DigsMagazine.com | host: wine 101: CRASH COURSE FOR THE WINE NOVICE

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07.20.2000

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so you're a wine aficionado, eh? jump to the discussion boards and share your expertise. or get tips, ask questions, mingle.

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wine 101:
crash Course for
the wine novice | 1 2 3 4

So you and your roomies have stopped at the liquor shop, on your way over to another friend’s place for a nice dinner, and the three of you are standing there in front of the giant wall o’ wine staring dumbstruck as you realize you haven’t a clue as to how to pick just one or two from the vast sea of nearly identically-shaped bottles. Or you’re on a date at a fancy Italian restaurant, eyes glazing over as you thumb through page after page of a wine list filled with undecipherable words. In either case, you’re too embarrassed to admit that you can’t even pronounce "Pinot Grigio," much less tell the difference between it and a Chardonnay. We’re old enough now to know that there are certain occasions in life that just call for a good glass of wine, but heck if we know the difference between a "hearty, robust red with a hint of chocolate and pleasant plum notes" versus one with "ripe berry flavors and a well-balanced palate."

For the un-initiated, there’s something decidedly intimidating about the world of wine. The wine experts out there are (seemingly) ubiquitous, and all set to pounce on any opportunity to ridicule us poor non-connoisseurs for our lack of sophistication. If you’re certain you must have missed that day in college where they went over "how to pick a wine and not look like an idiot," fear not: you’re not the only one. Forget about the wine snobs: no one was born knowing this stuff, and there’s no shame in admitting your wine ignorance. Welcome to Wine 101. Below, a brief primer to help you get started with your wine education …

Basic types: Table, Fortified, Sparkling
Table wines are what most of us think of when we think of wines – the non-carbonated, dry-ish stuff that you drink with a fancy dinner. Fortified wines are your after-dinner, dessert wines – higher in alcohol content, and oftentimes quite sweet, these are your ports, your sherries, etc. Sparkling wines are the fizzy wines, the most famous example being Champagne.

on with the lesson

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