Where to begin?

I can give you two tips: (1) Drink what tastes and smells good to you, from a wine glass that's never more than half full.

(2) Hold the glass by the stem - never the globe. Wine glasses have stems to keep body heat away from the wine. Holding the glass by the globe defeats the purpose of the stem, makes unsightly smears on the glass and marks you as a rube.

Tom S

"§ Lauksna §" skrev i meddelandet news:g2ZIb.3855$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...

Suggestion 1 A is always hanging out in this ng, where lots and lots of people with very discriminate and knowledgable palates, and others, such as yours truly, with less discrimiation but undaunted enthusiasm, will happily share their respective 2 cents.

Next suggestion is joining a tasting club/circle, or, if such a one is not found in your neck of the woods, try starting one yourself.

Get a good book.

Get a good magazine. (On the whole, this magazine is seldom, if ever, Wine Spectator ;))

Testing, testing, testing. Listening to others. Combining this wine with that food stuff. Reading in books/magazines. Find out which are the classics (Amarone with Reggiano Parmigiano, e g) and which is the new thing (same wine with dark chocolate).

Quite often, one starts with a definite preference for certain types of wine - perhaps the fruit up front, Oz Shiraz, or similar from the USA (Bonny Doone Big House comes to mind). Similarly, one might be quite fond of some of the Alsace whites, or their German counterparts - very much fruit and grapes, a bit of residual sugar even - or, MOscato d´Asti from Piemonte. On the other hand, the severe Northern Rhone Syrahs, and the bone dry white Bourgognes may not be, or seem, acccessible. That is of course quite all right. As one tries out the alternatives, perhaps going from an entry-level Australian Shiraz to a fairly welcoming Cote de RHone, one extends ones palate, one gains a wider range of possible tastes - perhaps one tries a pleasantly mature Meursault and recognises that, in fact, this is in some ways superior to a CHilean Chardonnay (although, unfortunately, quite a bit more expensive) - well, this is not snobbery. This is evolution. It´s like litterature. Noone starts by reading 'Ulysses' by James Joyce (a book which I happen to love ardently and re-read about every 5 years).

Curiosity, in case you are not of a feline persuasion, has rarely if ever harmed anyone (this may or may not lead up to a seriously off-topic subthread).

I hope this is a some small help to you.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

Thanks a 10^6!

The advice was priceless. I will get a book or mag. next time I'm out.

Again Thnks!

Cheers

^_^ L

Nil,

, and others, such as yours truly, with less discrimination but undaunted enthusiasm, will happily

Bravo, your response to the poster was fantastic. Think many of us in this ng are out of the beginner stage, past the novice and moving toward ???? stage. Well said Nil !

Larry Stumpf, S. Ontario, Canada

And try even those wines that don't. A little smell and sip of something that doesn't appeal to you right away can still be educational.

I strongly disagree. Whites are (IMHO) commonly served way too cold. I frequently find myself cupping the bowl with two hands to warm the wine to release the aromatics.

I serve my reds too cold. I very rarely chamber the wines, instead I open them in the cellar and decant or bring them straight up to open and pour from the bottle. Again, I frequently find that I cup the bowl of the glass (now there's a strange sentence, I wish I could have worked plate in there somehow :-)) to warm the wine slightly. If this marks me as a rube, I'll change my name. Just call me Rube from now on.

My suggestion to the OP. Drink and read. Don't keep drinking the same wine. Always look for something new to try and read from a variety of sources. They don't always agree and it helps to get a second oppinion.

Most important, don't let anyone tell you what you like or should like. Your likes and dislikes are your own. On the other hand, keep an open mind. Just because you didn't like Pinot Noir from vineyard X doesn't mean you won't like vineyard Y's or that you won't like vineyard X's two years from now (or even 30 minutes from now).

The world of wine is a journey. Enjoy the trip, not just the destination.

Andy (I mean Rube)

Nils makes very good points. I might add if you are in an area where stores sponsor tastings, that's a good way to taste a variety of wines (although tastings 5- 50 wines back to back might not be easiest way to learn!). In any case, there's no substitute for drinking wine regularly (and paying attention when you do). Good luck! Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I agree that white wine can be so cold that it almost tastes like water. I like my reds, in what I like to call, the Medieval Way, which is around room temp. My companions can't stand it that way...

There are a couple of stores that have tasting[s] every Saturday. However, I have a crippling fear of looking like a complete and total ass :)

You guys/gals are great!

"§ Lauksna §" snipped-for-privacy@virus.me says....

Andy and Tom,

I think this is one of those where manners must occasionally meet practicality. This subject just came up the other night, as it happens...

What Tom says is certainly true from the Emily Post perspective. Also, with very delicate glass, one can lift the bowl from the stem! I've the unfortunate experience of doing this, when young, with one of my Dad's 18th century venitians (no not california). He was nice about it but since I always lift from the stem. I imagine some of the Reidels could come apart like that too.

But, if the wine is too cold, a little hand warmth can really help. Like Andy I rarely remember to "chambrer," and in any case (as well known to afw regulars!) my house is very cold. So with our regular glasses we don't hesitate to cup them, and the wine appreciates it.

-E

] There are a couple of stores that have tasting[s] every Saturday. However, I ] have a crippling fear of looking like a complete and total ass :) ] ][]

This may seem obvious, but: remember that anyone who treats you like an ass, just for being a neophyte, is acting one themselves, no? Who cares what they think?

You're busy exploring something new, that should be fine in everyone's book as far as I can see.

-E

If you'd go to an ice cream tasting would you have the same anxiety? If so, then you might suffer from a different problem than 'inexperience'. Wine is a matter of taste. If you say, "I do not like it, can't really tell you why" is just as good as, "I do not like it because it lacks a firm finish". There's exactly 0 (zero, zip, nil, nada, null) *objective* evidence that a person disagreeing with you on the taste of wine is more correct than you. Just go and find some wines you like, keep tasting new things, forget the rest, it's bull. You'll find (a.k.a, develop) your taste as you go.. and it changes as time goes on. When I'm told what "most people like" I remember that most people also go to McDonalds. ;)

Good post,

The initial barrier to tasting is something that comes from the sommelier culture, one that has developed ritual at the expense of fun, objectivity and discovery beyond the merely encyclopedic.

incidentally Mike, if your identifier could me more specific, it would avoid confusion...

Mike

"Mike Tommasi" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

....

Hear, hear. Also, one should never miss the opportunity of creating some diversion and merriment with the spectators by comitting a well-executed prat-fall. Adds class, it does. Hey, anybody hear tried Romanée-Conti with Cocal-Cola (just kidding!)?!

Drinking wine is for fun, and because you like it, and you do it quite often socially (very rarely do I empty a box of my Alsatians alone in the cellar). Ever noticed that a good wine tastes even better in the company of good friends? Drinking wine is not for collecting brownie points or honour badges. OK, you _can_ do it, but ... put it like this, how nice will your new jacket look with a lot of honour badges stitched to it?

Cheers!

Nils Gustaf

I think most people from my generation should keep in mind that the traditional serving of red wine at "room temperature" means a cooler temperature than we think. Back when that was "established", rooms were more like 60 degrees. I think that's a good temperature to drink reds, by the way.

First, there's a great book I can recommend for you - Mastering Wine. You learn about wine by drinking, and going from chapter to chapter comparing the specific wines he suggests. The only drawback is it was written in

Second, we have a new wine "superstore" called Total Wine, and they have free tastings of 5 or 6 wines every weekend, so you can buy exactly what you taste - usually not real expensive wines.

Third, don't be afraid to experiment with a few expensive wines if you have a good idea you'll like them, but whatever you do, drink what YOU like, not what someone else likes. If you don't taste a big difference between that $8 bottle and $40 bottle, don't pay for it!

It's not a matter of being more correct. I disagree that saying "I don't know why" is acceptable. You don't have to know what "firm finish" means, but if you cannot ever describe what you like and don't like to the guy in the wine store, you're not going to get very many good recommendations for your next bottle.

"jeffc" skrev i meddelandet news:3qFJb.233926$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.southeast.rr.com...

You have a point. So, it is good practice to try to 'intellectualise' your perceptions of a wine - and it may be a good idea to do that together with other wine drinkers. What´s special about this, hmmm, smells a bit like blackberries, a bit like smoked ham (might be a Southern French mixture of Mourvedre and Syrah) - taste frightfuklky severe and bitter and gives general impression of biting into an unripe apple - hmmm, this guy is not likely to appreciate a young Southern French wine ... You could for instance post your tasting notes to a news group, let´s see, a name comes to mind, oh oh oh soemthing like ... alt.food.wino? There is a good chance somebody else tried the same wine (unless, like me, you drink cheap plonk noone has ever heard about except possibly Mike Tommasi, who has heard of everything) and will tell you that, in their opinon, it was more of dark cherries than blackberries, and, the reason it felt like biting inot an unripe apple was, it should be kept in a cellar for 5 years after which it will be quite OK ... highly educative.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

No, but Austrian 2001 Zweigelt and Spar American Cola light. Called "Cola-Rot" in German, it was our preferred after-shift drink when the restaurant closed at 1 a.m. - back in the mid-1980s here in Vienna.

M.