I was talking to a non-wine-drinking friend of mine today. Believe it or not, I have some. Anyway, I asked him for a topic for my blog this week. He suggested that I talk about the three things a non-wine person should know about wine. Well, I came up with eight or nine possibilities. But I’ll focus on the three that I think are the best.
What Should a Non-Wine Person Know About Wine: It’s Fun!
The ambiance of the wine world is romantic and fun. When you go into a winery tasting room, it’s hard to find people who aren’t wearing smiles on their faces.
Wine tasting is all about exploration. What kind of fruits are you smelling and tasting? What kind of vegetables are you smelling and tasting? Spices? Non-food items like leather? When you think about being an explorer, you think fun.
What’s Next: Start Sweet and Light
Most people start their wine journey with sweet and light wines. These wines taste less alcoholic and have a lot of fruity notes to them. You can kind of think of drinking grape juice, just with a little bit of bite to it.
Compared to whites, red wines are much bolder in flavor. The boldness can overwhelm the taste buds of a new wine drinker. I recommend that most people start with whites for at least a few months before they try reds. But there are always exceptions.
And Finally: Taste with Your Nose
As a wine drinker, you know full well that tasting wine is more about smell than about taste. Of course, the taste is the ultimate experience. But if you have a cold, your tastings aren’t fun at all. You end up missing a lot of the nuances in the wine.
So, get your nose buds as ready as your taste buds when you drink wine.
