(Part 2) Top products from r/wine

Wine is a huge beast, but a lot of fun. You can't really sit down in one weekend and completely understand everything.

Your first step is trying different red and white wines - red wines being red grapes soaked with their grape skins before fermentation, and whites being white grapes drained off immediately. The extra skin contact lets tannins enter the liquid, and creates the bitter/dry taste (think what your mouth feels like after eating a slightly too-ripe banana).

Your local wine store is going to be your best friend in your experimentation - those clerks are very knowledgeable (unlike the ones at the grocery store, for example), and can help guide you when you tell them what you thought of each wine you try.

As for actual recommendation: go to your local wine shop and ask for a good budget Riesling and Shiraz/Syrah that aren't blended. Expect to spend about $15 on each. Chill the Riesling when you get home.

When you're ready to try the wines, get a notepad out so you can remember what you thought weeks later (I ran into this problem when I first started). Open one, pour a glass, and smell it. The bouquet is extremely important in wine. Sniff it for a good minute and write down what you smell. Different fruits, foods, not-foods (rubber is a common aroma in some varietals). Then taste it, hold it in your mouth for a second and make sure it gets your whole tongue. Again, write down what you taste and what you think of it. If you want to try both wines at the same time (actually a great idea), I'd do the white one first, and make sure to drink some water between the tastings (the traditional cleansing of one's palate).

Wine doesn't have to be snooty - this is supposed to be fun. I swear I had a wine that reminded me of a meat-lovers pizza.

If you really enjoy it, I picked up a book recently: Drink This. Very down to earth and good information for beginners.

I'd also suggest this as a pretty good, pretty broad introduction to what wine is supposed to/can be. Zero pretension, while addressing how to compare and contrast wines styles (for similar grapes, regions, etc).

I linked to the 2013 version, but there's one that's a year newer for a few dollars more.

But a wine guide is like having an interpretion of Joyce's Ulysses; it's one thing for someone else to explain the sense they've made of something that has a subjective quality, its another completely for you to gain the same feeling of understanding.

Everyone will tell you that it's essential to try a lot of wine, and they're not wrong. But I'll add my $.02 on how to expedite the process.

1. Find a few like-minded friends that are interested in the journey. They don't have to have the same exact passion, just be willing to drink wine and occasionally articulate an opinion. Oh, and contribute to getting wine in front of each other. The friends thing is also key, because it allows you to open multiple bottles in one sitting and still maintain enough of a memory to compare them!
   
   
2. Begin by focusing on a few varietals that can be had in a range of qualities without breaking the bank. Many, many whites and some reds like Zinfandel, syrah, tempranillo, and grenache can have stunning examples at prices under (or even well under) $40.
   
   
3. If you can, visit as many wineries as you can. Particularly ones in areas that focus on a few varietals. You'll have a chance (often under one roof or within a few miles) to try 4-15 versions of a particular grape; ranging from entry level, to experimental, to older vintages, to barrel samples, to prestige labels - maybe at no cost, maybe for a nominal tasting fee. That's when you often have the epiphany, yeah I see why that bottle is $20 more - or almost as often, that you actually prefer the cheaper version.

When you sign up for the Level I course, you'll receive a copy of Sales and Service for the Wine Professional by Brian Julyan. Much of the Level I course will be taught from this book, so it will be helpful to familiarize yourself with it.

I'm a big fan of the World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Janis Robinson, since it focuses on regions and appellations and explores wine from there. Great for getting to know the smaller sub-regions that you'll be expected to know for future exams.

I also have a copy of the Oxford Companion to Wine by Janis Robinson. It's more of a reference manual than a book you can read straight through, but if you come across a term or a region you're unfamiliar with, this will be a great reference.

I also recommend Karen McNeil's Wine Bible and Wine for Dummies for a more conversational, digestible overview of wine. They won't delve too deeply into the Master-Level details, but for Levels I and II, they'll help immensely.

See this link for the Level I syllabus and recommended reading list from the Court of Masters. Hope that helps out. I took and passed Level I about two years ago, and will be sitting for Level II this year. PM me if you have specific questions about the test. Level I is pretty easy if you've been working with wine for a while, so October/November should be an attainable goal.

Haha. The 1870 Lafite was rated 96 points by Parker at a Hardy Rodenstock dinner. If the Balestreri/Panetta isn't a counterfeit bottle, Parker's almost certainly was.

>Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (WA): 96
"Except for the 1966 and 1870 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild, these wines were poured on virgin territory on my palate. The other great classics from the last century were remarkable wines, all with original corks, and in extraordinary condition. Their age was authenticated by Michael Broadbent, who is the only person in the world to have the good fortune to have tasted these wines on several occasions. After two disappointing tastings of the immortal 1870 Lafite-Rothschild, the Rodenstock tasting finally provided me a provocative, compelling, profound bottle of this legendary wine. The color is a healthy dark garnet, and the huge nose of freshly sliced celery, mint, cedar, and cassis unfolded quickly, but held in the glass during the 30-40 minutes it remained there before it became just a mere component of my bodily fluids. The wine exhibited sweet fruit, surprising glycerin and opulence for a Lafite, and a sweet, jammy, powerful finish. It is an extraordinary wine!"

As an aside, The Billionaire's Vinegar is a great read on the subject.

I suggest going to Barnes and Noble, flipping open Wine Spectator and look at their Best Under $10 list. Buy those, research basic info, drink, make notes, rinse and repeat. You can find a best list pretty much anywhere, I just say Wine Spectator because of accessibility. Also, the November issue will be the Top 100 best in the world, and probably a Top 100 on value.

Good luck.

P.S. Buy this book, it will help a ton.

Drink This - Wine Made Simple - Great book for beginners

The Wine Bible

The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert - Seems like it's a joke, and it sooort of is, but there's some good information there, and the scratch and sniff thing is actually quite useful.

The World Atlas of Wine - Pretty much the ultimate wine book. If you don't want to spend that much on it, consider buying a used copy of the older edition. You can get it for just a few bucks. Obviously it won't be as up to date, but it's still extremely useful.

Pairing Food and Wine for Dummies - John Szabo is legit

Great Wine Made Simple

Up until recently I worked at a book store, these were the books I recommended most frequently to people. If you want ones about specific regions, there are some good ones out there too. These are all more general.

> I do decant my wine, but also sometimes use the magic decanter to see the difference in taste. Are the magic decanters frowned upon here?

I had to google this because they are marketed differently here and not called magic decanters. But I have used them when I used to work behind tasting bars. They do a little bit of aerating in my opinion, but I tend to just go with the old fashioned decanter. It's all personal preference.

> If there's any popular books you know of which are easy to read (i.e. more for beginners) then please let me know.

Are you thinking of just tasting books, to help you get in the swing of things? If so, here are a few:

• How To Taste
  
  
• Wine: A Tasting Course
  
  
• Wine Folly - this one is basically a lot of infographics and so it may not be as helpful on its own but in conjunction with one of the others it's good
  
  These are good starter books. Once you get the hang of it, invest in the Oxford Companion or other lovely tomes that may be a bit dense at the moment.

Yes, it's always that blend. Reference? Well, I've been a collector of Clos des Papes it since 1998. If you're a fan of CDP, you should pick up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Chateauneuf-du-Pape-Wine-Book-Harry-Karis/dp/9081201719
Just confirmed, those numbers are in there too.

or you can Google it. It's not a hard fact to find. you can also find info like that on any of the critic sites like jamessuckling.com or erobertparker.com. Say what you will about Parker, but in my opinion, no one covers Rhone or Bordeaux better than he does. if you're a real Rhone or Bordeaux enthusiast, his $25/qtr rate is worth it.

You can even find this type of info in the summaries provided by K&L and the like.

"One of the benchmark estates, Clos des Papes covers close to 90 acres in Chateauneuf du Pape and is run by the incredibly talented Paul-Vincent Avril. Favoring a single cuvee, his Chateauneuf du Pape is always a blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre 10% Syrah and the rest a mix of Vaccarese, Counoise and Muscardin. No new oak is used in the winery and all new barrels and foudre see three vintages of his non-vintage Le Petit Vin d’Avril before being used for his grand vin."
http://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1121419

another vintage with the same blend: http://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1211961

Read Windows of the World. http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Zraly-Windows-Complete-Course/dp/1454913649/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415111222&sr=8-1&keywords=windows+of+the+world+complete+wine+course

I think it is the best intro, as it is structured and readable beyond that of just a reference source. It is great for giving some direction on where you want to take your own study afterward. (As mentioned, WAOW and TWB are great "second" books in my mind)

I'd also recommend "What to Drink with What You Eat." to serve as a basis for pairing: http://www.amazon.com/What-Drink-You-Eat-Definitive-ebook/dp/B000SEIGUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415111602&sr=8-1&keywords=what+to+drink+with+what+you+eat. It will be great for a reference on wine interacting with foods you've had little exposure to previously, which could be the case your first time in a higher end restaurant.

The tasting group thing is a great idea if you can put it together, but may prove difficult if you aren't already around people with the same aspirations. It will prove very valuable once you are "in" at a place and want to continue your development.

The biggest key in an interview though is that you've shown a willingness and aspiration to learn. When asked about your previous wine experience, it will go a long way if you can state, "well, I only have direct experience (generic chain restaurant wines) but I've expanded my knowledge of the great wine regions of the world through self study"

Simply put, a bond is a license to produce alcohol. You can make a vintage (or two) on someone else's bond while you're getting yourself together and have wine to sell when you open. Or continue that way indefinitely if you find the business relationship to be beneficial on both ends.

"Wine Marketing and Sales", by Wagner, Olson, and Thatch is a really solid read on the topic. That's the second edition, released in 2016, so it should be pretty up to date with how the economy is now. I have the first edition from when I was in school and it's a bit outdated. Definitely a good place to start, and they cover multiple aspects of wine business and how to go about setting up your channel split and all of that jazz.

"The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass", by Jamie Goode I think is a good place to start (disclaimer: I haven't yet read this book, but my roommate had the first edition in college and spoke highly of it, and it's on my reading list as well). After that I would suggest having a copy of "Wine Science" by Jackson on hand. Much more in depth, it's literally a textbook. Good resource to have on hand to look up topics and get a more in depth look at things happening on a molecular level within the winegrowing and winemaking processes, which I think is crucial to making informed decisions from a production standpoint. Fantastically sourced bibliographies as well.

UC Davis also does an online Winemaking Certificate Program that will run you through the basics.

These will keep you busy (and, I hope, enlightened) for a while:

The Science of Wine: Extremely useful for explaining such phenomena as corked wines, volatile acidity, "red wine gives me headaches," etc.

The Wines of Burgundy.

Bordeaux

Vino Italiano

World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine

James Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia

John Platter's South African Wine Guide

Wines of South America Monty Waldin is a bit eccentric for my tastes, but he knows what he's talking about.

The Wines of Spain This is due for revision (last one was 2006), but still excellent.

I have yet to find a satisfactory all-around book on German wines. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Windows on the World by Kevin Zraly - $18 and you will have a firm foundation of wine knowledge. One of the best features of the 30th edition is a "Best value list: $30 and under" which gives you a great resource to buy good wines that won't break the bank.

Hey, I made this infographic several years ago! It's more like a fun guide for exploration of some major wines than a dataset of all the wines there are in the world. I was attempting to make sense of categorizing wines by intensity, primary flavors, and sweetness profile. Since then, we've created a book, which is much more detailed and accurate. Still, this poster is fun to explore!

A real beginner's primer:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1402771231/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1415524245&sr=8-2#

Guides to specific producers and wines in different wine producing regions:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1909815373/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415524245&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1845339452/ref=pd_aw_sims_1?pi=SY115&simLd=1

A guide to understanding the different wine producing region themselves:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1845336895/ref=pd_aw_sims_2?pi=SY115&simLd=1

More advanced reading exploring why wine tastes the way it does (among other things):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0520276892/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415524687&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

This is just scratching the surface really, there are many many more books along these lines. This is a deep rabbit hole.

Jamie Goode's website (http://www.wineanorak.com - free) and Jancis Robinson's website (http://www.jancisrobinson.com - subscription required) are also extremely good resources.

Happy reading!

The Wine Grapes book by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vuillamoz is a good place to start. Although I am a bit confused - are you hoping to suggest what the ideal climate/elevation is for each grape? Or what characters a particular variety will exhibit in different terroirs? Or are you hoping to look at appellations?

Can't tell what level you're at, but if you want a great 101 book that I recommend to everyone, it's Kevn Zraly's Complete Wine Course. It's amaaaazing.
http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Zralys-Windows-Complete-Course/dp/1454909099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394125144&sr=8-1&keywords=kevin+zraly

You're welcome; glad that you found them helpful. If you want what I consider to be the most thorough introduction to the world of wine, check out the SWE's CSW book. It's a massive amount of material, but it's a fantastic resource (even if you don't intended on pursuing certification).

If you want to read more about the Jefferson wines, I recommend The Billionaire’s Vinegar. It goes into depth about Hardy Rodenstock and the provenance of the bottles. Very good read and only a couple of dollars on amazon.

Wine For Dummies is a great option to create a solid foundation of basic wine knowledge. It costs about $15 + shipping on amazon for a new version, but I'm sure you could find a used copy at a local book store for much cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Dummies-Ed-McCarthy/dp/0470045795/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

My introduction to wine course used Windows On the World Complete Wine Course. Excellent book because it starts with the basics and gives a good foundation to build on.

When I took the WSET, I actually purchased the CSW Workbook and used their blank maps. Helped me! Used transparency paper and went over everything over and over. Cost me like $30, well worth it for me.

https://www.amazon.com/2019-Certified-Specialist-Wine-Workbook/dp/1794385304/

http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Tasting-Course-Marnie-Old/dp/1465405887

If you need visuals to learn easily, this is really good.

I'm new to wine too so I picked up a copy of The Essential Guide to Wine and I've cross referenced it with recommendations of cheap wines. An article I started with was this 150 best wines under $15. I've found some really tasty wines for $8-$10. One that I'm in love with right now is Chops and Burgers which was around $8 a bottle.

Get Windows on the World by Kevin Zraly. It's basically an intro-level wine textbook, and it's a great resource.

amazon link

This was my first thought as well, so I went digging. Here's another pic someone took of a '78 Solitude label without the embossment on the bottle. That being said, here's a pic from an old and rare CdP flight that includes the '78 Solitude (sixth label from the left) led by Harry Karis, who literally wrote the book on CdP, and his bottling appears to have the embossment.

So either they produced both kinds of bottles that year, or there's a fraudulent bottling making the rounds.

At the time 1978 was the best vintage in the Rhone in 30 years and Robert Parker wouldn't rate another vintage as highly until 1998.

It's a great candidate for fraud.

Have you considered an Erlenmeyer flask? I bought several of these $12, made by Pyrex and dishwasher safe.

https://www.amazon.com/PYREX-Narrow-Mouth-Erlenmeyer-Flasks/dp/B004XR5VMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478888519&sr=8-1&keywords=erlenmeyer+flask+1000ml

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


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Glasses were a gift, they are Schott Zwiesel's, I don't know the exact model though. Decanter is a Menu: https://www.amazon.com/Menu-4680069-Winebreather-Carafe/dp/B0035WSJQW

same price, much better looks, plus allows for swirling/shaking without spilling here

Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson I've found to be an extremely valuable tool when practicing my blind tasting, and helping me look for particular markers in different regions.

You may find the book Billionaire's Vinegar interesting.

get the vinturi and any glass vessel of your choice. I have a number of them, but these two get the most use:

http://www.amazon.com/Riedel-1440-13-Cabernet-Decanter/dp/B0000DC0XG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462385732&sr=8-2&keywords=riedel+ultra+wine+decanter

http://www.amazon.com/PYREX-Narrow-Mouth-Erlenmeyer-Flasks/dp/B004XR5VMI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1462385775&sr=8-7&keywords=erlenmeyer+flask

there is a follow up film to somm.

Also, you may want to read The Billionaire's Vinegar https://www.amazon.com/Billionaires-Vinegar-Mystery-Worlds-Expensive/dp/0307338789

Really just read http://www.amazon.com/Sales-Service-Professional-Brian-Julyan/dp/1844807894/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376364168&sr=1-1

It's what the test is written from and the practice test in the back is essentially the level 2 exam. Use this for level 1 and this plus a few others for certified and you'll be golden.

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/2019-Certified-Specilast-Study-Guide-ebook/dp/B07QG7XKPH/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3MX71P86YZQEE&keywords=certified+specialist+of+wine+study+guide+2019&qid=1571939287&sprefix=Certified+special%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-4

Paperback: (on sale from $34 bucks today): https://www.amazon.com/2019-Certified-Specialist-Study-Guide/dp/1794385010/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MX71P86YZQEE&keywords=certified+specialist+of+wine+study+guide+2019&qid=1571939326&sprefix=Certified+special%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1

A decanter or wine opener can be added into the list above too.

Oster FPSTBW8207-S Electric Wine Bottle Opener, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YFI0O6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_qMnLub1EVCKR0

Menu Winebreather Carafe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035WSJQW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_lNnLub0D6ESNC

menu winebreather: https://www.amazon.com/Menu-4680069-Winebreather-Carafe/dp/B0035WSJQW

I just finished reading The Billionaire's Vinegar and I'm still shocked about the apparent prevalence of counterfeit vintage wine. Apparently more 1982 Latour (or Lafite, can't remember which) is poured in Las Vegas yearly than what was produced at the Chateau in '82.

I use these almost exclusively; I have one my great grandfather bought in germany after the war that I use every day.

This is what I use on questionable corks, IMO it can't be beat but I'm sure someone will tell me they're a bad idea! Anything more than 20 years old I use it.