Important Spotlight: Best ways to not be a lemming with wine!
You do not want to be a wine drinking lemming.
A Lemming?
Yep! No one wants to be a blind follower.
Don’t want to be a lemming about wine?
Let’s talk about it!
I get it! Many people feel insecure and unknowledgeable about wine. They reach out to anyone or anything that gives them guidance.
If that’s you:
STOP!
If you know what tastes good to you, trust yourself!
Getting advice is one thing. Blindly following someone’s opinion is another!!
Here is some empowering advice for all wine drinkers:
Do Not Drink any wine you do not like.
Ever.
You do not have to like any wine because “they” say you should. You do not have to like any wine because someone says it is “good.”
Exactly!!
”Good” is an opinion.
Drink what you like and avoid the rest.
Orange wine has become big. I, personally, do not see the miracle of orange (skin contact) wine. There is plenty of other great wine to be had, so I just don’t drink it. If you like it, great! Drink whatever wine you like.
[Please remember that orange wine has to do with color and not fruit. I have been at wine tastings where individuals have commented that they don’t taste the orange. Oh, dear !]
For educational purposes, I did write a post on discovering orange wines. Click here to read it if you’d like.
“Natural wine” is another popular concept that “they” are marketing. Please know that the phrase “natural wine” means absolutely nothing specific. It is a marketing term.
Natural wine simply indicates that very few additives are used in the grape growing or winemaking processes. Few is a vague term. It means different things to different winemakers.
You may have heard of the term Pét Nat (pétillant naturel). It is a style that is so old it is new again. It pre-dates the making of Champagne. The wine is put in a bottle to ferment. The carbon dioxide has nowhere to go so you get light carbonation.
It has become wildly popular lately because it is considered a natural wine. In this case, the term is used to describe a low-intervention wine.
Some of the wines are almost no intervention, and the results vary widely. It can mean no filtering, so you end up with a hazy wine. Not bad in itself, but hit or miss. Some people like the unpredictability. If that’s you, woo! If not, there may be better choices.
Some natural wine is delicious, some is not. At all!!
Do not buy a wine just because it says natural on it.
Do not be a lemming.
Do Not Buy any wine just because of its rating (score)
Wine ratings all over wine stores makes me crazy!
This section was originally going to be its own post, because of how aggravated they make me.
I actually had a bunch of titles for that post:
The Truth about Wine Ratings: Do not waste your time!
Another one was: I hate wine ratings and you should too!
Then there was Spotlight on Wine Ratings: You are seriously wasting your time!
Clearly I am not open minded about this! That was a little too much, though, even for me.
I am very opinionated on this topic!
We all have opinions.
Wine ratings are, quite frankly just opinions.
With wine, there is no shortage of opinions! In every wine publication and on every shelf where wine is sold, you will see ratings plastered everywhere! Some people get caught up in this and believe a higher number will be a better wine for them!
NO!
Not necessarily!
Wine ratings are designed by professionals. They are looking for things you will probably not care about. At all! Even the professionals don’t agree! Although, they are supposed to be objective, their preferences and taste buds are not!
These are not multiplication tables with one correct answer.
Spoiler alert: Taste is subjective!
The only taste preferences that matter are yours!
The ratings are based on what these professionals think is good. We all have different tastes. Taste is personal. Not universal!
Don’t let anybody decide for you what may taste good!
It’s all about the marketing, not you!
Never forget that ratings are marketing tools.
Wine awards are also marketing tools, by the way. Generally, a panel of judges decides on the winner. Many wineries are deservedly proud of them, so I’m certainly not going to pick on that. There are so many of these wine awards, though! Hmm! All wine awards are not equal, shall we say. Some may be more in the line of a participation trophy. Just saying.
Wine ratings are often decided by one person! If you have seen these ratings plastered everywhere, you know who I am talking about!
When looking for guidance, do not rely too heavily on “expert authority.” The wines may be delicious for you, or they may not.
The posted ratings make people see these wines as “good” if the number is high enough. They may think the wine that scored 3 points higher must be “better. “ NO!
DON’T LET THAT BE YOU!
Again, there is not just one right answer. This isn’t math.
Explore wine on your own with a sense of curiosity and adventure!
Do not be a lemming.
Do Not Buy any wine just because a celebrity endorsed it.
There are a number of wines that are known as Celebrity wines. Some of them may be good, but do not choose them just because there is a celebrity name attached to it. Would you choose a doctor based on what a celebrity endorsed? No you would not! Hopefully.
The same goes for any social media recommendations. The advice could be helpful, but don’t follow it blindly. I have been in wine and liquor stores where the salesperson points out which celebrity was seen drinking this liquor. Who cares? A salesperson who really knows their stuff, and there are many of them, would not do that.
Do not be a lemming.
Have you signed up yet? Now is the time?
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Have you signed up yet? Now is the time? ****
Do Not Order from the right side of the wine list.
Just to be clear, this means: Do not order wine based on the price! The price is on the right side. Got it? This applies to anywhere you are buying wine, not just in a restaurant. More expensive wine is not always better wine or more delicious wine. Don’t fall for that.
Even more importantly,
NEVER BE PUSHED INTO SPENDING MORE THAN YOU WANT
Try to never be intimidated by a sommelier. Years ago, I was at a restaurant celebrating someone’s birthday. We wanted something sparkling first and I ordered a bottle for the table. The sommelier turned to me and said: If you want more bang for your buck, order this other sparkling wine. It was more than double the price!
This infuriated me! I knew enough to say no in very strong terms. However, many people don’t know enough. They give in to this egregious upselling.
Unfortunately, this happens way too often. If a more expensive wine is offered I always suggest asking: What am I gaining for the expense? Make them explain it.
The same is true at a wine store. Give a price range!
One of my posts is on the price of wine. It is called The Top 4 things you should know about the cost of your wine. Check it out here!
One of the reasons is simply what the consumer is willing to pay for it. Supply and demand.
That means a Cult wine (also called a trophy wine) is expensive because so many people want that trophy. They are willing to pay a lot for it. Simple supply and demand.
Do not fall for cult wines. There are equally good wines for a fraction of the price.
The same is true for certain high end Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. Supply and demand.
Do not go down that rabbit hole. It may be a delicious wine to drink, or not. To many people it is just a trophy or an investment.
Do not be a lemming.
If you need more advice on thinking for yourself about wine, you can read my post about drinking wine irreverently.
Be empowered! Trust your taste!
Have fun and have wine be an addition to your life.
That’s the idea!
