Tips for Expanding Your Wine Experience

Wine is a social experience. We get it. You break open that special bottle to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy the moment. Wine covers it all.

Where Do We Go from Here?

The question becomes how do you expand your horizons? Sometimes, we need a little nudge. No one likes to admit that they’re a newbie. We like to go confidently forward in all of our endeavors. But, baby steps are a good thing.

One of the things that my husband and I figured out quickly was how overwhelming it is. It’s not hard to get caught up in topics that pull you in multiple directions. That’s the subject for another post.

One of the first books I read was Madeline Puckette’s work, “Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine.” One of the best things about it was its wine challenge. Simply put, expand your horizons and explore different countries and wines to get out of your comfort zone.

We took up the task.

To date, we have sampled 57 libations of from 15 countries. There have been high moments. Can anyone say Duoro? And ones we’d prefer to forget. Pinotage was only one we’ve tasted to date that disappointed us. That’s a rare thing to say with the state of the art but each to their own.

Making It Happen

Our approach to expanding our boundaries was accidental. Our favorite watering hole happens to be next to a liquor store. It was a natural segue to go from buying a bottle next door and sampling it with our friends.

At first, I did the newbie thing and just wrote down the types of wine. Then, I bought my first wine journal.

If you’re serious about wine, you’ll relate to this experience. I’m trying to expand my palette and identify new aromas. A friend still teases me to this day the first time I remarked about smelling chalk when I tasted a Chablis.

Dude, it’s a thing.

My advice to you is to find a decent wine shop, the bigger the better. They’re more likely to have wines from a wide range of countries. Their prices are also easier on your pocketbook. Then, take advantage of their reward program.

Give Yourself a Treat

Other things we’ve done is to reward our efforts with one or two special bottles a month. I’m talking about a bottle in the $50 to $100 range.

It’s well and good to become experts in everyday wines. But, if you want to learn more, find out what it means from a wine perspective. Price isn’t a guarantee of quality, especially in certain areas. It’s more of a marketing thing.

Making the Most of Your Purchases

But wine has limited quantities so that those supply-and-demand rules can work their magic. We’re not rich. That’s why I created this blog to reach out to everyday folks who love wine within a budget.

Take the road less traveled, as per Robert Frost‘s sound advice.

You’ll find excellent values and wines at affordable prices that your snobbish friends may scorn. Their loss. That’s what makes enjoying wine at this level so exciting. You can find treasures, literally.

Wine is a journey. Enjoy every glass along the way.

Photo by Terry Vlisidis on Unsplash