What a Wine Expert Wants You to Know About Buying Wine

It's a giant and complex subject, acknowledges Ellen, who before her years of studying wine had been an attorney. Wine experts are like lawyers, says Ellen. They're legitimate, but they have a lot of different opinions on this subject. There isn't a universal opinion.

She adds, Put 10 wine geeks in a room and you get 10 different strong opinions about everything.

Yield

It makes sense to understand yield, because vineyards that grow low yield grapes have more successful wines.

Some producers grow way too many grapes for the space, so they get high yield; thus they are able to make a lot of wine, but it's not good.

Fewer grapes on each plant and not too many plants for the size of the vineyard mean low yield and greater quality in the grapes. But then these vineyards can't produce as much wine, so they have to charge more.

Region

The first step is to understand wine from different parts of the world. If you pay attention, you'll start to be able to make generalizations about wines from a given place.

Certain grapes happen to be successful in particular parts of the world, so just knowing which grapes are best from which region increases your odds of buying something good.

It's kind of the way we used to think of cars from Japan as being good buys for the money. (It's nice to see that changing to "Made in the USA.")

Producers

The next level of sophistication after gaining a sense of regions is to notice producers you like; it's another an arrow in your quiver if you want to use it.

The downside is that people find something they like and that's what they drink and of course they never discover anything else. In restaurants, try a wine you've never had; it's a good way to learn and expand your repertoire.

Malbec

You can find Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina for under $20. There are many good examples of this full-bodied red wine that has hints of blackberry and blueberry.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir from Oregon is a red grape, different from Malbec in that pinot noir is lighter, less tanic, more raspberry, cherry flavor. For under $20 you won't find many good Pinot Noirs, as it's a harder grape to grow.

Aglianico

Aglianico is a red grape that grows in the south of Italy. It's a great fruity red wine that is lesser known and not so expensive. The supermarket might not have it but you ought to be able to find it in wine shops.

Burgundy and Bordeau

The odds of finding good quality for under $20 are slim. Both are affected by the weather, climates where they struggle to get the grapes ripe. A good way to look for good value is to look for a vintage that is good. The two best recent vintages were 2005 and 2009.

Burgundy is across the board expensive; Bordeau has more producers and greater range of quality.

A wine from Bordeau is likely to be some combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec.

Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has a unique recognizable style that is fruity, citrusy and herbaceous; it's big and powerful and very different from those produced in places like Bordeau and Sancerre, where this wine is more constrained.

Marlborough is the area of New Zealand, as with Napa Valley, whose wines are well-known and respected, unique and delicious. A couple of producers to look for are Kim Crawford and Cloudy Bay.

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc from South Africa is a safe bet with uniformity of quality. They make a lot and it's delicious.

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio is the same grape as Pinot Gris from France, but it's made differently in Italy. It's a sharp crisp wine, because they pick the grape when it's not real ripe so there's more acidity.

P.S. Italy has two thousand different grapes!

Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc

From Alsace, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are rich, full-bodied and not always bone dry. So they are good for pairing with spicy foods. They balance spice.

Long sunny days in the region make for ripe delicious grapes. However, the long slow ripening period can be more expensive and the producers are small, family businesses. Trimbach is the biggest producer in the region and offers some good lower-end wines.

German Reisling is also a less dry wine and thus also good with spicy foods.

Beaujolais

In general red wine is not as easy to pair with spicy foods, because the spice exaggerates the tannens in red wine. However, the red wines Beaujolais or Cabernet Franc from Loire Valley, served a little chilled, can be fine with a spicy meal.

Chardonnay is also known as Chablis or White Burgundy. The problem is that it became another word for white wine. Some has been made in a heavy style. It became over-blown and over-used and some of the many producers were bad, because they knew they could sell the wine on its name alone.

Champagne

As you may know, a bottle may carry the label Champagne only if its contents have been produced in the Champagne region of France. This sparkling wine goes with everything, including foods that are hard to pair, like soups, and it may surprise some to know that Champagne is also delicious with barbecue.

Gruet

The least expensive, best value in a sparkling wine is a good Gruet from New Mexico near Albequerque. You can get a $10 bottle of American sparkling wine, made by a family from Champagne who looked all over the United States for the ideal place to establish their vineyard.

Prosecco

Prosecco is the name of the grape and producers use a less elaborate process so the wine is often less expensive. There are differences: some are more fruity, some more austere. You can buy Prosecco, this delicious white bubbly wine from Italy, for under $20.

What affects the price?

The critical reviews, high scores by important critics, laws of supply and demand all contribute to prices. California Cabernet Sauvignon is made in limited quantities, almost forbidden fruit; it's often meticulously produced and hand-crafted. Sometimes price relates to quality, but it is also affected by reviews and by a producer's marketing ability.

Champagne price is often affected by marketing. You can find great Champagne from small, lesser known producers whose prices are lower. Sometimes you may have to gamble a bit.

Many wine stores have tastings on weekends. Take advantage and learn what tastes best to you.

What are your favorite wine labels? Any tips for those who are as lost as I was before speaking with Ellen?

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