Sunday, February 22, 2009

PERSONALLY: wino




I love wine. Love it. And despite this I know very little about wine. Sometimes my husband chooses my wine for me, and he almost always picks a winner. He spent many years in the restaurant business before trading in his apron for a badge and a gun, so he knows quite a bit about wine. He has many strange, unexpected pockets of knowledge, but that is another story for another day. I choose wine very differently than him, and my method annoys him to no end. It is a three step process:

1. LABEL - I refuse to buy wines with bad labels. I'll drink it, but only if someone else has bought it.
2. NAME - I like clever and interesting titles that don't sound like old men's names. Often if it has a good name, it also has a good label.
3. PRICE - I don't think I've ever paid more than $14 for a bottle of wine. Usually I stay under $10. I just can't make myself spend more. Especially when there are decent inexpensive wines out there.

There are a few other factors I sometimes take into account. I buy alot of Australian and California wines. I read the descriptions on the back even though I don't understand the fancy terminology. If it uses phrases like "hints of vanilla" or "afternotes of blackberries" I buy it. My favorite is Gnargly Head wines which suggest very UNfancy food pairings, like pizza, ribs or a big bowl of popcorn.

Believe it or not, I have stumbled upon some really great wine this way! Well, great to me at least. A Sommelier would likely spit my choices out, but isn't that how you are technically taste wine anyway - spit it out? What a terrible waste!

2 comments:

DEL said...

That's how I choose my wine too! I'll have to try Gnargly Head next. =)

Jasmine said...

I always have good wine at your place. Thus, your method works!