Learn about vintages. Why was the 2001 Chianti almost twice the price of the 2002? The weather makes a big difference on many wines, but not all. Marginal climates in Europe are much more likely to have great vintage variation Than California or Australia.
Wine and food rules. I’m a big believer in not having too many rules to complicate things. We are past the days of white with fish and red with meat. There are so many different types of wine that these rules are limiting. Plus, there’s nothing like a good red Burgundy and grilled salmon! But the one rule I always prescribe to when pairing food and wine is that spicy foods should not go with big red wines. The tannin in the wine and spice on the food will just intensify each other in the most unpleasant way.
When you like a wine, write it down. According to August Cardona sales manager of the Italian Wine Merchants, “Even wine professionals can’t remember every wine we taste. I always write down or store my new discoveries in my phone’s memory.” This way you can tell your server, “I can tell by the list that you don’t have a certain wine, but do you have anything like it?”
When in doubt a dry sparkling wine and a German or Austrian Riesling are most versatile and still good values - which is why sommeliers love them in the first place.
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