how do you decide what is a good wine ?

Question

how do you decide what is a good wine to buy, for dating, entertaining, or just to relax by myself and to deecide what wines go with what meals, etc. plz help

Answer 1

This is a hard question as everyones tastes are different. Some people like white wine better then red wine. Depends on if you like a dry wine or sweet wine. There are 1000's of different kinds of wine out there. Not every bottle of one type is the same. You can buy a bottle of Cab.Sauv from Italy and it tastes different from one that is made in California. The best way is to go to a wine tasting event that most cities have and sample different kinds. Take notes as to what you are tasting and liking about that wine. You will come to learn what your taste is and what you enjoy the best. Another good way is to have a wine party where you invite a group of friends and everyone brings a different type of wine. This is a good way to see what other people like so if you are planning on having people over you know what to keep in the wine rack. I find that most people that are new to drinking wine dont seem to care for a dry wine, but as you drink more wine you will change what kind of wine you drink. After you find a wine you like you can start to make it at home. You can buy a starter kit that will provide you with everything you need for around $50.00. With the wine kits they have now it is as easy as making kool-aid and cost just about as much. You can make a batch of wine at home for $50-100 and that will give you 30 bottles of wine. Thats around $2.00 a bottle, it is alot cheaper then going out and buying it at the liquor store. Making wine at home is alot of fun as you can make soooo many different kinds and it makes great gifts also. So if I had to pick one wine that it seems like everyone would enjoy I would have to say that Cabernet Sauvignon would be one of the popular ones. Just remember to look at the tags when buying the wine to see how dry it is. This could be either a # or letters. XD- is extra dry and it goes up from there, as the #'s start at a 0 and can go up to 22. The higher the # the sweeter the wine will be. Dont be afraid of trying some of the cheap bottles of wine. You will be surprised that some of them are really good and if it isnt then you didnt spend that much on it. Many people mistakenly believe that they will ruin the whole meal if they make the "wrong" wine choice. The good news is that it's impossible to ruin a good meal if you select a wine that you enjoy regardless of what the "wine experts" say. Remember, the wine experts are not eating your dinner. If you want to talk "rules" of wine and food pairing, the oldest one in the book is red with meat, white with fish or fowl. But rules are meant to be broken. In recent years we've gotten bold and have said it's okay to have Pinot Noir, which is a light red wine, or even Merlot with salmon. And I personally know some white wine drinkers who will enjoy their Chardonnay whether liver pâté or a juicy grilled steak is on the menu.

Having said that, there are some general guidelines you may find helpful when selecting a wine to enhance your meal.



1. Select light-bodied wines to pair with lighter food, and fuller-bodied wines to go with heartier, more flavorful dishes. Using the salmon example above, the Pinot Noir works beautifully with the fish because you are matching light to light. Otherwise a full-bodied, heavier wine will overpower a light, delicate dish, and similarly, a lighter style wine will not even register on your personal flavor meter if you sip it with a hearty roast. You may as well drink water.

2. Consider how the food is prepared. Is it grilled, roasted, or fried, for instance, and what type of sauce or spice is used? For example, chicken with a lemon butter sauce will call for a different more delicate wine to play off the sauce than chicken cacciatore with all of the tomato and Italian spices, or a grilled chicken breast.

3. For every food action, there is a wine reaction. When you drink wine by itself it tastes one way, but when you take a bite of food, the wine tastes different. This is because wine is like a spice. Elements in the wine interact with the food to provide a different taste sensation like these basic reactions:

Sweet Foods like Italian tomato sauce, Japanese teriyaki, and honey-mustard glazes make your wine seem drier than it really is so try an off-dry (slightly sweet) wine to balance the flavor (Chenin Blanc, White Zinfandel, Riesling).

High Acid Foods like salads with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, soy sauce, or fish served with a squeeze of lemon go well with wines higher in acid (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir). White Zinfandel, although not as high in acid, can provide a nice contrast to high acid foods.

Bitter and Astringent Foods like a mixed green salad of bitter greens, Greek kalamata olives and charbroiled meats accentuate a wine's bitterness so complement it with a full-flavored forward fruity wine (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot). Big tannic red wines (like many red Zinfandels, and Shiraz or Syrah wines) will go best with your classic grilled steak or lamb chops, as the fat in the meat will tone down the tannin (bitterness) in the wine.

Good luck in your hunt for wine..

Answer 2

The best way to decide what is a good wine is to taste wine until you have a variety of favorites. If you live near a wine region, many wineries have tasting rooms where you can sample their wines. Sometimes there is a charge for this and other places let you taste for free.

Some wines have been rated by various people usually on a scale with 100 being the highest rating. Since everyone has different tastes, you can't always go by what someone else thinks, but you might consider a wine that's highly rated. At least someone did think highly of the wine. However, many wines have not even been rated.

A local wine shop can often make good suggestions. You can also check out the recommendations at this site: http://www.cheers2wine.com/buy-wine.html.

Answer 3

Two ways, you can buy the most expensive wine.... it must be the best, but chances are you won't like it. Expensive wines are just fashionable.

Or, you can go to a winery and go through a wine tasting. They will tell you about the variety of wines and what wines go best for what occasions. After that you will have to sample and try wines for yourself to determine what is best for you. Every person has their own "palate", so what I enjoy you might not like.

It would take volumes to talk about the different varieties of wines and what they are used for. Happy sipping!!

Answer 4

Region/Country. French Bourdeax and Bourgogne are good wines. German wines, especially from Riesling grapes are not that good. If you want quality you have to learn how to taste wines. Its not that easy.

White meat (chicken), fish, cheese or fruit = white whine.
Other meat or spiced poultry = red wine.
If the taste of the food is strong you need a strong wine. It should be balanced.

Answer 5

A good wine is the one I prefer to drink with the foods I prefer to eat. It doesn't matter where it comes from or who made it. If I like the taste, it's a good wine to me.

Answer 6

Good wine is subjective. You have to decide what you like and use that for whatever you are doing...

As far as that whole red wine = meat, white wine = fish. A famous chef once said (imagine a Cajun accent), "People always talkin' 'bout red wine wit' meat 'n whi' wine wit' fish. I say that fish, he dead! He don' care wha' kin' a wine you gonn' be drinkin' wit' em."

Answer 7

By asking the wine dealer what he would recommend. Also by sampleing a few and then deciding which ones I like best.

Answer 8

I know very little about wine, in a restaurant, I'll ask a waiter, in a liquor store, I'll ask the shop owner for the best white or red wine, depending on what I want to buy.

Answer 9

1. By your taste!!!
2. by knowing a good quality whereever it comes from
3. to go with your food
4. Last but not least: for dating i'd take a Champange to make it as exciting as the bubbles in the bottle!

Answer 10

I think the old theory of red with this and white with that is out these days....
I decide by my own taste what I like and that is what I drink and serve with my food.