How to Select Wine

Video Transcript

"When selecting a wine off of a wine list, there's a couple of different ways that you can go. The very first step would be to look at your server and ask them what they like. They've probably drank the wine list two or three times, more than likely that day. So they will know exactly what's there and what's good and what you might enjoy. At the same time you can also plan your wine selection around what you're ordering for dinner. If you're doing a meal filled with fish and lighter meats and you still want a red, you can pick a Pinot Noir, and most any Pinot Noirs should work very well with what you've selected. If you're doing heavy meats, lamb, steak, you might want to pick a Bordeaux blend or maybe a Cabernet Sauvignon, and most any wine should accompany your meal just fine. Selecting wine in a wine store is quite different, oftentimes wine stores have more wine than you can possibly imagine the minute you walk in the door. It can be just a little bit overwhelming. If you're looking for an experience where you want to spend a smaller amount of money and just match it with food in the house and have a family sort of time, any of the field blends usually work very, very well. Particularly European field blends, like a Cotes du Rhone or a Spanish blend. Oftentimes wines from Chile and Argentina in the single varietals are often very affordable and also very good. If you want to invest in a Pinot Noir or a Seurat, your most enjoyable experience will be in the bottles that are twenty-two dollars and higher. These individual varietals are often very difficult to grow, and very temperamental to age, so it's usually worth investing the money in one to get one that will really be enjoyable."