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Learning About Wine

Jake, Colossus of Clout

05:52 / 10.06.06

So, I scored a ridiculously sweet bartending gig recently, in a swank restaurant with the possibility of making very good money. I am an accomplished, certified bartender, but I've never worked in a wine-centric bar before. I've only ever had to deal with 10-15 different varieties in stock, but this new place has a wine list as long as my arm (seriously), and ranges from $25 bottles to almost $200.

All of a sudden, my cocktailcrafting abilities have become secondary, and my encyclopedic beer knowledge has been rendered virtually useless.

Now, I didn't lie or exaggerate to score this job. The owners know I'm only vaguely familiar with wines. I was hired based on general bartending and managing skill, and they're perfectly willing to bear with me as I learn on the job. We get along great, and I'm not in fear of my job.

The thing is, I want to dazzle, here. This is a gig I can see myself doing for years. I love the clientele, the menu, the atmosphere and all of my co-workers. In almost ten years of working on-and-off in the restaurant biz, this is exactly the job I always wanted, that I never knew I wanted until I nabbed it.

So: Give unto me your wine snob wisdom. I need to know about different grapes, aging processes, regions, you name it. Everything, basically. Recommend books and websites, give me personal experiences, preferences and opinions. I want to know it all, so I can impress.

If I ever meet you, you'll get a drink out of it.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

01:51 / 12.06.06

No wine experts on Barbelith?

Wow.

02:57 / 12.06.06

I'm in no way an expert but I do enjoy my wine. I'd seriously suggest Wine for Dummies if you're starting at ground zero when it comes to knowledge of all things wine-related. I purchased Windows on the World Complete Wine Course for my father last year. Apparently, it's one of the best books out there for learning purposes.

03:09 / 12.06.06

I don't know where you are, but if you are UK based Superplonk might be of use. It's been the best selling wine guide in the UK for ages and makes a virtue of finding cheap bargins ("plonk" as opposed to the finest wines). Now,I know this is in no way what you're involved in selling but a quick perusal might be useful to get familar with, I don't know, all the grape varities and to learn a new vocabulary.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

03:10 / 12.06.06

My boss lent me Wine For Dummies yesterday, actually. All of the Dummies books that I've read have been great so I expect it'll help out a lot. I'll look for the other book next time at a bookstore. Thanks!

We're The Great Old Ones Now

09:32 / 12.06.06

Some things about Italian wine:

the best Vino Nobile di Montepulciano comes from the Cantine Innocenti, where the bossman used to be a philosophy lecturer. He uses extremely traditional techniques. His supremacy is not universally acknowledged, but to me, there's no substitute.

Montepulciano winemakers make three basic grades, a vino rosso which is plonk (nice plonk) a standard Nobile, and a Riserva, which is top class.

Chianti wines under the Gallo Nero banner are all from the core region of Chianti, but this is no absolute guarantee of quality - many non-gallo nero wines are actually better. I don't like, but have to recognise the popularity and snob-value of, the so-called Super Tuscans, wines made in a Chianti style with a wider variety of grapes and so on, which don't qualify as Chianti but can be very good.

The wine thought of as the top Italian red is Barolo, which I know very little about because it's expensive.

White wines of Italy are regarded less highly, although the local white in San Giminiano, near Florence, is an exception to some.

There's a bunch of internet sites about this stuff, actually...

Anyway, one more thing regarding years of wine: sometimes, a year os so bad that a given vineyard cannot actually produce a viable amount of wine, and the whole crop for several is pooled under one banner. This means that that wine for that year was made with the very best grapes from a wider selection, and this occasionally results in an excellent vintage in a year which is otherwise totally vile.

In general terms, when I was visiting France some years back, I was informed sniffily by the makers of an excellent Gingondas that drinking any of their wines before they were four years old was a waste of money and time. The difference between a two and a five year old bottle of the same wine is absolutely obvious - the younger one is tangy, chemical-ish, and all too much like what you buy in the corner shop. The older one makes you want to lie down and stroke it.

Uh... does that help?

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:55 / 12.06.06

Good Lord! Nick! Welcome back!

10:20 / 12.06.06

It's pretty hard to write down all the wine basics just like that, as not only is it a deep subject, but it's pretty subjective too. About the best I can do is set you homework.

There's really no subsitute for tasting, ever - would your new bosses consider running a tasting event for loyal clientele, maybe get some producers/experts in to talk about things, and let you taste everything there too? It'd be a good way of getting the background quickly.

As for books, I've struggled to find engaging wine books - I'd really like to know if anyone else has found anything interesting - the only thing I can say is keep notes, even if they're along the lines of "Chateau Latour 1978, Stolen from drunk City boys, best wine I ever had". Anything to jog your memory, but the more the better.

Working out what varieties give rise to what kind of flavours is useful too. If you're in the US this will be slightly less of an issue with home-grown wines, as they seem to be named more for variety than region. Lots of the traditional european wines are blends of variety all from the same region (for example a Red Bordeaux can be varying quantities of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvingon, and Cabernet Franc, with a few other minor variations depending on the descision of the vineyard and how the wine will be sold), so learning what's in what if you're dealing with those would be a great start.

Also, the one thing that confused me for a while when I started learning about grape varieties - white wines can (and often do - Champagne has Pinot Noir in it, for example) come from red grapes. They all juice white, but the skins are left to soak (macerate, I think, it the word they use) for a red (long soaking) or for a rosé (much shorter soaking).

10:24 / 12.06.06

Jake, it sounds like your bosses are very sympathetic, so I would follow all their advice, learn as much as you can from them and from the books/tips they give you, and don't rush it - you don't want to make an error in front of a customer who knows about wine.

I don't know anything about wine and usually ask the waiter/sommelier for help...

10:53 / 12.06.06

Might it also be an idea to drink some wines yourself? Trying the wines you sell?

13:32 / 12.06.06

I was recently told by someone who is increasingly qualified in wine tasting and selling and appreciating that the important thing is to claim that most wines taste of pear drops... Sounds learned, certainly.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

03:12 / 13.06.06

would your new bosses consider running a tasting event for loyal clientele, maybe get some producers/experts in to talk about things, and let you taste everything there too?

Every day before the restaurant opens, the wait staff and I all sample a bit of the featured wine of the day, discuss it and make notes. I usually just listen at this point, but it's very enlightening. I'm also encouraged to sample any of the wine we sell by the glass.

The bottle-only wine is a bit harder to try, but today I've decided to only buy my wine from work (my boss gives it to me a little over cost), so I'll be able to eventually sample everything that's reasonably priced. Right now I'm drinking a 2001 Byington Alliage Cab from Sonoma, and it's quite lovely- very dry and fruity with loads of tannins. We sell it for $36 and I got it for $20, which is, I believe, only $2.50 over cost. Sweet.

I'm also working my way through the Wine for Dummies book, which is invaluable, as it cuts through all bullshit. I downloaded a video wine course yesterday, too, but haven't watched it yet.

I feel like I'm back in college, except, you know, learning about something in a much more entertaining way. Thanks to everyone for their input.

11:49 / 13.06.06

I must add that I'm very envious of you -getting to work with wine, and at a knowlegable and support place, too. And bottles at wholesale prices!

I should also add that travelling to the places might not make your wine knowledge hugely broader, but it might provide you with good stories to tell customers... and it's fun if you can convince your boss to send you places. Reasonable sized buyers often get offered trips and tastings for free, too.

Glad you've got something that cuts through the crap about wine - there's a lot of people who think they know a lot, but don't seem to be able to turn that into sense. Just let us know when you get the first pretentious snob who says "I won't have any of that Chardonnay rubbish... let me see, I'll have a bottle of White Burgundy".