Everyone has heard about the health benefits of drinking wine in moderation because many magazines and newspapers across the country frequently write about it. Wine has also been shown to aid in digestion when taken with meals, something that isn’t written about very much. What I find interesting is that the art of choosing a wine is usually lost in the health-conscious hubbub. No matter what the benefits may be, who is going to drink a wine if they don’t enjoy it? Really, enjoying it is the whole point!

I keep a wine cellar. It’s a hobby I got into when I got my first ultrasound job in Appleton, WI. I bought a beautiful house with a little 13′x8′ room in the basement. I used that room for a wine cellar. It was the perfect temperature and humidity all year and I took that as an opportunity to build up a cellar of 220 bottles of wine.

Several years and two places of residence later, I continue to drink off of that collection. My collection has dwindled down to less than 75 bottles. It’s a little disappointing to someone who loves wine so much, but my life’s journey over the next decade will not provide for the best storage of nice wines. Moving can be hard on a delicate wine.

While I am no expert – merely an admirer – I have gotten questions from many people regarding wine, the different varieties, and how to choose a good bottle. Wine is an art. There really are no facts when it comes to the enjoyment of art; only opinions. At best, a wine connoisseur can only give you his or her opinion and some basic guidelines for beginning your enjoyment of wine. How far you take it is up to you.

Wine According to Di

Anyone who has studied chemistry knows that everything you learn is not true to a certain extent. Frustrating, I know. Wine is basically a pretty awesome chemistry experiment. Due to the nature of chemistry, these guidelines are basic and the theory of wine gets much more complex as you get into it more. These guidelines, however, will suffice for someone who is looking to simply enjoy a bottle of wine without getting into details.

I’ve found that any grape will most likely taste good when done in a style you appreciate, but mostly when it is drunk within the appropriate time frame. MOST grocery stores, especially those like the ones in my small town, will carry wines that are past their prime. This means that the characteristic fruity flavor is diminishing and the wine really doesn’t have the flavor that it once did. That missing flavor is what you are searching for.

Of the grocery store varieties, I prefer Beringer. While you can get a bottle of Beringer for probably around $6, it is still going to be of good quality. It is complexity of flavor – how many things you can taste and smell from just one wine – and mouth feel – astringent, watery, or full-bodied and soft – that are most likely to vary between different price points. However, you don’t need to pay $70 to get a great bottle of wine. In fact, you get some excellent wines from Beringer for around $25, like the Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

There are MANY excellent wines that are available between the $20 and $40 range. One of my favorite wineries is Argyle, out of the Pacific Northwest. My favorite Pinot Noirs come from there. If you’re looking for excellent juice, but lower prices (in the teens), check out Castle Rock. Castle Rock buys up the excess juice from larger, “more prestigious” wineries and bottles and ferments it for a more affordable price. I love Castle Rock. Your really can’t go wrong there.

If you try one bottle you don’t like, try a different vintage or a different grape. Wines will change from year to year because the grapes change due to varying differences from season to season. California and Australian wines tend to be bolder and, the new trend, stronger in alcohol content, because the grapes are left on the vine longer and they get more sun. These grapes have a higher sugar content.

So, find out what wines are available to you, then get online and look for “drink by” years. There are plenty of web sites that offer tasting notes on different wines. This is where vintage is really important to not-so-serious wine drinkers – use it to get a good product. Buy the wines that are within the suggested “drink by” time frame and you will probably be a lot happier with your wine drinking. You will notice a lot more than just dry, semi-dry, or sweet. You will notice red currants, vanilla, toast, citrus, oak, floral hints, and so many more characteristics found in a wine drunk within the right time-frame.

When I started going to wine tastings, I did not like white wine, and I found Chardonnays, in particular, to be offensive. I was slowly introduced to white wines, served within the drink by time-frame, and found them to be a wonderful alternative to the heavier, bolder reds that I enjoyed so much. I find white wines to be quite enjoyable on sunny days, even in the winter.

Suggested wine pairings are something to take into consideration as well. There is no rule saying you can’t serve a Riesling (pronounced “Rees’ling”, not “Reez’ling”) with a steak, but a red Bordeaux may be a better match. It’s like cooking. You can throw basil on anything you like, and I usually take that liberty, but there is something about basil that makes it a natural pairing with tomato.

On special occasions, I’ll make a creamy chicken dish that uses a dry Riesling in the recipe. The rule for pairing this dish is simple: pair it with that same dry Riesling. At first, I didn’t find the concept of a dry Riesling to be something I would enjoy, but I found that this particular wine and food pairing was divine.

Di’s Recommendations

If you find that your palate is similar to mine, you may be interested in trying wines from the following regions:
• Knights Valley, California
• Sonoma Russian River Valley, California
• Alexander Valley, California
• Médoc, Bordeaux, France
• Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Today’s Menu

• 2 Fried eggs on toast
• Salad – Greens, homemade Ranch, MorningStar Chik Nuggets, tomato, cucumber, blue cheese
• Pasta shells with Chik nuggets, spices, and olive oil
• Salad – Greens, raspberries, pecans, raspberry vinaigrette
• Lots of iced tea (getting ride of hangover)
• Ovaltine