The world of wine can be intimidating, so you have to go into it with a few rules, and David LeClaire, the sommelier at The Tasting Room in Seattle, has some advice, including:
1. There's no such thing as peanut greg-io. Learn how to pronounce the big names, or you're going to sound like a big geek. You don't need to know everything - and it's OK to stumble on the obscure French boutiques - but do yourself a favor and take "Gewurztraminer" out for a spin before your big date.
7. Move over, Scrooge McDuck. More expensive wine is not always better, especially in the store (bottom-shelf shoppers, rejoice!). But, since a bottle of wine in a restaurant is marked up, by up to three times its retail price (four times for wines by the glass), the cheapest bottle you'll want to buy in a restaurant is $30, says LeClaire. If you're watching pennies, go for wines from Spain, Chile, Argentina or Australia - they're good and half the price.
I get into ruts when I buy my wine. I find a Cabernet that I like and buy nothing but that for months and months. But I also like taking a chance on buying something I haven't tried before, though it's not really a blind choice. It's a mixture of what I've heard about the label and what friends might suggest.
How do you choose wines you've never tried before? Is it just grabbing a bottle because it "looks" interesting? Is it price? Is it a recommendation from a magazine or a web site?
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