How to Get into Wine

There’s really no right or wrong way to learn about wine; maybe you learn by buying a different bottle each time you visit the supermarket or wine shop, or perhaps you attend a tasting. Wherever you start your journey with wine, the most important thing to remember is that it’s yours. 

Drink Everything

You won’t be able to grow and develop your palate without tasting as many wines as you can; this can be a fun but potentially expensive part of the learning journey. Sample as many styles, countries, grape varieties and different winemakers as you can. The more wines that you try, the more that you’ll discover and the more you’ll love. This could be trying wines from different countries too, South African Wine, Italian Wine and Spanish Wine to name a few. 

Be Open-Minded

The first wine that you taste might be something quite approachable, like a Prosecco. The biggest misconception new wine drinkers have is that most wines will be just as sweet and easy-drinking as that first sip. Often, the transition from sweet to fizzy wines to dry or more nuanced bottles requires a little bit of guidance and hand-holding. 

You should realise, you might not enjoy every single wine you try and that’s completely fine. Start to expand your palate by sampling more fruit-forward wines that have less residual sugar. The missing sweetness is going to be very noticeable at first, but remember to keep an open mind. Focus on the fruit, what can you taste?

Journey Around the World (through your glass)

Wine gives you the wonderful chance to travel through your glass. Each wine will express itself differently depending on its terroir - the climate, terrain, soil and tradition from where it’s been made. Where a grape has been grown is just as important as the person who’s growing them and producing the final bottled product.

Try Everything Again

The more wine that you expose yourself to, the more you’ll be able to train your palate to discover new flavour profiles. As your palate adapts to drinking more wines that are void of residual sugars and made to a higher quality standard, you’ll inevitably enjoy more types and styles of wine than you initially did. It’s always a good idea to revisit some of the wines that you weren’t a huge fan of at the beginning of your wine drinking journey, this will enable you to see how much your palate has changed and developed. 

Regardless of where and when your wine drinking journey began, it’s important to realise that everyone will end up in different places. Each person will have their own preferences which will be affected by, allergies, diet, associations and other things we can’t always control. It’s perfectly fine to not enjoy the same wine as your significant other or best friend. Your journey should be approached with a desire to learn about wines and to grow your palate accordingly.