Types Of Wines

[hipnotize]

Hi everyone,
My first time here and i'm basicly a noob when it comes to wine- as i am mainly a typical beer and spirits person.

Basicly, i've been working for Beer Wine Spirits (BWS) for about 10weeks or so and i'm starting to learn about wines slowly.

Is there some guide on the net which tells me what wines are for what as in meals and how different wines are taste eg. shiraz , cab sauv , merlot etc.

Basicly, i know a fair bit about red wines but not enough. And the shop i'm working at, isn't really a 'wine' area- more of a VB and bourban&cola drinking area.

I know the Shriaz is spicy- as it's got a bite to it and a Cab Shriaz has less of a bite. Then there's merlot- which is a smooth wine .. but i don't know about Cab merlots and cab sauvs. I always recommend Lambrusco when people ask for a sweet wine . And i don't know much about white wines- only that Chardonnay is dry.

HaHa, please teach me something guys- we don't sell expensive wines either- only around $5-30 wine.

So you're looking at hrmm. eg. we have on special at the moment Wolf Blass Yellow Label - chardonnay, shiraz, cab sauv, cab merlot, merlot, cab shiraz for $11 or so.
So it's very hard for me to learn about wines- though everyone who walks through the door looking for wine, always needs help in my area.

Cheers

[Ian S]

Hipnotize
Good to hear that you want to get interested & learn more. There's loads of web material out there, from commercial ventures such as Jeremy Oliver's "Onwine" site, to individuals sites such as TORB. This board and that of Winestar are also great places to learn (both are set-up by wine e-tailers who generously offer forum's to us).

This link to a UK website should offer some decent basics
http://www.wineanorak.com/newbie.htm

One useful aid is http://www.essentialwinetastingguide.com/ which is a big help in learning winetasting skills. What will really help is tasting wines - ask in the company what wine tasting events occur in your city, get along, take notes & learn to observe differences. It takes a while, but is not exactly unpleasant!

Some basics - learn about
- House Style: Typically big producers tend to produce wines in a house style (Wolf Blass used to be very oaky, though they're slightly less oaked now; Rosemount are very fruit-sweet and a useful option for people looking for sweeter style reds).
- Basic Region / Vintage knowledge: Regions typically have they're own style (Barossa stands for big reds; Rutherglen/Glenrowan more so; Clare Valley excels with dry riesling). Then once you understand the general style, get a rough feel for each vintage (it's easiest to start with opinions from people like James Halliday or Huon Hooke's Penguin guide). For instance 2002 was a great vintage in the inland river regions, but was relatively poor in some of the cooler regions.

I hope your company encourages you, as you have enough interest to post here. If they don't, join a more wine focussed company, as they need people who have an interest in the subject. A few years ago in the UK the Oddbins wine shops were really into staff training and managers/staff were actively encouraged. In those days Oddbins ripped through a complacent industry, though sadly they've slipped in recent years.

p.s Your call on Lambrusco is a fair one - 95% of it is sweet. However in Italy there are a few producers making it how it used to be, much drier & much more interesting. Sugar can make a poor wine more palateable & fill out the taste in the mouth. Great sweet wines have acidity to match that keeps it tasting "fresh".

Hope this helps & good luck

Ian

[TORB]

Try this one

http://www.torbwine.com/rr/WINE%20TASTING%20manual.htm It has nothing to do with me but is "hosted on my site. Judging by the number of people who read it, it must be usefull.

[Ian S]

Also try Langtons who have sections on regions & vintages
http://www2.langtons.com.au/tools/tool_intro.asp
Ian

[707]

Good on you for furthering your knowledge, enjoy the journey.

You regulars know what I want to say about this scenario but won't in case I offend our guest who is doing the right thing. Grocers and a "product line" called wine eh?

[DJ]

The best way to get an idea about the different sort of wines is to sign up for a course at the Wine Society, local adult education centre, TAFE or similar (depends where you live). An alternative is to get a group together to try a number of different wines together and see if you can see differences - make notes and think about the wines - then just enjoy them.

I've taught a few wine appreciation courses over the years - the thing people find hardest is how much difference there is between the white varieties and how similar the reds can be. Probably all the regulars here have been caught guessing the wrong thing on blind tastings.

Meanwhile read as much as you can - Tuesday's SMH / Age is not a bad place to start, James Halliday's books, subscribe to www.winefrontmonthly.com.au, etc.

Good luck, have some fun but be warned it can be terribly addictive.