A few years ago I got really into wine. I had an amazing dinner in Raleigh that featured a Master wine sommelier. The cool idea for the restaurant was to pick from the menu and for a few bucks they would feature paired wine for your dinner. It was great to try multiple wines during a dinner and the guy was so inspiring. It’s great to be around someone who has that level of passion. You need a huge brain and crazy focus to get to his level but if you want to be more confident and feel more comfortable talking about wine here are my Tips.

Wine is broken into Old world wines and New world wines. The main Old world wines come from France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. When you want to know what a certain type of wine tastes like it’s best to taste it from an old world and compare it to a new world wine that does it well. Focus on the seven noble grapes.

White wines:Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Reisling.

Red wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah.

Then you can start to taste the basics of what that variety of wines range can taste like. My favorite example of this and the first I tried was the most popular white wine. Chardonnay. French Chard is really different from a California Chardonnay. California Chardonnay has an oak taste to it usually with a fruity profile. This comes from a term you should use and you can throw around to act smart. It’s called malolactic fermentation. The process occurs when the wine is aged in oak barrels. It gives it a buttery taste. French Chard which would be considered the old world wine has a more crisp, mineral taste to it. I always had thought I didn’t care for Chard until I tried a French version of it.

Continue to learn where the original noble grape comes from and then compare it to a new world wine. This will help you get a sense of the range the grape can represent.

If you love geography and history wine is also an amazing way to learn about a county and region. I now know more about France than I ever thought I would.

When tasting wine it’s almost always fruity. People make the early mistake of describing this as sweet. You won’t ever sound dumb if you say it’s fruity with almost any wine… wine is a grape so it makes sense. Most wines are dry though. Here is another popular word to use that you normally won’t get wrong. I think it has a citrusy taste it it. This is the profile for almost all whites. Another great word to describe a wine is it has a mineral taste to it. Throw out these descriptors and people will think you know a little bit about wine.

If you want to offer two wines at a party I would always offer a red and a white. You can’t go wrong with a cab and a Chard. You can also offer Pinot Grigio it’s another crowd pleaser.

Wine Folly is a reference book when getting into it. The internet has tons of info on specific grapes varieties. I keep a journal and write about the different wines I have tried. I think it makes it fun.

At the end of the day wine has become really good from most regions so find one you like and then start to branch out from that. Say you like Sauvignon Blanc then you could try a Sancerre from France and you would probably love it. Compare it to how they make it in a popular region like New Zealand which has a bigger grapefruit taste to it.

Wine is fun to drink so don’t feel intimidated by it. Learn some of the basics and show you are into it. People that know a lot about it will love that you have an interest in it and will really enjoy educating you on what they have learned so don’t be afraid to ask questions. They love it too.