Facing the Wall of Wine

Something many of the younger students would express while they were just getting their wine tasting and appreciation legs in Italy was, "Yes, but in America, we have these giant stores and so much to choose from.  Where do we start?"

I understood where they were coming from.  A wine store is much like a book store, in that I could spend 1) all day there browsing and, 2) way more money than I intended when I walked in.  I call it "The Wall of Wine" and facing it alone can often be intimidating.  Some stores are organized by region: Australia, Chile, Italy, Spain, California.  Some are organized by varietals: Cabernets, Syrah, blends.

My advice to them was to find the store's "wine expert" and explain what you are looking to try.  That's easy enough.  I've never been steered wrong by a recommendation here.  Also, be sure to join local wine clubs and tasting classes, many of them are free, but they introduce you to a range of wines over time, and it's a good way to find new favorites or guide your tastes toward new things.  Read wine blogs and articles.  This can lead you to try things you may not have otherwise heard of.

NOTE:   Caution here in that some of these wines often written about are expensive (I don't even read anything that is "collector" or "auction" centric),  but there's nothing wrong with one day aspiring to a Gravner, Paolo Bea, or Sassicaia vertical...*sigh.*  Admittedly one of my favorite reds I like to keep around the casa came from a Wine Spectator article in 2003 and I recognized it on a shelf, true to WS claims, a Super Tuscan (Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot blend) under $12.  It's been one of my favorites now for years and I was tickled to read in WS last fall waiting for my Tuscan Wine class to start (yes, I was early - again) that it is still one of the top-rated wines from 2009, and can still be found under $12.

Another tactic I found worked for me was to just go to a store with a smaller wine selection, like World Market (unless you live in one of those silly states that doesn't allow wine to be sold in these fun stores!) and choose a couple bottles, take them home, drink them.  Make notes about your impressions, and then look up any information you may need to help you learn more about them.  New grape?  New region?  This was how I learned about what was on the label - what "AOC" meant on a bottle of French, where a Priorato came from in the world, what grapes were typically in a Chateauneuf du Pape, why I was seduced by a certain Barossa red, or why a Stellenbosch South African Chenin Blanc was just what the doctor ordered somewhere between a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc some days.  And the cycle to "try new things" begins again here...

I write this because I knew when I came back to the states for the summer I was going to be facing the "Wall of Wine" again, and am like a kid in the proverbial candy store.  I knew what I wanted to drink this summer, but yet, there's just so much to get my lips on again.  I am also sure there is new stuff to try!

The plan:  Get reacquainted with the new world wines that were virtually inaccessible in Italy!   Oaky, butterscotchy, beastly Chardonnays; zingy, quenching New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs - oh how I missed these with spicy seafood dishes; gutsy Chilean reds and spicy, dense Argentinean Malbecs; juicy Alexander Valley and Amador Zins; and, God help me, "Parkerized" all-to-hell beefy, chewy, deep, break-me-down Napa Cabs...like...I don't think I can say it out loud without swooning...Shaaaafer....

The plan was on track.  I did a quick drive by on a smaller "liquor store" as I had some time to kill before a lunch date.  The store had not much of a selection, so I quickly snagged Simi (2007) and Sterling (2007, now chilling) Chards which are a little more balanced, but I'm still craving the HDV of last summer.  Also purchaed were a Los Vascos, one of my all time favorite Chilean Cabs, as well as a Sauv Blanc from New Harbor, since I never tried this one (and what? No Kim Crawford???).  The plan, however, was derailed slightly, but pleasantly, by a wickedly intense, yet elegant McManis Petit Syrah (2008) at a tasting Saturday.  Notes of coffee, cocoa, currants, and velvety tannins had me.

The next thing I know I'm standing in front of just one of the many walls of wine, grabbing - ooh - a Seghesio Zin, a sweet little red old vine blend from Marietta, and I now have three Petit Syrahs to play with.  All should pair nicely with summer evenings on the porch making like I can actually read Italian, ramping up my French (La femme boit!), or dancing barefoot on hardwoods to Eros Ramazzotti, Carmen Consoli, and Gianna Nannini...my latest Amazon purchases.

I'm ready to scale the wall of "new world" wines - and it's going to be a tasty summer, guys! 

P.S.  No, I'm not fully unpacked.  And the wine I shipped from Italy is somewhere between Illinois and here...