Keys to a Wine Label
So there are a few kind of people in the world, and I'm going to break down the corpus of people into 3 groups by how we look at a wine label. I know there are probably outliers, but I think we can all be honest that most of the time we fall into one of these groups. A wine aisle can be a scary place where we are lost and clinging to the only thing we know. I will preface this categorization by the fact that this holds true for any price point. We all pick our shelf level in the store, and if you are like me that means you just take a squat to the bottom shelf.
The Determined One: First, you have the people who know something about wine, just enough to know what they LOVE. And I mean LOVE. The culprits here are the ones that really LOVE Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio or Cabernet Sauvignon. Most other varietals don't have quite the blind following. But don't touch a lady looking for her Chardonnay. She's one that knows what she wants and goes for it. She probably also orders the same meals at restaurants once she's found her favorite.
The Easily Persuaded One: Next, are the group of people that just love pictures. A pirate, cute chickens, moving eyes; you name it and there is a wine label for it. This is probably the vast majority of us. You are in your price range and you are probably in the color you prefer, white or red, and the rest is a mystery. Who ever said don't judge a book by it's cover clearly had not been down a wine aisle. There are some very clever wines out there and you just want them because of the label. You probably also order the food on the menu that comes with a picture.
The One Looking to Beat the System: Lastly, are the ones out there that are using wine for its end game. These folks are looking at the alcohol content. There is always the portion of us that wants the best bargain for our buck. We feel that we are getting more for our $10 by having 15% alcohol versus 9%. While most aren't noticeable differences, do make sure you don't accidentally come home with a 6%. (This advice is coming from someone who has done this, embarrassingly, more than once.) These are the ones that comprise most of their meal with free chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant.
My advice for you wine drinkers out there is to try something new. Don't fall into only one of these categories all the time! Typically go for a Pinot Grigio - why not try a Sauvignon Blanc? Go for the pictures - why not try and go for a funny name? Go for the alcohol content - you may just want to switch to liquor. But whatever your wine buying criteria is, we support your wine drinking habits!
Cheers!
