I decided recently that I wanted to set myself a goal to learn more about wine. I like drinking wine. I enjoy the picturesque quality of hilly wine country. But I really don’t know much about tasting wine. I can tell you “I like this” or “I don’t like this” or occasionally “yuck.” But not a lot more.
I picked up a book called Great Wine Made Simple from my local library as a place to start. Lots of really useful information in this book for the wine nube. A helpful discussion about common wine body styles and what is meant by terms like “dry”, “oaky,” “crisp” or “tannic. I used to mix up “crisp” and “tannic” so its very useful to have some solid definitions. Following this, the book launches into a survey of common grapes and wine making regions.
Since this subject is so new to me, I made lots of notes and then studied my notes to try to keep it all straight. My brain demands that I write things down if I want to learn them properly.
Not satisfied with this, I converted my handwritten notes into reference charts. Something I can tuck into my purse before my next visit to a winery.
Do you find this helpful? What information do you wish you had had available to you when you first started learning about wine?
Wine Tasting Cheat Sheet
All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
My philosophy of wine is that I shouldn’t learn to like the good stuff because then I can’t afford to drink it. YMMV.
Hah. That’s a tall order.
Very interesting. Enjoyed the post. And learned something new. 🙂
We have a lot of wineries around here, so I’ve sampled a good variety, but I still find that a lot of the descriptions they come up with are beyond me. I’ve learned I prefer light, crisp whites and more medium reds, but beyond that I couldn’t really tell you!
I come from a country that prides itself in having lots of award-winning wines (yes, we often beat the French). However, we don’t make wines according to castes, we mix them to obtain interesting results, so I often have trouble with charts describing a pure Shiraz or Chardonnay. And wines made with immature grapes, have you tried those? They can be very interesting 😊
Having said this, well done on the chart! Now you’ll be able to impress the guests with your ample knowledge 😀
That’s a handy lil’ wine tasting cheat sheet 🙂 ♥ ❤