Absolute newbie wanting to start drinking wine - but I'm clueless, where to start?

[ErinAndTonic]

I'm usually a gin, rum or cocktails girl. But tried a few wines recently (that I don't really know what they were to know what I like) and want to try and figure out what I like and don't like.

Aside from buying many bottles and getting sozzled with a DIY wine tasting at home, where should I start?

I think I had a Zinfandel the other day which I quite liked. But other than that I haven't a clue when it comes to a wine list what I like, unless there a samples before ordering 😅

If you have a wine bar nearby that has vending machines I highly recommend this as a way to try loads of different options!

You can get 50ml tasting glasses so are able to try loads of different ones, they always have the names and descriptions so you'll start to see a pattern of what you like.

Get a friend and go for an evening of wine and charcuterie board and make a wee note of the ones you like.

If you have a wine bar nearby that has vending machines I highly recommend this as a way to try loads of different options!

I love these! I’m sure I’ve got about 10 cards for our local one with about £2 on each. It is a brilliant way of trying new things.

This sounds right up my street - need to see if this exists near me.

If anyone is in London or on the south coast (work in one, live in the other) I'd love to know of any recommendations for this type of thing.

Got to a Vagabond in London, they have the enomatic (vending) machines

Lidl is a good starting place - they have a decent but not too large selection, good descriptions and rating system. Very good prices generally for what you get.

Our favourites include their Bordeaux superior, the coonwara Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and for fizz the cremant de Loire or house prosecco Spumante.

Provence rose is my favourite but it's more of a summer drink and not cheap, keep that for next year

Or Vinoteca both would fit your needs

I am by no means an expert at all but married to a Frenchman for 25 years who is from Bordeaux, I have tasted a lot of wine over the years! 😆🍷 At first, I liked rose wine the best, Provence or Californian Zinfandel but prefer Provençal rose as it is less sweet, then moved onto white Chablis, Chardonnay, Pinot, now like all of these but also Burgundy red, Malbec, a lighter Bordeaux. Then you have all the sparking ones too. Crémant de Bourgogne is lovely and third of price of Champagne. I think your tastes do change as you get older/ taste more wines!
what I like about my husband’s family is wine doesn’t have a snob factor like it does in some places here, it’s just part of life.

Thank you, this looks great.

This is where I feel nervous because I feel like on the one hand certain wine is seen as shit quality and you're judged for that - but on the other hand if you only like the higher end stuff you're seen as pretentious.

I don't want a bottle of sweet vinegar but I'm happy to try things from all price points and just find what I like - irrelevant of whether it's seen as good or not.

For example my family have all said Yellowtail is nasty cheap wine so I've refrained from trying it so far - yet I've had friends recommend it to me as a good starting point to try their different types to understand what I like and take it from there...

To me, Yellowtail is not great but if you try and like it, who cares what anyone else thinks? Just try and enjoy, op.

The Wine Tasting Shop in Balham is great!

I am basically a wine newbie that has been drinking wine for about 20 years. Zinfandel is very sweet and essentially alcoholic grape juice. I’d you like that you are probably not going to like a heavily Oakes Chardonnay. I go to vineyards and I always like their cheapest wine best as ultimately i don’t like oaked wine or overly flavoursome wine…. I like red-côté du Rhine, montipulciano, Tempranillo, Rioja. Rose I use to drink a lot of Zinfandel but it’s too sweet so I love a Provence rose but it is expensive so drink Pinot Grigio blush when out. White-Pinot Grigio or Pinot gris. I find Sauvignon blanc too acidic. Go to a wine tasting-they do online ones-we for a few over lockdown and we’re infirmative and fun.

Also like vagabond but have yet to remember what I’ve tried….

Veeno do a reasonably priced wine tasting and they have branches dotted around the country.

The problem with starting to learn about wine is that (as a generalisation), wine is made for one of two purposes:

• mass market - buy / drink, often the wine remains in the house no longer than a day - week. The wine makers tend to aim for easy to drink / simple wines
• more wine connoisseur - wines tend to be a bit higher priced, but there is more thought and purpose in how they are made and the wines are more complex / less two-dimensional

When you start out - the more complex wines seem tricky to understand or get - but like many things, spending time learning about them / learning how to taste / experiencing them and eventually they will make more sense and the more basic wines will feel more flat by comparison...

There is snobbery in wine - but only in as much as there is in cars / houses / how you dress / etc. - it comes from people who use it as a way to bolster their own self-confidence... In reality you can get good wines from Aldi and Lidl - Majestic Wines are a good option - they do some very good wines but they are also staffed by knowledgeable people and do regular (often free) wine tastings... Wander in to your local store (or an independent wine store) and tell them you want to learn more about wine...

In the mean time - a great site if you are a visual learner is winefolly.com - go and play on there or buy their book...

Also - just to add - wine budgets...
at the lowest end, unless the retailer is subsidising the bottle (Aldi and Lidl can both do this at times), you really won't get much actual investment in growing the wine in a cheap bottle...

As you can see from the attached image (from Vinonomics) - a £5,00 bottle has only about 4% of its costs from the wine / at £10 you have 24% of the wine costs invested in producing the grapes and wine / at £20 you have 33% invested in that...

It is a clear indicator that in buying very cheap wine you are likely to get very little for your money, but you don't have to add much in cost to improve in wine terms quite significantly...

@IroAhmad and @akkakk - this thread is over a year old. I think the OP is probably sorted.

Apologies hadn’t realised! The poster above appears to be linking to a spam site so be cautious everyone!

Welcome to the world of wine – it’s a fun journey, and there’s no rush to become an expert overnight! I would advise starting with something light, like a crisp white wine, maybe a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. They’re easy to drink and not too complicated. Then, try a light red like Pinot Noir – it’s smooth and not too heavy, perfect for newbies.

Also, if you want to get a bit more serious, you could check out some online courses – some great ones teach you all the basics without making it too complicated. So, best wine courses online is an excellent place to look. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge while still having fun!