Don't choose wine because of the cute animal on the label

by Bob Sassone, Posted Apr 17th 2007 @ 4:29PM

wine 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?

Filed Under: Business, Lists, Drink Recipes
Tags: cabernet, cheap wine, CheapWine, expensive wines, gewurztraminer, inexpensive wine, liquor stores, peanut gregio, red wine, the tasting room, white wine, wine, wine bottle labels, wine bottles, wine list, wine shops, WineList, WineShops

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-17-2007 @5:12PM Jon said... For me it's all about regions. I can't really know all of the producers, but I do know generally what to expect when I order from any given region and usually the results are fairly consistent.
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4-17-2007 @5:46PM Megan said... "1. There's no such thing as peanut greg-io."

*applauds* While we're at it, I hate
when people say "pina colada" wrong.

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4-17-2007 @6:32PM calamari said... Cute animal on the label actually works fine, as long as you're just looking for a pleasant little inexpensive wine to serve with dinner, and the basic wine type is appropriate.
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4-17-2007 @7:09PM Mr.Mint said... I worked at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, Fl. in the wine cellar as a youngster and have to say price has very little to do with quality in my opinion. Age yes, my favorite wine was a 1973 Petite Sirah. Tasted great! I prefer California wines since they taste so clean and fresh. Maybe if you’re cellaring the wine for many years you will want the more expensive wines, but I tend to keep about 10 bottles at a time and go through them pretty quickly.
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4-17-2007 @11:10PM Foodie Bride said... Our taste is all over the map. Everything from Italian reds, a great Washington State Riesling, California Chardonnay, a French cab. Our favorite "table wine", though, comes from our backyard - literally!
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4-18-2007 @12:55AM AS said... Sometimes cute label works. Recently fell in love with Rosenblum's Chateau Le Paws white blend, which we bought only because the label was fun. Although sometimes you will wind up with some lousy wine if you go by "cute" alone.

That Alvear you have in the picture? That's great if you like sweet wines, and priced about $17.
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4-18-2007 @4:57AM Nate said... "Cute" wine is just good marketing - it says absolutely nothing about the wine. The same goes for fancy labels/bottles and names with sexual innuendo (::clears his throat:: Menage a Trois). Which doesn't mean that the wine sucks either...exaclty

I tend to shop/buy wine by region & year, but I learned most of what I know from finding a really good wine guy/girl at a real wine store (where almost everything they sell is wine). French, Italian, American, German,...I can now identify good wine with a much higher frequency. And it's a constant learning process.
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4-18-2007 @9:44AM Jon said... I just can't bring myself to spend much money on wine. I'm able to get perfectly decent wine for less than $10 at the liquor stores I frequent. (Maybe the low prices are just a Massachusetts thing, though. When I visit family in Maryland, the wine is a lot more expensive.) I'm sure that a $30 bottle of wine is better than the $7 bottle, but I doubt I'd enjoy it enough to spend the extra money.
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4-18-2007 @11:23AM Angela said... I either buy wine I have had before and enjoyed or ask the guy at a local liquor store who has never steered me wrong. I give a price I am willing to pay and he gives a great wine everytime. Also, our local Central Market always has wine's they highlight and those are usually very good too.
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4-18-2007 @11:14PM esmereldagrubb said... I can't help myself...I ALWAYS want my mom to get the wine with the coolest label...that is all that matters to me ....the COVER!
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