there, one of my favourites is Andre Dominés aptly titled "Wine". It's very easy to read and covers the fundamental stuff. Sometimes I find it too romanticizing though. Learn the basics before you start studying back issues of WS.
If you want a good source for free, but abreviated RP or WS tasting notes and scores, try winebid.com.
-------------------- "One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."
Marcel Ayme`
Posts: 6017 | Location: The Left Coast | Registered: Dec 01, 2001
