How to choose your wine at a wine shop when you know nothing about it?
Entering a wine shop when you’re not a wine connoisseur can seem intimidating. However, the wine merchant is there to help guide you in your choice. Here are some tips to help you communicate effectively and leave with a bottle suited to your taste and budget.
Summary
- Specify the occasion for which you are buying wine
- Express your preferences simply
- Set your budget
- Trust the wine merchant!
- Why buy from a wine shop rather than a supermarket?
Visiting a wine shop when you don’t know much about wine can be intimidating. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert to leave with a bottle that suits your tastes and preferences. However, the wine merchant will need some information to guide you in your choice. Here are some tips to help you communicate it effectively.
Specify the occasion for which you are buying wine
Stating the occasion for your purchase will quickly help the wine merchant guide you toward a suitable type of wine. Is it for a dinner, an aperitif, a gift, or simply for your own enjoyment? Also, mention if the wine will accompany a meal. Is it meant to go with a main course, cheese, or dessert? By being specific about the context, your wine merchant can already narrow down your choices to suitable types of wine.
Express Your Preferences Simply
You don’t need to use technical terms to share what you enjoy. Speak openly about your tastes: do you prefer fruity, light, full-bodied, or perhaps spicy flavors? Also, mention if you like sweet wines or rather dry ones. If you’re a novice, feel free to describe drinks or flavors you typically enjoy, even outside the world of wine. The wine merchant can then direct you to wines that suit you, like a floral and fruity white or a smooth and approachable red. And if you don’t have any particular preference, that’s fine! Let yourself be guided, and you’re sure to make some great discoveries!
Set Your Budget
Let the wine merchant know how much you’d like to spend on the bottle you want to buy. This will help guide their recommendations. Remember: price can be an indicator of quality, but you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy a good wine. An inexpensive bottle isn’t necessarily bad, just as an expensive bottle isn’t necessarily the best! Based on your budget, the wine merchant can also suggest wines from small producers or lesser-known appellations, which are often interesting discoveries and of great quality at reasonable prices.
Trust the Wine Merchant!
This might seem like obvious advice, but it’s important! The wine merchant is there to guide you, so don’t hesitate to ask questions and trust their recommendations. They know their products well and can direct you to wines suited to your preferences, whether classic or more surprising. Wine merchants often enjoy sharing their passion for wine and introducing customers to lesser-known appellations, high-quality wines produced in small quantities, or international wines. So, let yourself be guided!
Why buy from a wine merchant rather than a supermarket?
If you are new to wine, it is better to go to a wine merchant to buy your wine rather than a supermarket. The wine merchant will be able to provide you with a lot of information, it is his job. He will therefore be able to guide you according to your tastes and needs. In a supermarket, you will often be faced with an avalanche of references lined up in an aisle without knowing which one to choose. Straight bottles on the shelves, strong lighting, room temperature... wines sold in supermarkets can also be subject to less suitable storage conditions than at a wine merchant. On the wallet side, some references are sold at unbeatable prices in supermarkets, but with what result? It is difficult to know. Here again, nothing beats the wise advice of an expert to buy quality at the best price.
