Cutting through the BS that surrounds Wine
Most people just want to know enough about wine to enjoy it more, and to avoid wasting money on bad wine, yet most wine appreciation and education assumes you have varying amounts of knowledge. This section is designed for people who know nothing about wine and have no plans to become experts on the subject.
At BWU$20, we cut through the jargon and the bull that surrounds wine. We’re real people with real thirsts and real appetites. We like simple, tasty food even enjoy beer on a regular basis. Wine goes with food, and some wines go better with some foods than others. That’s a good starting point: when you have your regular meal with friends and/or family, ask them what they like or dislike about the wine you’ve brought along.
Drinking and Thinking, Comparing and Sharing
You might end up with 4 or 5 friends who’d like to know a bit more about wine, or you can do it at home with your partner and kids when they’re old enough. Have regular meals together and taste different wines, talk about them, enjoy them. If you have a regular meal with a group of friends, ask everyone top bring a Chardonnay or Shiraz and talk about the differences in style. Or you can make it wines from a region like the Hunter Valley or the Barossa.
You can expand the horizons by asking one of the group to do a bit prep on the subject and share it with the others. Members of your group can take it in turns. A variation on the theme is for one of the group to collect $10 from the others to buy the best wine $50 can buy, and share it at the next meal. You can use our Best Wine lists as guidance for these exercises.
Comparative tastings are easier than tasting wines in isolation. Grab a Chardonnay, a Riesling, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Semillon and a Pinot Gris. Talk about the differences in the colour, the smell and the taste of the wines. Try to describe what you smell and taste, try to describe the differences.
What’s next?
Over the months, you’ll notice that you’re actually thinking about the wine you’re drinking, and taking a little more time with them. What you’re doing is developing your sense of taste or your ‘palate’ (physically your mouth and your tongue). Your palate will also tell you about the weight and shape of the wine you’re dealing with, from delicate, lean and elegant to big, rich, robust and heavy.
The best way to develop your sense of taste and wine appreciation is to taste different wines over time. One simple way to learn more is to become a regular with your friends at a wine bar with an interesting list and a helpful wine waiter, or at a bistro with a good wine selection and a wine waiter you can ask to show you interesting wines.
If you like the idea of going to simple wine tastings, start with the free ones put on by wine merchants on Saturdays. Get on the mailing lists of independent merchants in your area, and you’ll soon discover that there are plenty of good, interesting and even some exotic boutique wines in Australia that won’t break the bank. Our Best Wine Lists are a good start.
The easy way forward
It’s when you start looking for easy-to-digest wine education that the trouble starts. Most wine books in your library assume some knowledge on your part, and it’s the same with most wine websites. It can seem like a club, where you’re supposed to know the rules before you can join but no one can tell you what they are.
At BWU$20, we’ve tracked down the best sites for excellent no-nonsense education on wine, and we’ve grouped them below for easy access.
Wine Basics – A Beginner’s Guide to Drinking Wine – the Wine Folly
There are links to dozens of useful tutorials and guides on this page – here are a few samples:
Learn How to Taste Wine & Develop Your Palate – using a simple 4-step system of LOOK, SMELL, TASTE and CONCLUSION. Perfect for novices.
At some point you may want to join a class, and the Australian Wine Society runs classes for all levels of wine lovers, from beginners to regulars. There’s a modest $50 joining fee, and many benefits as well.
Why Wine Serving Temperature Matters
Learn with the 9 major wine styles – this is a simple but comprehensive rundown on major wine styles and their characteristics.
5 Guidelines to Food and Wine Pairing – a very simple guide to matching food and wine
The Wine Folly has many more resources for learning about wine. The site makes money from its gorgeous prints and accessories. You can also download large infographics and wine region maps for free.
Sweet Wines 101 – a guide to sweet wine styles and a look at how they’re made.
Wine 101: 10 Tips for Attending a Wine Tasting – a really practical guide to making the most out of wine tasting events. From WineSpectator.
How to Store Wine 101: 7 Basics You Need to Know – Tips on keeping your fine wines at their best without spending a lot
Harvest 101: The Basics of Crush Season – Learn what goes on in the vineyard and winery during each stage of the annual harvest for wine grapes.
