Wine: Tips for Picking Out a Great Bottle - part 1

Wine tends to mystify a lot of people. Stick a hot shot Wall Street investment banker with all the confidence in the world in front of a wall of Burgundy bottles and he'll be reduced to jelly (although come to think of it, that Wall Street investment banker probably isn't feeling like such a hotshot nowadays anyway...bad example!). Picking out a great tasting, reasonably priced bottle doesn't have to be intimidating.

Prepare to be demystified!

It's Okay to Start With a Price

Don't feel awkward about having a price in mind when you walk into a store. In fact when I worked at a wine shop, "Do you have a budget in mind?" was usually my first question. Unless your budget is completely unreasonable (not everyone can match the price of Two Buck Chuck, after all...) any wine shop employee worth his grapes should be able to help you out whether your budget is $15 or $50. If he/she starts pressuring you to spend more, walk out the door.

It's Not All About the Numbers

You've probably noticed "shelf talkers" (those little cards attached to a shelf with information regarding the product) in some wine shops telling you what score Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate or Wine Enthusiast gave a particular wine. Ratings are a very good guide to the general quality of a wine. If a wine is rated 85 or higher by a major publication, you can be pretty certain it is a solidly made, good quality wine. Now whether it's a solidly made, good quality wine that will be to your liking is another story. Take the time to read the tasting notes on those shelf talkers. If you can get past the pretentious talk of shoe leather and pencil shavings, there's usually some good info there. Even an absolute novice can usually say whether they prefer a wine that is "crisp and light" to "buttery and full-bodied" or vice versa. Many tasting notes also include possible food matches, which is always useful.

Go International

Logic would suggest that if you live in the US, buying a bottle of wine produced in the US would give you the most bang for your buck. After all, you're not paying whatever it costs to put your wine on a barge and sail it across an ocean. Forget logic when it comes to the cost of a bottle of wine. An $8 Chilean or Australian wine can be just as good or better than a $30 Napa Valley wine. In fact, you really shell out for that Napa name, mostly because whoever made that wine really shelled out for that Napa property. (A popular joke in the wine industry - What does it take to make a small fortune in Napa? Answer: A large fortune. I didn't say it was a funny joke!) Lest I upset the Napa-philes out there, I'm not suggesting you're automatically overpaying if you buy a Napa wine. I'm just saying the chances are much greater. Very few bargains come out of Napa, compared to other, less lofty regions of California or those scrappy up-and-coming Southern Hemisphere players. Don't be afraid to experiment. That Argentinian Malbec could be just what you're looking for!

Next week: more tips on picking a great tasting, reasonably priced bottle, including a list of dependable importers to be on the lookout for.

For the inside scoop on wine news and deals, follow me on Twitter @SavingsHSimas.