Good source that talks about wines, everything a rookie wants to know about wines?

Question

I want to become a wine connoisseur but need some good sources where I can start my research. Any suggestions? Book titles, websites etc? When I drink them I want to know what to order and the differences between them as well as differentiate between name labels and types as well as tastes.

Answer 1

http://www.wineintro.com/
http://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/learn/devine_truth.php
http://wine.about.com/
http://www.wines.com/wine_education.html

Answer 2

First, congratulations on making the effort; you'll be glad you did. You can only learn so much, so fast by reading; get a few issues of Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, etc., to start, but you really need to spend some time with a friendly, knowledgable person willing to open a few of the right bottles with you, if you want to learn well and quickly. I suggest, um, me; check my answers here and you'll see I know a thing or three on the subject and can explain it in a way that novices appreciate.

Answer 3

I've been writing about wine for 10 years now. I have thousands of wine instruction pages online at WineIntro.com which are specifically geared towards beginning wine drinkers. I was the wine editor at about.com until the end of 2004 - and when I left they removed *all* my content from that site - so it only has a few pages of content in comparison. All of my content is now at WineIntro.com

The Wine Spectator is good in that it's a large publication - but they are very geared towards the experienced drinker and often go into very esoteric subjects that make no sense at all to a new wine drinker. Also, some have called into question the bias that they might have towards certain wineries.

Really, though, the most that any website can tell you is "A Chardonnay is white and tends to have flavors of xxxxx" and "A Bordeaux is a wine made with these grapes and which tends to taste like xxxxx". Yes this can be helpful - but the most important thing in wine is how YOU and your tongue react to a given flavor.

I know people who hate all rieslings. I know others who love rieslings, but only from Germany. I know others yet who love only a certain winery's riesling. They are all quite right in appreciating what their tongue is made to appreciate. No book can ever tell you what is "good" or "bad for your tongue. Only your tongue can tell you that.

Therefore, really the *best* way to learn about wine is to simply experience it. Watch your local calendars for wine festivals and events, and attend. Take a notebook, and sample a set of wines. Write down what you like and dislike. That is all that matters in the end. It really doesn't matter "what the best vintage in Napa Valley for Chardonnay" is if you don't like Chardonnay. It doesn't matter if some nose-in-the-air wine reviewer tells you you MUST buy an XXXX pinot noir if you just don't like pinot noir. What matters in the end is what you personally love, and if that's a $4.99 Zinfandel, then all the better for you.

In short, you should order what you enjoy. If anybody tries to tell you "Oh you can't order that with FISH" then get a cork and stick it in their mouth. Nobody else can tell you what you enjoy. Only you can!

As far as learning tastes, again that is about you and your tongue. Like anything, it takes practice. When you first go fishing, all water might look the same. After a few years of fishing, you learn to spot rough water, fish-filled water and so on. The exact same thing is true with wine. The only way to learn to taste flavors in wine is to keep tasting wine. Taste a bunch of Sauvignon Blancs at various events. Write down what flavors you taste in them. After a while, you learn to spot specific flavors because you've gotten used to how they taste and realize that many taste grassy or whatever. But again it's all about how your tongue perceives the flavors - we are all different.

Lisa Shea
http://www.WineIntro.com

Answer 4

An excellent source is Wine Spectator

They publish a magazine and also have a Web site.

www.winespectator.com

The most fun way to explore wine is to go wine tasting. You learn alot about wine while getting to sample before you buy a wine.

Answer 5

Decanter is a british publication - much better than the Wine Dictator...I mean Wine Spectator.

the Wine & Spirit Education Trust has certification classes and you can get your Masters of Wine.

Answer 6

Try the World Atlas of Wine, go through it section by section, and plan ahead to sip on some of the wines it discusses while reading.

Answer 7

similar the following, my brother made strawberry wine. i'd love some notwithstanding i'm off alcohol till August twenty second yet even after then I doubt i am going to have the time or favor to drink. little ones substitute each thing!