10 THINGS YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WINE
If you’re really into your wines, you know how vast and fascinating the subject is. But if you’re not a wine expert, then here are 10 facts about wine you really need to know about. It will change the way you think about wine and the way you shop for it.
- THERE’S A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN QUALITY AND PRICE
Of course people selling cheaper wines will tell you the contrary.
They’ll try to get you to believe that there are some amazing wines selling for under a fiver. They’ll tell you that no wine costs more than £12 to produce. They’ll tell you that when you’re paying over £20 for a bottle of wine you’re throwing money at marketing.
But this is simply a lie! Massive amounts of money go into the cost of land, planting and replanting, into barrels, into staff etc..
Of course this doesn’t mean you’re going to prefer the better wine! N.B. Watch out for super (fake) deals and mega (also fake) promos
So next time you’re buying wine, remember that you get what you pay for.
2. WHEN YOU’RE BUYING WINE AT £4.99 A BOTTLE, YOU’RE ONLY SPENDING ABOUT 10 PENCE ON THE WINE ITSELF
Unfortunately this is the shocking truth about wine in the UK! When you take out the price of the bottle, the cork, labels, shipping, margins and the massive slice that goes to the government (£2.91), only about 10 pence goes towards the actual wine…
However the good news is that when you spend £7.99 you get £1.50 going towards the wine. It still isn’t much, but it’s 15 times more! And things get even better the more you spend.
The cheaper the wine, the more of your money goes to the government in proportion.
3. WINE IS MADE ENTIRELY FROM GRAPES
You must have heard it in wine tastings and on TV shows no? Notes of blackberry, flavours of pear and peach, and aromas of clove?
Many people (including people who know a bit about wine) think that these come from added flavours, cordials, purées and more. But in fact, these aromas and flavours come from the grape itself or the winemaking process.
Fruity aromas normally come from the grape variety (this is what helps us recognise different wines), while some other aromas are given to the wine when the grape juice is turned into alcohol, or when the wine is aged in barrels.
The back label description is just there to give you an idea of the smell and flavours; your wine is always made entirely from grape juice.
4. NOT ALL WINE IMPROVES WITH AGE
There’s a lot of talk about old wine and ageing it, however not all wine ages well (contrary to the popular belief people have about wine). When buying wine and ageing it, the aim is to improve it. But not all wines have the needed quality and attributes to help it age well.
Today the vast majority of wines are actually meant to be drunk within a year or two, so be careful on the wine you choose to age. You could be wasting money (and a lot of willpower staying away from that bottle).
Getting advice about the wine you want to age is vital.
5. MOST WINES ARE STUFFED WITH CHEMICALS
You might imagine wine as an artisanal product, made by an old man in Tuscany…
Unfortunately these wines are few and far between, and they certainly won’t make their way to your supermarket or local high street shop. Most wines you find nowadays will contain sulphites, sulphates, various acids, and a whole host of other chemicals. The good news is that there are wines that aren’t stuffed with chemicals, but you’ll need to go to your local wine merchant to find them.
If you’re looking for good artisan wines, don’t expect to find them in your local supermarket. Visit a good wine merchant and ask for advice.
6. THERE ARE OVER 10,000 GRAPE VARIETIES IN THE WORLD.
Yes.. You read right.. 10,000! Even if you know a lot about wine, you’ll never even know a fifth of them. Most people have only ever tasted 6!
Is it because of the poor offer in supermarkets, or is it due to lack of confidence and knowledge? Whatever it may be, it’s time to go out there and enjoy all the fantastic grape varieties the world has to offer.
Buy wines you’ve never tasted before, discover new regions and grape varieties.
7. WINE ISN’T ALWAYS VEGETARIAN
You must be thinking: how the hell does meat or fish make its way into wine? It’s not in the actual wine or an additive. Wine can come into contact with egg, fish, or other animal product during the fining process. Of course, it’s not all wines, but sadly there isn’t very much in terms of label regulation for you to know which wines are and which aren’t. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you’re going to have to do your research.
Visit your local wine merchant and ask them which wines are vegetarian or vegan.
8. SCREWCAPS AREN’T SOLELY FOR CHEAP WINES
Thankfully the preconceived idea that screwcap = cheap nasty wine, is on the out. But the vast majority of consumers will have problems buying a fine wine with a screwcap. There is absolutely no relation between the quality of a wine and its closure. Both traditional corks and screwcaps have their pros and cons and both can perform just as well during ageing.
Of course the traditional old cork has something romantic about it, but it doesn’t mean that the wine will be better. Try out wines at £20 plus with screwcaps and you’ll see there are some stunning examples of great wine “with one of those screwcap thingies”.
9. SMALL ISN’T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL, BIG WILL RARELY BE.
There’s a common idea that wine from small wineries is good and that wines produced by large groups are poor.
It’s not because it’s been produced by a small, family run winery that it’s good.. There are far too many examples of tiny wineries producing rubbish wine.
As for large wineries, obviously, most of their wines are mass produced, soulless plonk… But, there are many large wineries out there that have a few wines produced, on a much smaller scale, that really deserve to be recognised as great wines.
Buy wine based on quality first, then buy the story.
10. WHEN YOU’RE DRINKING WINE, DON’T FILL YOUR GLASS
Where does all this filling your glass right to the top come from? A glass should be served to no more than a third. This allows the wine to open up, and express itself to its best. It’s not beer you’re serving, it’s wine.
If you’re spending good money on a bottle of decent wine, make sure you get the most out of your wine.
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