A friend, deep into wine, once told me his father used to drink just one wine: Georges du Boeuf Beaujolais. Every night. I know someone else who orders two cases of rose to last the entire summer. And that’s the only wine she drinks. She doesn’t want to try anything else. At that point, wine is just a beverage, nothing more, each sip the same.
Some wine buffs will drink only wines ranked over 90 points by the likes of Robert B. Parker Jr. or Wine Spectator. Presumably, anything else is beneath their exquisitely tuned palates.
Life may be too short to drink bad wine, but it’s also probably too short to drink the same wine over and over. OK, say you adore Chateau Margaux, so much so that you name your daughter after the Bordeaux estate. What then? To be fair, in the 1930s and ’40s, Chateau Margaux didn’t cost anywhere near what it costs today.
At one time, half the restaurants in town had lists made by big distributors. Now restaurateurs know the value of a good list and a sommelier or wine director who puts it together and keeps it fresh. And you can find some of the most informed people in the business clerking at your local wine shop.
But if you want to drink better, you need to pay attention. When a sip of wine rings a bell, when you can’t wait to take another sip and try to untangle the wine’s distinctive perfume and taste, seek out other examples of that grape or region. Punch editor Talia Baiocchi tasted a sherry one night and found to her surprise that she loved it. Soon she was on her way to southern Spain and writing a book about it. Poet Bill Mayer was attracted to German wines at a time when the names and labeling were almost impenetrable to a Californian. He relished the challenge and ended up becoming an importer of German and Austrian wines.
To find the wines you love, you might start by picking one grape you like and following its iterations through the new and old worlds. It’s fascinating how different, or in some cases how similar, riesling or syrah can taste, depending on where it’s grown. Or try setting aside the so-called noble grapes — chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, etc. — and explore little-known, indigenous grapes that are indelibly wedded to place.
If chardonnay or sauvignon blanc speaks to you, go ahead and trace that grape through different terroirs and landscapes. The character of the wine can change depending on soil, climate, the way it’s grown or vinified, or the hand of the winemaker. Chameleon-like, its presence can be blunt or infinitely shaded.
What’s important is to develop your own sense of taste. If you rely too much on points or what critics write, you’ll end up drinking the wines that somebody else loves, but maybe not you. And if the point of wine is pleasure, get out there and find your own. The way to do that is by attending tastings, sharing bottles with friends and also drinking just one bottle and noticing how the wine evolves over a couple of hours. Wine is not only a beverage, it’s a relationship.
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