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+--- Thread: beginner question: krogger or wine store? (/thread-16840.html)
- greenhorse - 09-16-2005
I want to start trying wines and just bought a reisling from krogger for $10. I'd like to drink occationaly and try different varieties to find my preference. I want to try decent things but not too expensive. What price bracket is good? What kind of things I should avoid, like cheap bottles or wine from exotic places?
There is a wine shop In the same plaza. I wonder whether I should buy wine in a wine shop, maybe they have better wines? There are so many varieties and brands that I feel like a fool. Besides I'm afraid they are too expensive because there are no price tags in the wine shop.
Thanks.
- wondersofwine - 09-16-2005
Welcome to the Board GH.
Ask about free tastings at the wine shop. Some stores always have a few bottles open and some do free tastings on the weekend. Don't buy expensive bottles until you know what you like. I buy mostly at wine shops but occasionally from the grocery store. Some usually reliable producers you might find represented at the grocery store are Bogle, Cline and Columbia Crest. You may want to try Jacob's Creek Shiraz/Cabernet from Australia also. I saw an advertisement in a wine magazine that Kroger has a certified sommelier as wine consultant and may have wine consultants on hand in certain stores. Ask about the one you go to.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 09-16-2005).]
- Georgie - 09-16-2005
Hi, and welcome to the board. Don't feel embarrassed about lack of knowledge about wine(or anything else for that matter.) As I tell my school kids all the time, "The expert in anything was once a beginner." The people in the shops are there to help their customers. Ask away! It's the only way to learn! I've been having so much fun learning over the past few years. I'm still quite clueless, but I'm certainly enjoying the journey! You will too.
- robr - 09-16-2005
Welcome GH,
Many grocery stores carry very good wines in the $10 range. Go ahead and poke around in that fine wine store as well, but don't feel intimidated to spend more than you want. Tell the proprieter your price range and the type of wine you like and let him recommend one or two.
There is a very hoity-toity wine store near me. I love to go in there and look around for a half hour, ask three or four questions, and then just leave. I do that because nearly every bottle they have in there is priced at $30 or above. They don't seem to mind that I do this, because whenever they run a special price on some bottles they want to move, I will buy two or three (if it's one a want).
I got a great deal on some Rutherford Hill Cabernet; bought one, took it home and drank it, came back and bought three more. It was a wine that usually sells for $36, but they had marked it down to $13, simply because it was rated an "off year" for Napa Cabernet and it wasn't selling. It is the best Cab I have ever tasted, and I still have two bottles left.
So, look for good deals, and try some of the cheaper new wines (we get a lot from Australia where I live) as well as the more expensive ones from the old established winerys to see if you can tell the difference. Some of the Aussie stuff is really inexpensive and really good!