Wanted: Wine Chooser

The latest issue of Wine Spectator had an interesting article on women's wine-drinking habits that got me thinking.

What makes a good wine bottle chooser, and how do I apply?

Forget collector, forget drinker, I'm talking about choosing a wine off the shelf, no cheating by tasting it, just blind luck. And no reading. No Wine Advocate, no Wine Spectator, its your inner wine intuition.

I've had pretty good luck throughout the years in selecting wines that have turned out to be quite good. My decision analysis you ask? Well, the first thing I do is narrow the selection down. I automatically disqualify any merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and zinfandel from my selection. There are just way too many of those, and while there are many good wines out there, there are also many imitators masquerading as fine wine. My thinking is that a good wine maker will get bored with merlot, and graduate to something a little more exciting. Next, I look at the label. If its got a cartoon, its off the list. Its hard to sell me on a serious wine when theres a cute penguin telling me to pick it.

So, ok, store has been narrowed. Then, do the calculations in your head and trust the math:

Price - 8 x score

Grape Variety - 7 x score

Place of Origin - 5 x score

Label - 5 x score

What are you left with. Too many numbers, too many wines, and a headache. Grab the closest 2 bottles and proceed to the checkout.

Now I'm not saying this same approach will work for you, in fact I'd pretty much guarantee it, but it does make you think.