Some things you have learned about wine drinking?

Some things that I have learned about wine drinking:
-I have been drinking my reds too warm and my whites too cold
-I have not allowed enough aeration/decanting for wines old and young
-It helps to hear multiple and divergent opinions about wines and wine drinking
-There is a lot of very good wine at almost every price level
-I am not yet tired of discovering and drinking very good wine

Cheers.

It ain’t the end all be all!!
Old doesn’t equal good.
No stress over what I cannot afford.
Riesling is a kind teacher. Old, young, sweet, semi or dry, even Sparkling. It spares the pocketbook and invites you in.
More Chenin Blanc please.

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Don’t be afraid of residual sugar, especially if pairing with spicy food.
Bubbles aren’t just for celebration.
Orange can be a revelation (but drink slightly chilled, not as cold as whites or they are very bitter)
Explore lesser-known regions and even more, lesser-known grapes.
Don’t let anyone else suggest your preferences are invalid.
Nothing keeps as long as a bottle of Madeira.
Late harvest rieslings are not only divine, they are low-alcohol, too!

Drink what you like, not what you think you are supposed to like.

If the winemaker/owner is an a$$hole, the wine isn’t worth chasing. Plenty of good wine made by great people.

Be willing to give second and even third chances. Sometimes first impressions are wrong.

Spend time on what interests you and ignore that which doesn’t. Not everyone cares about the difference between the oak from Nevers and Limousine. Others enjoy wine more the more they understand.

Vintage difference matters, it tells a story, sometimes It tells you a different story than it tells others. Some of my favorite vintages are not the most prized by the critics.

Glass shape and serving temperature do make a difference. I can’t think of how many wines I wrote off only to have properly chilled or in a more (or less) funneled glass. Sometimes they become a completely different wine.

Similarly, decanting off sediment (sometimes chewy and bitter) is required. Again, I wrote off many wines as unbalanced and off tasting only to try similar, properly decanted wines later that were amazing.

Don’t be in a rush to open that bottle you just got, or drink it right after pulling the cork. Wine does need to breathe. It took years to get to you (maybe even decades), give it time to open up.

Finally, Gran Cru Burgundy wines are great, especially when someone else is paying for them.

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You don’t need a foil cutter. If the bottle has a real tin foil, not a plastic one, just grab that sucker and pull. Most come off fairly easily.

Oldie but still true. There is no such thing as a great wine, just great bottles.

You probably have too much wine.
You really didn’t need to make that last purchase.

Don’t focus on a wine’s flaws.

Don’t feel obliged to follow anyone else’s palate.

Thanks for sharing. I like it.

Do buy a bunch of something you really like. You’ll miss it when it is gone.
Do not be afraid to pass on a “great” deal. There will be another one tomorrow.
Do travel to a wine region, at least once.
Do not follow the crowd, unless that crowd is Oregon Pinot Noir. :slight_smile:
Do check Cellartracker, especially before deciding on a WTSO/Last Bottle purchase.
Do not overdo it on a regular basis.
Do share your wine with friends, even/especially if they are not able to reciprocate.
Do not wait to open a special bottle.

If you have the opportunity and the patience/time, write tasting notes for every wine you drink. Don’t worry about making them “good” or professional – make them just for you.

Writing notes help me focus on the specifics of the wine I was tasting and made them more memorable. The intense focus paid dividends in determining what wines and producers to seek out in the future and gave me notes from years of trips to help me decide which wines in my cellar were likely to be mature and/or to appeal to which of my guests. I have two or three small notebooks full of personal tasting notes which have been an excellent reference.

[winner.gif]

This should be a sticky post at the top of any wine forum. I wish when I started drinking wines someone tapped me no the shoulder and told me these things.

After reading through all of these I think you all need to get together and write a book for people who are getting into wine. I’m sure we could come up with a great title.

Honestly this is all great advice.

+10

Reno 2.
2.1. Many whites benefit from a double decant, especially if they are to be consumed early in the course of a dinner. They deserve as much care in the when to open decision process as the reds.
2.2. There is always tomorrow. Ie you don’t have to finish the bottle on day 1.

I don’t like white wine. Before drinking red wine, I put it in the refrigerator, chill it to about 57 Fahrenheit. Then I open the bottle and let it stand for about 15 minutes. Well, when I drink wine, I am in no hurry. In a wide glass, it breathes air. When I bought inexpensive wines, I somehow did not attach importance to such a ritual, but during one of my business trips to Europe I got to know the culture of wine consumption better.

Yes buy a fair amount of wine that you like – but remember that your tastes can change over time.

These are all very good. I would add the following:

When exploring a new wine region like France, focus on familiarizing yourself with one region and get comfortable from a knowledge and tasting experience. Then branch out from there. For example, when I started exploring French wines I first concentrated on Châteauneuf-du-Pape, branched out to Gigondas and then traveled up the Rhone River.