How do I learn about wine?

Question

I have recently been befriended by some people who love wine and actually take vacations specifically for wine! I don't want to sound ignorent around them. Is wine something you can study?

Answer 1

wine.com has a section where you can learn some basics about wine. It's a good place to start. There are also tons of book on the subject but that's more involved.

Answer 2

The best thing to do is start of with reading a book or two. I would recommend Wine for Dummies and The Everything Wine Book as they are easy reads and are very informative. While you are reading those books, go to a local wine shop and attend a tasting. Many shops hold a tasting each week. While you are there try everything, talk to the wine pourer, listen and take notes. Reading alone will not give you the experience to go with the knowledge, drinking alone will not give you the backround and knowledge that helps wine make sense. Put the two together with a little bit of help from the person pouring the wine and you have yourself a great start.

After a while you might start visiting wineries. You will find that winemakers tend to be very down to earth people who are passionate and love to educate the public about their product. You will also find people who are snobby about wine, don't listen to them as most people couldn't tell the difference between a red and white if they were blindfolded and the wines were at room temperature.

Good luck you have opened yourself up to a whole new world.

Answer 3

Absolutely!! First off, try experimenting with different wines every time you go out to the store. The more you taste the better!
Next, pop out to Chapters or something similar and purchase a copy of "The Wine Lovers Companion", it is comprehensive and an easy read for those just starting out. Once you get through that (and it's not even that big of a book), you can move on to more expansive stuff if you like. The Oxford Companion to Wine is a great read, but very dry and academic, more of an intermidiate to advanced level reading.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

You can certainly study it. But it's not practical to just read a book about it. Sure you can learn all the etiquette that way, but you need to try lots of different wines (different grapes, regions, countries, years). Start cheaply. I almost always ask the people in the wine shop about different bottles. Usually they are very informative. Also, the Wall Street Journal has pretty good column where they rate inexpensive wines for their value and taste. Remember, wines are great in restaurants, but they are double, sometimes triple as expensive than buying them in a store.
The most important thing to remember, wine is best shared with friends and family.

Answer 5

Yes,
If you city has a non-credit adult learning organization they often offer wine classes. Restaurants sometime offer wine tastings. These are a fixed price for a menu with multiple courses with with a different wine. Sometimes they also do an explanation of why that wine goes with that course. Wine stores also offer wine classes.

Do a yahoo search for wine classes in your hometown.

Or you can learn on your own. I suggest 2 books that really helped me.
Wine for Dummies
and
The Everything Wine Book

Answer 6

Go to Wine Tastings and Wineries. You should really get the real experience with you. Try out different kinds of wine. Look around a little. Plus, there are always book.

Answer 7

There are many sources you can benefit from. Look in your area to find local wine tastings. They are fun and educational, maybe you'll make a new friend who can educate you on wine. Depending where you live you might want to make a trip to a winery (most give tours) and will answer your questions. Books are a good source, or go on line.

Answer 8

there are lots of wine tasting around cities go to a few and try . Barnes and noble has good books but my favorite way is just trying new wines and see the difference in taste and after taste

Answer 9

You're trying to tell us you were born knowing all these things. What a genius. Alcohol.... bell peppers... that's two things...wow. Everyone else learns what they're taught, unless they have some learning disability, but that's not as common as you say. I think you've gotten ignorance confused with stupidity. Stupidity is when you refuse to learn, think you know better and tolerate the consequences. Ignorance is when you haven't learned something YET. Did you ever imaging that you could help another person? I didn't think so.

Answer 10

I've known wine snobs for decades. These fools pay big bucks for wines that taste worse than cat piss, and roll their eyes in ecstacy as they taste it. In my opinion, the best way to learn about wines is to simply buy a bottle and try it. If you like it, continue to buy it. If not try something else. I come from a family of wine drinkers. My father, as a pilot for Pan American Airways, traveled throughout the world and brought home wines from various countries. From him, I learned one lesson about wines. That was, "If you like it drink it."

In my opinion, the best red wines are currently being produced in Chile. If you can find it, buy a bottle of Frontera, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot. A 1.5 liter bottle costs about 8 dollars. Drink it at room temperature. If you can't find Frontera, look for any wine that comes from Chile.