Julie Harrison - Widening Wine Knowledge

Wine is like no other food or drink in the sense that there is a huge amount of choice available, which can make buying wine a bit of a daunting prospect. It is really easy to stick to the same style of wine or to make your choice from what is on special at the supermarket. There is no problem with that at all but sometimes it can be good to branch out a little and try something new. The good thing about wine is that it is hard to be wrong about it. If everyone liked the same wine our wine shop would be very boring and wine lists very small.

So wines can be generally classified as red, white or rose. They can be very sweet or dry or anything else in between. In New Zealand wines are typically labelled by the variety or the varieties they are made from e.g. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir. Some wines are made from two or more varieties, the most common seen here being blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Methode Traditionnelle wines or Champagne are usually a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In countries like France wine labels often don’t tell you what varieties are in the wine but where the wine is from is the key to having some idea about what you are drinking.

Often it is very easy to stick to the same wine that you enjoy rather than trying something new. If you can work out what it is you like about a wine then it can give you some clues as to what else you might want to try. If you enjoy a nice, crisp Sauvignon Blanc you might find a dry Riesling enjoyable or even an unoaked Chardonnay. If you want to try red wine it is better to start with something lighter with floral or fruit characters. A Central Otago Pinot Noir could be a good choice or a European wine such as Chianti, Tempranillo or a Grenache/Syrah blend from France. You might want to avoid a Barossa Shiraz or austere Cabernet blend initially.

If you are wanting to broaden your wine horizons then a good place to start is your local wine retailer. They are there to give you advice and to guide you in the right direction based on your current wine preferences. Are you interested in re-visiting Chardonnay but are wanting to steer clear of those intensely oaky, heavy wines of the 80’s, do you think Riesling might be worth a try but don’t want anything sweet, just go in and ask for advice.

The great thing about wine is the vast array of choice you have, it’s just a matter of having a small amount of knowledge so that you have the confidence to go out and experiment a bit. Over the next few weeks I will be giving you some basic wine information that should help you find some fantastic wines to try that you will enjoy.