The Best Wine For Beginners
As a beginner, finding the best wine for yourself can be stressful. As you see all those wine connoisseurs relishing the aroma and taste of their favorite wine, you find yourself wanting to enjoy it too. But how? And from where should you start?
While there are numerous wines available, picking one for yourself is never easy. There is the fear of being judged, the nervousness of not understanding the flavors, and the stress of making the wrong choice can be overwhelming.
But here’s the thing: being new to wine doesn’t have to feel like this. You should feel excited to try something new. But the real question is – how do you do that?
Well, we have you covered! In this blog post, we will show you how to choose the best wine for beginners that you will love having. We will also offer wine-buying and tasting tips to help you enhance your experience.
Let’s dive in!
Start Your Journey With Wines By Learning to Love Them
When you are just getting started with wine, it is important to learn how to enjoy and love them. This is especially important for people who haven’t grown up around people who enjoy wine.
If your family or friends aren’t crazy about wines, it is important to experiment on your own and develop your liking for wines.
And as a new wine drinker, your journey to fall in love with this delectable alcoholic drink is by understanding the basics.
Wine is prepared through the process of fermentation. To make wine, the fermented grapes are crushed and then poured into fermentation tanks. The unique flavor, texture, and style of a wine depend upon the types of grapes, the region where they are grown, and the fermentation process.
The Two Main Categories of Wine
While you can find numerous types of wine today, it is better to start with the two most common types of wine when you are a beginner – white and red. Generally, white wines are perfect if you are looking for lighter notes, fruity flavors, and easy sipping options.
Most white wines offer balanced flavors that are perfect for beginners. They aren’t too dry and the acid isn’t too pungent. Thus, they won’t overwhelm your palate.
Red wines, on the other hand, have bold and rich flavors. However, with the right information, you can easily find slightly sweet, silky, and fruit-forward red wines that are easy to drink with your meals.
The Best White Wine for Beginners
So, if you have decided to start your wine-drinking journey with white wines, well, perfect choice! Here are some of our favorite and highly recommended options that you should consider picking up:
1. Sauvignon Blanc
If you are looking for a light and refreshing wine that comes with hints of citrus and kiwi notes, Sauvignon Blanc can be a good choice. Its crisp and light-bodied flavors make it a fantastic option for summer. You can enjoy it with your dinner or even drink it without food.
2. Sancerre
This excellent white wine comes straight from the Loire Valley of France. It is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and its silky flavor makes it the perfect choice for beginners. The wine has refreshing floral notes accompanied by delicious flavors of green fruit. The wine is balanced and easy to get into!
3. Pinot Grigio
If you prefer your wine to be slightly more acidic, give the Pinot Grigio a shot. It is a light-bodied, dry white wine that has refreshing notes. You will be able to recognize the citrusy flavors of lime, lemon, and sometimes peaches and apricots.
One of the best things about this wine is its simple flavors. Unlike other wines that often overwhelm your palate, Pinot Grigio offers simple fruity flavors that you will enjoy instantly. The drink pairs extremely well with grilled vegetables, pasta dishes, seafood, and chicken. So, it is a perfect drink for your dinner.
4. Prosecco
Coming to you from Northern Italy, this sparkling white wine is one of the bests in the market. If you have just started getting into sparkling wines, pick a bottle of Prosecco without any second thoughts.
Prosecco is a light-bodied wine with delicious fruity flavors. The subtle flavors of green apple, pear, and other citrus fruits add a sweet touch to it. It is very similar to champagne, the only difference is it belongs to Italy. It is super easy to drink and quite budget-friendly too!
The Best Red Wine for Beginners
Now that we have talked about some refreshing, light, and fruity white wines, let’s dive into our top red wines for beginners. While there are a variety of full-bodied, complex, and bold reds on the market, it’s best to start with something simple and easy that won’t overwhelm your palate.
Here are our top picks:
1. Merlot
There is no better way to start your wine-tasting journey than picking up a bottle of Merlot. This top-notch, smooth, and silky red wine is originally from France but is now being produced worldwide.
It is a medium-to-full-bodied wine with subtle flavors and hints of cherry, plum, chocolate, and vanilla. It goes really well with tomato-based pasta dishes, lamb, and beef. So, if you are looking for an easy-to-sip red wine to accompany your meals, you cannot go wrong with a bottle of Merlot.
2. Pinot Noir
As a beginner, it is best to opt for food-friendly wine that you can enjoy with most of your meals. Such wines are often easy to drink and help you develop your palate. Pinot Noir is one such red wine.
It is a light-to-medium-bodied drink with rich flavors of raspberry, cherry, and some spice. Due to its light and refreshing notes, even non-wine enthusiasts find it easy to fall in love with this bottle of red wine.
3. Gamay
Gamay is a lighter and more fruity sibling of Pinot Noir. Similar to Pinot Noir, it is also a light-to-medium-bodied red wine from France. For some reason, if you find it hard to get into Pinot Noir, consider picking a bottle of Gamay.
It is a fruity and sweet drink, similar to alcoholic cranberry juice. Gamay is one of the simplest red wines you will find out there, so it is perfect for beginners.
4. Cabernet Sauvignon
With fruity undertones, hints of vanilla and black fruits, and a silky, smooth palate, Cabernet Sauvignon is a super easy red wine to get into.
As a new wine drinker, consider picking a few bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon from regions like California. They are one of the richest and fruitiest drinks. They will impress your palate and trick it into believing you are drinking something sweet.
Generally, Cabernet Sauvignon has low to medium acidity, so you won’t have to tolerate the pungent and sour flavors if you aren’t a fan of them yet.
How to Start Drinking Wine in the Best Way – 4 Tips to Help You Out
Before you go into the market and buy some of the bottles we suggested above, take note of these four tips find the best wine for beginners!
1. Never hesitate to try something new: One of the best things about a new wine drinker is that you have so many new things to try.
So, never hesitate to try something new. When you are at a restaurant or a bar, and you see a wine you haven’t tried before, consider giving it a shot. You might end up finding your new favorite.
2. Learn the wine serving methods: Ensure you know how to serve wine correctly. For example, white wines are best served chilled. On the other hand, red wines are generally served at room temperature or slightly cooler.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: When buying a new wine, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Whether you are at a wine shop or restaurant, ask the staff questions about the wine’s ingredients, the winemaking method, or anything else that you might be curious about.
4. Go for wine tastings: One of the best ways to explore new varieties of wine is to go for wine tastings. It will help you discover new drinks and enhance your palate.
The Bottom Line
To sum it up, it won’t be wrong to say that wine is an acquired taste. You develop a palate for it and learn to enjoy it with time. So, the smartest thing you can do today is to not overcomplicate your choices and pick one (or more) bottles of the above-mentioned wine.
Sample them and see what impresses you the most. It is totally natural if you don’t enjoy the first wine bottle you pick. Keep on sampling new wines now and then until something stands out.
Once you start enjoying the wine-tasting process and have found your new favorite varieties, it is smart to revisit the wines you weren’t a fan of initially. This will help you understand how much your palate has developed with time.
Overall, everyone has a unique relationship and journey with wines. So to find the best wine for beginners, ensure to not get swayed by other people’s preferences. Instead, find wines that suit your taste buds and meet your unique choices. And don’t forget to have fun as you fall in love with wine!