People get really stressed about not knowing anything about wine. Ordering off a wine list in a restaurant reduces some of my most boisterous friends into squeaking, awkward messes.
To help us all gain a bit of confidence, I asked Joel Amos – who, as co-founder of organic wine distributor DRNKS, has knocked back a few top drops in his time – for some tips on how to taste wine, though, spoiler alert, the main tip was ‘relax’.
“In terms of “beginners guides to wine”, there’s heaps online, but most don’t treat you like a beginner,” says Joel. “I’m about wine being completely broken down so people don’t have to think about it.”
Here are Joel’s six red hot tips.
1) Don’t overthink it
When it comes to beginner’s tasting and working out what you like, Joel reckons you should keep it simple – no need to learn terminology or think too much about mouthfeel.
“If people are spending less than 30-35 bucks on a wine [bottle], it’s a beverage, its not rocket science,” says Joel. “It’s not made to ponder, just let it have its effect on you.”
And that’s not meant as snobbery – heaps of DRNK’s wines are around that price range. Mostly, he reckons just taste it and ask yourself, ‘Do I like this? Would I drink it if it was non-alcoholic?’
“When I drink a cheaper wine, I’m just smelling it then drinking,” says Joel. “I mean, even stuff like swirling it, I don’t even think people need to do that.”
And if you like a bottle, take a pic! That way you have it as a reference for next time: you can show a sommelier what you like or keep an eye out at the bottle-o.
2) Don’t write off a wine by one bad time
So many people say, ‘Oh, I don’t like Merlot’ or ‘I had a really gross Sav Blanc one time, it’s not for me.’ And while once upon that was a pretty good indicator, Australia’s recent embrace of natural wines means there’s much more variety in each grape.
Now’s a good time to explain natural wines, since the term gets thrown around so much. Where wines commonly have sulfurs, sugars and fining agents like egg whites added to ensure no flaws or ‘dirty’ notes, wine makers are going back to basics and letting wines do their own thing. The results are punchier drops with character to them. If you want to explore it, Joel reckons anything from Basket Range in Adelaide Hills is a safe bet.
3) Don’t rely too much on the label
According to Australian research firm Wine Intelligence (great name, btw), Aussie’s love to judge a wine by its label. And while the descriptions can be useful, Joel notes they’re also “confusing to the palate”. If you don’t taste ‘peppery, leather’ notes but the little description says you should, that doesn’t mean you’re wrong. You do you.
4) Pairing, shmaring
“I don’t really buy into the whole food-wine matching thing,” says Joel. “Just drink something you like when eating something you like, rather than worrying too much whether the flavours go together. It’s pretty rare that any human being eats something than has a sip of something and complains they don’t go together. That’s just fucking odd.”
5) Sommeliers aren’t scary
Though the guy in this Getty pic has me a little nervous. (Photo: GettyImages.com)
“Australia has that weird thing where people feel like they need to impress the sommelier with their knowledge but they don’t give a shit,” says Joel. “It’s not a competition.”
“They’re there to help you drink the best possible bottle of wine for you. If there’s a somm [at a restaurant], just go hard with them: talk to them, tell them what you’ve been drinking. They’re all such lovely people, and all they want to do is get you a good bottle of wine, that’s their best outcome.”
6) Storing 101
In terms of storing a bottle of wine, Joel’s first tip is to keep it out of sunlight.
“You don’t want anywhere that gets hot – say, Sydney gets warm in summer, but there’s always a cool spot, like the bottom of your wardrobe.”
For reds, be sure to lay them down, too. That keeps moisture on the cork – you don’t want an oxygen gap, because according to Joel, “that’s what can lead to trouble”, aka over-aeration and gross notes. And his top tip? Just. Drink. It.
“You should literally like not even store wine,” says Joel. “Just buy it when you wanna drink it, or just have three or so sitting under your bed for two weeks while you drink your way through them. It’s just easier.”
It’s real cliché, but essentially, just have fun with it. Wine shouldn’t be serious: it should be social, fun and a little bit loose. Cheers to that.
Photo: BBCStore.com/Absolutely Fabulous
