Wine News: Welcome to the wonderful world of wine

"Don't know your Chardonnay from your Pinot Grigio? Not sure if White Zinfandel goes well with your pasta? Think choosing wine is a pain in the Shiraz? If you consistently leave the liquor store with the same old bottle of wine, you may need a wine primer.

So how does the average Joe start learning the basics of wine?

"There are a lot of opportunities to learn wine," said Jonathan Edwards, owner of Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington. "One great way is to go into your local liquor store. If you feel comfortable talking to the owner, that's a great source. They are usually excited about wine as well as versed in it, and they want to educate."

At Universal Discount Package Store in Norwich, owner Paul Agranovitch said there are more than 2000 varieties of wine to choose from in his store, and he tries his best to direct people to the one best suited to them.

"Usually I start out by asking what their price range is," he said. "That narrows it down a bit. Then I ask their taste preference: Do they like sweet? Dry? Then I find out if they prefer red or white. We work with the different categories."

Betsy Eichholz of Towne Liquors in Norwich said wine merchants are the best bet. Towne Liquors offers tastings on Fridays as well as classes once a month to help people get started. "Books are a good source," she said. "Each has something worth reading."

Full article here.

September 17, 2006

Wine News: Welcome to the wonderful world of wine