How many times do you open a bottle of wine that you purchased and looked forward to tasting, only to discover that it's really not your kind of wine? This is disappointing especially if you've spent as much or more for it than other bottles you've enjoyed more. So how do you avoid this? How can you explore the world of wine and increase the likelihood that you'll enjoy the bottles you'll purchase? Here are the three steps I take to pick a bottle of wine I'll like.
- Find a good retailer. Do they have a diverse selection of good wine? Are the salespeople friendly? Can they talk knowledgeably about wine? Are they welcoming no matter how much you know or don't know about wine? To fit the criteria of a "good retailer" the answer needs to be "yes" to each of these questions. I also like to see handwritten shelf talkers (the cards hanging next to the wine with tasting notes) rather than just Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate scores and notes. If you don't find a good retailer the next two points won't really work. [Keep in mind that with a little tweaking, these three points could work with an online retailer. Jill at domaine547 seems like she could fill all three points wonderfully.]
- Get to know the salespeople. If they're a good retailer, they won't mind you hanging around, looking at bottles and talking to them about wine. After you drink a bottle you've purchased from them, make sure you talk to them about it. Tell them what you liked and didn't like about it. Better yet - show up when they have tastings. [Don't be one of those people who come in every time there's a free tasting, tries all the open wine and then walks out without buying anything. Those people suck.] Smell and taste and talk about the wine. Even if you feel like you're not good at it, describe it and listen to their descriptions. You're trying to give them information for my next point so the more you say, the better. Do this for a few months and if they are truly a good salesperson, they'll start to understand you preferences. They need you to do this for step three.
- Ask them for recommendations and trust them by taking the recommendations home. By now they should know you well enough that they can put your preferences together with the new wines they're tasting and bringing into the shop. The more you do this, and of course keep filling them in on how you liked or didn't like the recommendations, the better the chances you be walking out the door with bottles that you'll really enjoy.
Vintage Fine Wine Selections (in the picture) is my favorite place to purchase wine. In the list of wines I enjoyed most in 2007, the top six came from this shop. This happened because after I found this shop, I took time to get to know the owner, John, and trusted his recommendations. These days almost every time I walk in, he says, "I've got a new wine that I know you're going to like." And pretty much every time, he's right.That's what I think anyway. What do you think? How do you increase your chances of picking good bottles? Let me know in the comments.
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6 comments:
Great advice! The important thing is finding people whose recommendations you can trust.
It's also important to build up your 'wine tasting vocabulary' so you know what you like (and what you *don't* like) and can get that across to the retailer. Which is what my eBook is about (shameless plug...!).
Cheers.
Thanks, Joe, for the comment. I agree about making sure it's the right person. And great point about the vocabulary. [Shameless plug is ok!]
Jeff you nailed it. When I had my shop I made friend with my customers, a rare act now-a-days. In this way I had their trust and they mine. We all explored many wines this way, and I ended up with a few relationships that have endured.
Ryan, That's exactly what I've been able to do with John at Vintage. Having experienced that, I would most definitely run a wine shop like that if I ever opened one.
Jeff, thanks for the kind words - we hope we do as good a job as John at Vintage appears to be doing for you. But don't ever forget that having great customers like you is just as important for a retailer as having a good retailer is to customers -- your enthusiasm is infectious, and keeps us on our (hopefully) A-game.
Thanks, Jill, for the comments. That's a nice reminder. I guess it is like everything else; with good communication you can accomplish a lot.
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