by D. Kearney Sparano

Created on: December 16, 2009

I like wine but I wouldn’t consider myself a connoisseur in any way. With that preface I only have 2 good wine tips that might seem to be common sense. Nevertheless, if you want to learn about wine these are some fine ways to increase your knowledge.

The 1st is to try wines. Common sense, bordering on the obvious I know, but think about it. How will you know what you like until you do some sampling? This can be done as expensively or as inexpensively as you like. That being said I opt for inexpensive whenever possible. For this, I recommend investing $5 in a small note pad and a pen. Now, whenever you are out socially, try wine when you can, then write the name of it whether or not you like what you drank. It is important to know what you don’t like just as much as what you do. If you are willing to spend a little money and some time on the subject I suggest you look into either a

sommelier class or a wine tour. I’ve taken a tour and let me tell you, they are fun.

While in the Provence region of France my friend and I took a tour of the local wineries. It was quite educational. On a 3 hour tour we learned how to sample wine correctly, describe what we tasted, found out more about the local history and overall enjoyed ourselves immensely. (We also bought a good deal of wine, but it was not obligated.) That experience helped me learn to appreciate wine on another level.

Now aside from sampling, the next thing I would recommend is research. Take the names you’ve written down in your pad and Google them. Find out what they are, where they come from, what grapes were used. Wine makers websites can be full of information, including food/wine pairings. If there is no website, keep looking. Often there are a bunch of review sites and possibly a Wikipedia article. Go deeper into the research and find out the process of wine making, the difference between grapes and the history of the styles of wine. While you’re at it, look into local wine festivals and wine bars. Also shops might give free or inexpensive classes on wine so keep an eye out.

If the subject of wine is something you want to educate yourself about you will find away, as is evident just by you reading this article. Just remember learning about wine should be a fun enjoyable experience, but also one that should be done responsibly.

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