Whether it is for a romantic dinner or for a simple get-together with friends, we all enjoy a nice glass of wine. When we are in a restaurant, however, some of the more uninitiated of us would leave the wine picking to our friends that are more familiar with the practice of wine selection, or we go with whatever the waiter recommends that goes well with our meal.
Learning how to pick the best quality and most delicious wines can be a neat skill to have in your arsenal, however. Not only will you give off the impression of being sophisticated and classy, you will also potentially pick up an interesting new hobby that many wine lovers enjoy — not to mention that whenever your father in law invites you to his wine tasting, but you will also look like an absolute genius and impress the entire family.
So with that in mind, here is a quick guide to how you can find the most affordable high quality wine for the most reasonable prices.
Alcohol Level
Of course one of the main things that you need to pay attention to is how much alcohol is in the wine. It is very important to curate this properly because you do not want to serve a bottle of wine that is too strong for a dinner, and you do not want to serve a bottle of wine that is too light for a party.
When selecting a lighter bottle of wine, you would want to go with a nice French Muscadet or Gamay — something that would somewhat resemble the taste of sparkling wine but with a little bit of a kick to it from the alcohol.
Wines that have more alcohol would tend to be more bitter so you need to select a bottle that is known for having a richer and fuller taste to justify that bitterness, something like a French Muscat would be nice.
Sweetness and Acidity
A couple of rules that you need to remember when selecting a wine to pair with your food — match sweet wine with salty food and match acidic wine with acidic food.
The reason why this works is that sweet wine could really counterbalance the overwhelming taste of salty food, allowing you to enjoy more of it by balancing out the flavors with each sip of wine. Sweet on salty is a combination that is a very popular combination that always seems to work.
On the other hand, the food that you eat should never be more acidic than the wine that you pair it with. The wine should be equally or more acidic.
Body
Though the body of the wine is not always a measure of quality, you can use it to determine how old a wine is. The body simply refers to how dense the wine feels when it is in your mouth. A wine that has more body is typically older and more refined. It is a good and reliable technique that you can use when you want to test for alcohol strength and age.
Now you are aware of the basic characteristics that make a bottle of wine high-quality. You have to remember never to make the basic rookie mistake of associating the bottle of wine’s price with its price since the price is never a fair indicator of quality. The wine selection is a complicated process that takes a lot of time to master. Keep these tips in mind when finding your next bottle, and you will be able to find your perfect bottle at the most reasonable prices, guaranteed.
Published April 15th, 2021
Written by Jacob M
Jacob Maslow chases the thrill of seeing long-lasting, measurable results for clients. Analytical in nature, he loves to work hard and tries topping yesterday’s results.
As a consultant, he works with companies to see direct, measurable results that lead to higher conversion rates, and ultimately, increased profitability. The dynamic nature of marketing campaigns keeps Jacob on his toes as he is always challenged and continually growing his skills to succeed in the field.
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