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Learn more with these titles from Barnes & Noble

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2007 Edition

Food & Wine Magazine's Wine Guide 2007

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2007

The Wine Bible

Kevin Zraly's American Wine Guide

Previous:
How to Order Wine at a Restaurant

Next:
How to Pair Wine and Food

How to Buy Wine

In some regions, wine is sold in supermarkets and bulk food stores as well as in specialty wine stores. In others, state or local laws require that wine be sold only in specialty stores.

Supermarkets and Wine

Supermarkets often have good prices on wines, so if your local store carries a wine you like, you’re in luck. But supermarket selection is usually limited and tends to include only wines from mega-wineries. Also, many supermarkets store wine improperly. Wine should never be refrigerated or stored upright (which can dry out the cork and cause the bottle to leak). If your supermarket does either of these things, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Wine Stores

The best way to broaden your wine horizons is to find a good wine store and ask for recommendations or advice from the people who work there. Here are a few signs of a good wine store:

Good selection: The wine in stock should range across different wine types, regions of origin, and price.
Good service: If a wine seller makes you feel dumb for asking questions, find someone who’ll help you learn.
Expertise: An expert wine seller will have firsthand knowledge of the tastes and qualities of the wines in the store. He or she will also be able to recommend wines based on your preferences for taste, structure, or texture, or simply based on other wines that you’ve liked. If a wine seller consistently recommends wines you don’t like, you may want to look elsewhere.
Proper storage conditions: Wine should be stored in cool, dry, dark, constant conditions. It should not be placed in direct sunlight or near a cooling or heating source. In addition, wine should be stored lying down (as opposed to upright) to keep the corks moist and prevent bottle leakage.
Good prices: Many wine buyers don’t mind spending extra money out of loyalty and appreciation for a wine seller who really cares about wine. Even so, every so often you should still check to make sure the store prices aren’t exorbitant.

Wine Ratings

The wine industry has developed a rating system that scores wines on their quality. Some wine stores post these ratings next to the wines they sell.

95–100: Extraordinary
90–94: Excellent
85–89: Very good
80–84: Above average
75–79: Average
70–74: Below average
69 or below: Poor

If you find a cheap, highly rated wine, you may have found a steal. Still, keep in mind that the rating reflects someone else’s taste, and taste is subjective. The highest rated wines may not always be your favorites.

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