Meet your guide to the wonderful world of wine!
Hello friends, it is I, the Winey Girl, here to help you navigate the vast and sometimes frighteningly expensive world of wine. I'm no expert myself, but I have done a couple of stints in booze retail, as well as my own calculated "research" involving a great deal of product testing (and maybe the odd hangover). This might not qualify me as a sommelier per se, but I'm willing to do the legwork so that you never open another bottle of disgusting hooch ever again!
Here are a few easy ground rules for picking a bottle of wine:
1. DO Judge a Wine Bottle by its Cover
This means no cutesy labels. Don't be fooled by the vast number of animals representing adult beverages out there — you're better off without them! This is not to say that the bottle should look like crap, plenty of great wines have simple, well-designed labels. It's more about the fact that the sticker on the bottle shouldn't try to steal the show. If the vintners spend time making sure the wine is good, they usually don't have much space left over for fancy labels.
2. Price isn't Everything
There are plenty of decent wines in the $10-$15 range. You might not want to brag about them to your parents (if they're the sort with a wine cellar and a mansion in West Vancouver), but they are wines that will impress your friends on Movie Night, or Ladies Night, or Hobo Dinner Night. Because we live in British Columbia, we unfortunately pay some of the highest taxes in Canada — or possibly the world. I don't know about you, but I've never traveled abroad and thought, "Gee, I sure do miss those B.C. Liquor Store prices!" Nevertheless, we shouldn't give up hope. Instead, we just need to look a little harder for a good bargain. And that's where I come in.
3. No Cork — No Problem!
There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding what's used to seal a bottle of wine. One minute they're telling us cork is going extinct, the next minute they're saying it's a great sustainable resource for kitty litter. Whatever the verdict, you aren't likely buying wines that really need a cork stopper. Cork is great because it can breathe so long as it stays moist. This means it should be present in bottles of wine that can be "cellared." Translation: "wines you can't afford" that are meant to be stored on their side until after your children have retired. The fact is, you're probably planning to drink that bottle before the week is out, if not before the night is over, so if it's got a screw top, who cares? In fact, it's less likely to spill in your bag, and you don't have to worry about it being "corked" (spoiled). There are also those fake plastic corks, but I hate them. They just shouldn't exist. They always get stuck halfway out of the bottle and they rarely have funny sayings on them. Boo urns.
4. Treat a Vineyard Like a Favourite Author
I apologize for using a second literary metaphor, but if you can't make use of your English degree while you write your blog post at Starbucks, when can you? Basically, if you want to try something new, but you're not sure where to start, don't venture too far out of your comfort zone. If you enjoyed the Cono Sur Gewurztraminer, why not try their Cabernet Sauvignon? It's the same principle I use at the library, and chances are, if you liked one thing they produced, you may very well like another!
I'll leave you with these four tidbits of wisdom for now, but stay tuned for some actual product recommendations to come! I'll be doing my very best to make suggestions for all your winey needs, and maybe even a few beers thrown in for good measure. Until then, don't be afraid to ask your local boutique wine store worker what a few of their favourites are — and remember, they aren't going to judge you for not wanting to break the bank on a bottle of booze, they work in retail after all.
Here are a few easy ground rules for picking a bottle of wine:
1. DO Judge a Wine Bottle by its Cover
This means no cutesy labels. Don't be fooled by the vast number of animals representing adult beverages out there — you're better off without them! This is not to say that the bottle should look like crap, plenty of great wines have simple, well-designed labels. It's more about the fact that the sticker on the bottle shouldn't try to steal the show. If the vintners spend time making sure the wine is good, they usually don't have much space left over for fancy labels.
2. Price isn't Everything
There are plenty of decent wines in the $10-$15 range. You might not want to brag about them to your parents (if they're the sort with a wine cellar and a mansion in West Vancouver), but they are wines that will impress your friends on Movie Night, or Ladies Night, or Hobo Dinner Night. Because we live in British Columbia, we unfortunately pay some of the highest taxes in Canada — or possibly the world. I don't know about you, but I've never traveled abroad and thought, "Gee, I sure do miss those B.C. Liquor Store prices!" Nevertheless, we shouldn't give up hope. Instead, we just need to look a little harder for a good bargain. And that's where I come in.
3. No Cork — No Problem!
There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding what's used to seal a bottle of wine. One minute they're telling us cork is going extinct, the next minute they're saying it's a great sustainable resource for kitty litter. Whatever the verdict, you aren't likely buying wines that really need a cork stopper. Cork is great because it can breathe so long as it stays moist. This means it should be present in bottles of wine that can be "cellared." Translation: "wines you can't afford" that are meant to be stored on their side until after your children have retired. The fact is, you're probably planning to drink that bottle before the week is out, if not before the night is over, so if it's got a screw top, who cares? In fact, it's less likely to spill in your bag, and you don't have to worry about it being "corked" (spoiled). There are also those fake plastic corks, but I hate them. They just shouldn't exist. They always get stuck halfway out of the bottle and they rarely have funny sayings on them. Boo urns.
4. Treat a Vineyard Like a Favourite Author
I apologize for using a second literary metaphor, but if you can't make use of your English degree while you write your blog post at Starbucks, when can you? Basically, if you want to try something new, but you're not sure where to start, don't venture too far out of your comfort zone. If you enjoyed the Cono Sur Gewurztraminer, why not try their Cabernet Sauvignon? It's the same principle I use at the library, and chances are, if you liked one thing they produced, you may very well like another!
I'll leave you with these four tidbits of wisdom for now, but stay tuned for some actual product recommendations to come! I'll be doing my very best to make suggestions for all your winey needs, and maybe even a few beers thrown in for good measure. Until then, don't be afraid to ask your local boutique wine store worker what a few of their favourites are — and remember, they aren't going to judge you for not wanting to break the bank on a bottle of booze, they work in retail after all.
Comments
Post a Comment