Maybe you’re wanting to be more confident when ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant. Maybe you want to better understand how to choose a bottle of wine at the grocery store. Maybe you want to impress your friends and family with your sophisticated palette. Whatever the reason may be, learning more about wine can be a great thing.
For me, I think it’s important to understand what I am putting in my body on a consistent basis. I like to better understand where the grapes came from, what types of farming practices were used and what techniques were used during the winemaking process. I also think it’s important to be a lifelong learner. Learning doesn’t have to stop when you graduate.
Overall, there’s SO MUCH to learn and understand when it comes to wine, and no one will ever know it all. There are over 10,000 grape varietals in the world. 10,000! Basically, wine is one of those topics that you could study your entire life and never master. And that’s okay. Learning more about wine is all about having fun and coming away with a little more information than what you started with. Cheers!
Wine Tastings
It doesn’t matter whether you are tasting wine at an actual winery or tasting wine at your local grocery store, it’s a GREAT way to learn more about wine! Wine tasting is amazing because you are able to try a wide variety of wines, many of which you may have never picked out yourself.
I find that I learn the most when I ask questions during the tasting experience. Don’t be afraid to ask your host about each wine you are tasting. They are there to help you learn and understand each wine. Here are some questions I like asking during a wine tasting:
- How was the wine made? Did they do anything unique during the winemaking process?
- Where were the grapes grown?
- Was the wine aged in oak?
- Is the winery organic or biodynamic?
Join a Local Wine Club
We are members at a local wine club called Envy Wine Room. If you live in the Houston-area, you should consider joining! With our membership we get: (1) A free wine tasting every Wednesday night (2) Discounts on all products/wine and (3) Two bottles of wine every other month. Not only is a great way to learn about wine, but it’s also a great way to socialize and meet other people who have similar interests.
I’d bet that most cities have something similar to Envy Wine Room. If you’re having trouble finding a local wine club, I’d ask a local wine shop or wine bar for recommendations. If you can’t find any local wine clubs, then that’s a business opportunity to start your own! 🙂
Visit Wine Bars
Make it a point to visit different wine bars in your city. There are SO many amazing wine bars popping up, and it’s a great way to expand your wine knowledge. Most people working at these places know a lot about wine, so don’t be afraid to ask them questions. Also, a lot of wine bars offer flights of wine. Use this as an opportunity to taste and try more wines! I love it when wine bars offer a flight because it really helps you to discern the differences in each wine and figure what what you like about it.
I’d also recommend visiting different wine bars while traveling. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, make it a point to visit at least one new wine bar on each trip! It gives you something fun to do while traveling, and you will most likely find wines that you didn’t see at your local wine bar at home.
Attend a Wine Dinner
I don’t know if this is true for every city, but there are several restaurants in our area that offer special wine dinners where they feature wines from a specific winery. We’ve been to several of these dinners, and we LOVE it. Not only is it a great way to learn more about wine, but you also get to meet other people who share the same passion for wine. Also, these restaurants curate the menu so that each dish pairs perfectly with each wine.
Often times, someone from the winery or a wine distributor will lead the event and talk about each of the wines. It’s really interesting to listen to what they have to say about the winery and the wine itself. If you’re wondering how to find one of these wine dinners, I would ask local wine shops or wine bars. Also, I often see these events pop-up on my Facebook Newsfeed, so use social media to your advantage!
Blind Tasting
I don’t do enough of this, but blind tasting is a great way to learn more about wine! It really makes you think about the wine you are drinking because you have no idea what it is. Blind tasting forces you to describe the wine in much greater detail, and it forces you to really observe the color of the wine. You’ll come away with a much greater understanding of that specific varietal.
I’d recommend grabbing a group of friends and having your own blind tasting party. Make everyone bring a wine valued around $20 and have someone else wrap all the bottles in paper bags. This is such a fun and easy way to learn more about wine!
Visit a New Wine Region
One of the best ways to learn about wine is to immerse yourself in any given wine region. Most of my wine knowledge has come from all of the trips we have taken to Napa and Sonoma. If you’re visiting a new wine region or winery, it’s important to ask questions and pay attention to what you’re tasting. If you go into it with the mindset of getting drunk, you probably won’t learn anything.
Even though I’ve visited Napa and Sonoma 20+ times, I learn something new on each trip. It’s all about having the right mindset and booking new experiences! If you’re looking to book a wine country trip, be sure to check out some of my guides linked below:
- Visiting Napa on a Budget
- Napa Guide for Beginners
- Wine Country Weekend – Napa 2019
- Two Perfect Days in Napa
- Wine Country Weekend – Sonoma 2020
- Walla Walla Travel Guide
- Willamette Valley Travel Guide
Subscribe to Wine Spectator Magazine
Several years ago, Alex’s parents gifted us a Wine Spectator Magazine subscription for Christmas. We’ve been obsessed with it ever since. We get about one issue per month (15 per year), and it’s a great way to learn about different things going on in the wine industry.
There are several different articles about all different kinds of topics. You might learn about a certain region or a specific varietal. It’s nice because they focus on something different each month.
Also, we have found Wine Spectator to be a great resource when planning our wine country vacations. There are several wineries mentioned in this magazine, so we try to take notes on which ones we would like to visit. Overall, it’s an easy and cheap way to learn more about the wine industry!
Sign-Up for a Wine Class and/or Certification
There are several classes and programs that offer a more formal wine education. I’m currently studying for the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines through the Texas Wine School. The Wine & Spirit Education Trust is a great way to get started if you’re a beginner looking to dive deeper into wine. Here are some other programs I recommend:
- The Court of Master Sommeliers
- Society of Wine Educators
- Wine Scholar Guild
- French Wine Scholar
- Italian Wine Scholar
- Spanish Wine Scholar
There are several opportunities and less formal classes that are offered through the Texas Wine School as well. I think it’d be fun to get a group of friends together and sign-up for one of their introductory level classes.
Read Books about Wine
There are TONS of great books that will help you increase your wine knowledge. I try to read a few new ones each year. Here are some of the books I recommend if you’re wanting to dive deeper into wine:
- Cork Dork
- Wine all the Time
- The New Wine Rules
- Wine Folly
- The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste
- The World Atlas of Wine
- Kevin Zraly Windows on the World
Drink More Wine!
I’m actually serious about this one. One of the best ways to learn about wine is to drink wine. You’ll never fully understand wine if you don’t drink it. I find that drinking wine and really thinking about what I’m drinking goes a long way.
What are some other ways y’all like to learn about wine? Are there other things you’ve done to improve your wine knowledge? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Cheers!
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