I’ve been working in multiple capacities related to wine for three decades, and I can’t remember a time when nearly as many people were as stressed about it as now.
On the wine trade side, I’d write that many domestic producers, importers, distributors, and retailers are “freaked out” if not for the fact that their fears are realistic. Consumption is declining measurably, especially among potential buyers who are relatively young. Industry consolidation can make it very difficult for family wineries to find energetic wholesale representation—if they can find a distributor at all. Then there’s the black cloud of tariff threats. Losing competitiveness in the Canadian market would be a real blow to American wineries, and a 200% tariff on wines from the European Union would be almost unimaginably destructive to many in the industry.
I’m shifting to the consumer side momentarily, but bear with me, as my intention is to lower rather than heighten stress levels. Even the photo I’ve chosen to accompany this column—taken at a fabulous winery—will hopefully have a soothing effect (even if only hypnotically).
Potential consumers are not shying away from wine simply because they are fickle. Beverage fads come and go, so wine’s place in American culture is not enduringly threatened by hard seltzers. What does pose a real threat is when the Surgeon General or other less-credentialled (but equally skewed) “experts” tell people that wine can cause eight different kinds of cancer or knock years off one’s life. Better studies on the effects of moderate wine consumption patterns including enjoying wine with food and plenty of water would produce very different results than we’re seeing, but don’t hold your breath waiting for those. Entities that fund studies often have an axe to grind when shelling out grant money, and researchers don’t get university tenure or press coverage when the top-line finding is that “Well, this stuff is really okay after all.”
My colleagues in the ranks of wine analysts and writers who are advancing arguments against beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs, neo-prohibitionism, and health hysteria are doing us an important service. I’ve written in this vein and will continue to do so. But that can’t be our only approach. Lots and lots of potential consumers are scared off simply because wine can be dauntingly complicated – unless those who know it well continue explaining why it need not be daunting. Every new cohort of potential wine lovers needs guidance along this line.
That’s the purpose of this column. Let me begin with a composite sketch of the intimidated American who is put off by wine:
“I’ve really liked wine when tasting it on occasion, but the whole business is just too complicated for me to mess with. Walking into a giant store and confronting thousands of wines is totally overwhelming. I don’t even know whether I’d rather stand and gawk at the bottles on my own, giving the impression that I’m an idiot, or answer questions from a salesperson and make it clear that I am indeed an idiot.”
“Restaurants scare me even more. They dump a far-too-long list in my lap along with a complicated dinner menu ten seconds after I’m in my seat. I’ve never heard of 95% of the wines, and probably can’t pronounce the other 5%. I feel like I don’t have a snowball’s chance of ordering a wine that will suit both the preferences and the food of everyone at the table, and I’m not too keen on consulting waiters. One third of servers are fine, but another third seem too young to help or even to drink legally, and I want to strangle the other third for talking about ‘undertones of lightly crushed blackcurrants.’ And what am I supposed to do when presented with the stupid cork? Sniff it? Squeeze it? I wish I knew more, but in practice the whole thing just makes me want to go to a Mexican restaurant and order a beer.”
If you can identify with any of this, let me first say that I feel your pain. Sure, there is a great deal to learn, and yes, retail stores and restaurants can be uncomfortable environments for those accustomed to knowing what they’re talking about on other subjects. But don’t give up. Although there is a lot to learn about wine, almost none of it is very difficult, and many concerns and problems that seem to block the way to deeper appreciation are easily surmounted.
Here are my responses (all soothingly affirmative) to ten questions on issues that frequently thwart would-be wine lovers:
Can I accumulate some wine for future consumption without building a cellar or buying a refrigerator?
Absolutely. The longstanding notion that wine must be kept at 55 degrees or consumed immediately is nonsense—and destructive nonsense at that, with elitist consequences. It deters many less-than-wealthy newcomers from experiencing the pleasures of collecting a stash of special wines (and the savings made possible by stocking up during sales).
Although those buying fancy Bordeaux or vintage Port for long aging really do need special storage conditions, those who drink their wines with food within a couple of years after purchase will do just fine keeping them in a corner of their basement or in an apartment’s closet. Even slipping them under a bed or a couch will be just fine for a year.
If you can keep the temperature in the low- to mid-70s, avoiding serious temperature fluctuations and direct sunlight, your red wines will develop very nicely over the course of a few years. They will develop a bit more quickly than if they were stored at 55 degrees, but this is no disadvantage for near-term drinking. It can actually be an advantage for those starting out and learning about how wines taste differently as they evolve. And since 95% of white wines decline rather than develop over time, you should be drinking these up quickly regardless of your storage conditions. To move up one click in sophistication, those who use insulated closets can spend more on wine and less on peripheral accessories, and actually avoid the fluctuation damage suffered by owners of refrigerators and temperature-controlled cellars during power outages.
Can you provide a rule of thumb for knowing when to open wines I’ve stored?
Yes, though it may not be exactly what everyone might desire: Drink ’em up, and do it sooner rather than later. Readers often ask me to predict the precise apex or this or that wine, but this is impossible. Wines–even different bottles of a single wine–don’t develop or decline in smooth, predictable patterns. Even if they did, individuals with different tastes would prefer them at different points in their developmental trajectory. Moreover, a wine that may seem immature tasted on its own might be perfect with the right meal, and could even seem over-the-hill with another, more robust dish.
Almost all “collectors” and so-called “experts” agree that they’ve suffered many more disappointments by drinking wines too late than by drinking them too early. The belief that wines become more complex with age is fraught with danger, even though it is true of great wines. Most wines sold today are styled for immediate enjoyment, and this is true not only for whites but for reds as well—even from storied locations like Bordeaux. Moreover, even very “serious” wines that benefit from ageing don’t attain maximum complexity when clinging to life at an advanced age, but rather when they have gained some “bottle bouquet” but still retain fresh fruit years earlier.
Can I do anything to lessen the likelihood of getting a headache after drinking wine?
I wish I had a dollar for everyone who has told me they don’t drink wine because they had a bad experience after an ill-advised binge during their youth or at a wedding. The fact is, almost everyone can avoid getting headaches from wine, which is way less dangerous in this regard than spirits. Yes, a relatively small percentage of people are allergic to particular compounds present in certain wines, and they can experience headaches regardless of the counter measures they may take. However, I’m absolutely convinced that the number of such people is vastly lower than the number of those who think they’re allergic but who actually get headaches because they drink too much, too fast, without food, or when insufficiently hydrated.
As a general rule, it is likely that you can drink as many as three glasses of wine (white or red, from any grape or country) without getting a headache in the aftermath if you drink them with food or on a fairly full stomach, at 45-minute intervals, with a twelve-ounce glass of water for every six-ounce glass of wine. Obviously, the sheer size of your body is a factor to include in your calculations. Less obviously (and very unfairly), studies seem to indicate that women don’t metabolize alcohol as efficiently as men, regardless of weight. But anybody using common sense can avoid getting headaches from wine at a higher-than-average rate of frequency. (By the way, people who don’t drink alcohol of any type still get headaches.) As for those who believe that sparkling wine causes headaches because of the bubbles, let me just note that that is utter nonsense.
Can special wine glasses really enhance one’s experience, and can they be acquired without great expense?
Yes and yes. A relatively capacious, well-balanced glass with a thin brim will handle better and offer more aroma and flavor than the principal alternatives. Cheap wine glasses with rolled lips are often too small to hold aromas from the wine or, when larger, are absurdly top-heavy. Expensive cut glass goblets are usually even worse in terms of balance and thickness at the lip. If you inherited Waterford crystal glasses and think you’re doing your wines a favor, let me advise you to sell them on eBay and buy something this is simpler, cheaper, and better performing all at once.
Good to high performance wine glasses can be expensive but need not be. At the lower end price-wise, Ikea sells a 20-ounce “DRYGRIP” glass for $5.49 per stem. That’s a very good size for red wines and not too big for whites, and the price is so low that you can clean them in the dishwasher or let even the most fumble-prone guests use them on a stone patio without worry. (Fact: even the lightest and thinnest glasses are virtually never broken by the dishwasher itself—the culprit is almost invariably the human being doing the loading or unloading. After a dinner party, just leave the glasses for the morning!) If you don’t live near an Ikea store, the company will deliver a bunch of these glasses for $10. For example, that was the shipping charge for one stem or a full dozen when I just checked, and before counting sales tax in your state, that works out to $6.32 per glass for twelve—which is less than half what many people consider the cost of a decent weeknight bottle.
I would be defeating my de-stressing purpose here to offer rundowns on a whole slew of glasses, but let me answer one more question on this subject: How much do you need to pay for a truly high-performance “Universal” glass that is great for white, red, or sparkling wines at a level appropriate for a Michelin-starred restaurant or analytical use by a professional taster? The answer is $39.50, the company is Glasvin, the model is “The Universal,” and delivery is free if you buy a 6-pack of them (though you can also buy them in packs of 2 or 4). It is my current favorite white wine glass in the world, but is also very good with reds and far better than almost any flute or tulip-shaped glass for Champagne. I find it superior to the more famous Zalto “DenkArt” Universal, which can’t be had for less than $60 (too tall for more subtle white wines). Of course, there are lots of attractive choices between $5.50 and $39.50, but the fact that you can get “good” for $5.50 and “great for almost everything” for $39.50 proves that you don’t need to shell out much money for glasses that can do justice to fine wines.
Can I get my wines to the right temperature for optimal drinking without messing with those dopey sommelier thermometers?
Yes, please. Millions of bottles are compromised in America every year by being served at improper temperatures, which almost always means that whites are too cold and reds too warm. This is especially galling because the solution is so simple: Pull your whites from the refrigerator—and place your reds into it—for 20 minutes before serving. That’s it—done and dusted. Your whites will offer more aroma and taste less tart, whereas your reds will offer fresher fruit with less overt alcohol.
Can I find wines in restaurants that will work with a range of dishes ordered by different people in my party?
Yes, and you can accomplish this in a couple of different ways. If the dishes ordered are really far flung, you could recommend that everyone order wine by the glass to get more harmonious pairings. If the by-the-glass or half bottle offerings don’t seem attractive (or if your friends ask you to just take responsibility and order a couple of full bottles), go for a white and a red, and choose medium-bodied wines. Many people have a pronounced preference for either white or red, so nobody should be shut out. Your chances to get good matches with widely differing foods will be enhanced if you steer clear of extreme wines like tart little Sancerre or big, hulking Zinfandel and go with medium-bodied bottlings. Three easy-to-remember examples are the Pinot grapes, especially from three particular areas that usually provide ultra-versatile, middleweight renditions: Pinot Blanc from Alsace, Pinot Gris from Oregon, and Pinot Noir from California.
Can I drink red wine, which I love, with fish, which I should eat more often than red meat?
Absolutely. The old rule of pairing whites with fish and reds with meat is, thankfully, dead as a doornail. Forget color and concentrate on weight and intensity. That is, pair light foods with light wines, and rich foods with weighty wines. Similarly, match delicate foods with subtle wines, and assertive foods with intense wines. Red wines often work better than whites with substantial, flavorful fish dishes (like grilled salmon), just as fuller whites can outperform reds with delicate preparations of chicken, pork or veal.
Can you point me toward wines that will prove fairly durable if I re-cork them for drinking over several nights?
Yes, though they’re unlikely to be quite as fresh and lively as on the first night. Nevertheless, some wines prove dramatically more durable than others after opening. Generally, whites do better than reds, and younger whites do better than ones that have been bottled for several years. Additionally, certain structural properties correlate very closely with durability, and the most important of these are acidity and sweetness. I find that lean, young wines with ample acidity (like, say, Sauvignon Blancs from France’s Loire Valley or from New Zealand) hold up very well, as do dry Rieslings. Sweet dessert wines are also quite durable, and since the good ones have strong acidity to boot, they’ve got two factors working in their favor. This is also true of young, dry or off-dry German Rieslings, which aren’t too sweet to enjoy with most foods and can hold up for a week when simply re-corked and refrigerated.
Can I look for anything on a bottle to indicate that it might have been spoiled during shipment?
Yes. Overheating in transit or storage is the most widespread problem, and the surest sign is sticky streaking suggesting seepage from the top of the bottle. Like any other liquid, wine expands when heated, and since it expands more than glass, it will force itself past a cork when warmed sufficiently. The wine then suffers a double whammy because, as it cools, air from outside the bottle will be sucked in as the liquid contracts, adding oxidation to the initial effects of overheating. Shoppers should make a habit of giving every bottle a quick look and a quick feel for stickiness right at the base of the capsule or at the bottom of the sleeve on a screwcap.
Can I do anything if I get a wine in a restaurant or from a retail shop that tastes bad to me?
Yes, most retailers and restaurateurs will replace a bottle that you deem defective, and though some will ask to examine it themselves to determine if it is sound. In restaurants, the best course is to explain to your server that you don’t think your wine is right, and take the initiative of inviting the server or a manager to check it. Many restaurants will either replace the bottle or let you select an alternative even if they find nothing wrong with the first wine, so it makes sense to express your displeasure with a wine if you really dislike it. It also makes sense to be sure that the wine is genuinely bad rather than merely boring, and never to abuse the generosity of those offering replacements.
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Photo Credit: By Michael Franz, shot during a winery visit kindly hosted by Descendientes de José Palacios in Spain’s Bierzo region. The photo was taken looking up from the bottom of a spiral staircase leading down to the cellar of the spectacular facility. Perhaps it will have a slightly hypnotic, stress-reducing effect on you. Visiting beautiful wineries that make delicious wines certainly reduces stress for me.