How to Make an Educated Guess When Ordering Wine

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed)
Mar 28th 2010 at 2:01PM

No matter how versed you are in the world of wine there will always be labels and brands that you've never tried, but when faced with ordering from a list of wines that you've never heard of it is possible to make a more educated selection than simply reading what the menu says and then choosing between a cabernet or a merlot. The key is in knowing where the wine was made.

#1 Hot vs Cool Climate Grapes grown in warmer climates tend to be lower in acidity and higher in sugar, which results in fuller-bodied wine. Cooler climates more often yield the opposite with grapes having higher acidity and less sugar, so the end product is lighter-bodied. This climate rule can be derailed, however, by local variances like a south facing vineyard that's warmer than average for the surrounding area, or by certain breeds of grape (some are consistently flavored no matter where they're grown).

#2 Old World vs New World Another good rule of thumb is that generally speaking traditional Old World (European) wines tend to the earthier, spicier side while New World (United States, Argentina, South Africa, anywhere not Europe) varieties are fruitier. Again, this rule does not always apply as the occasional New World winemaker may aspire to Old World techniques, or a European might deliberately create a fruit-forward variety to tap into that market.

So in applying these two rules you could make an educated guess that a cabernet from South Africa is probably fuller bodied than a cabernet from Yarra Valley in Australia, but that neither are likely to be as earthy as a cabernet listed from France.

Tags: choosing wine, how to choose wine, red wine, terroir, white wine, wine, wine-pedia