Four things to notice
Tasting with a little attention will teach you your preferences faster than any chart. Notice the sweetness, from bone dry to dessert. Notice the acidity, the mouth-watering quality that makes a wine feel crisp. Notice the tannin, the drying grip on your gums that comes mostly from red grape skins. And notice the body, the weight of the wine in your mouth, which runs from skim milk to cream. If you can tell a shop clerk that you like dry, crisp whites or soft reds without much grip, you have said everything that matters.
The main grapes
Among whites, Pinot Grigio is light and neutral, Sauvignon Blanc is sharp and grassy, Riesling is aromatic and ranges from dry to quite sweet, and Chardonnay is the fullest, especially when aged in oak. Among reds, Pinot Noir is light and low in tannin, Merlot is soft and plummy, and Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are dark, full and firm.
American bottles are labeled by grape. Many European bottles are labeled by place instead, which is the main source of confusion. Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir and white Burgundy is Chardonnay. Chianti is mostly Sangiovese, and Rioja is mostly Tempranillo. A shop clerk will translate the rest, so state your budget and what you plan to eat.
Serve and store it
Most people serve whites too cold and reds too warm. Take a white out of the refrigerator fifteen minutes before pouring, and put a red in for fifteen to twenty minutes, which lands near the 60 to 65 degrees it tastes best at. A standard bottle holds five glasses of five ounces each.
Store unopened bottles somewhere cool, dark and steady, and keep corked ones on their side. The top of the refrigerator is warm and vibrates, which makes it the worst spot in the house. Push the cork back into an opened bottle and refrigerate it, red or white. Most wines hold for three to five days.
Pairing without fuss
Match the weight of the wine to the weight of the food. Acidic wines cut through fat and salt, a touch of sweetness cools spicy food, and tannic reds soften beside rich meat. Beyond that, drink what you like with what you like. A screw cap says nothing about quality.
Note A wine that smells of damp cardboard or a wet basement is "corked," a fault caused by a tainted cork rather than by anything you did. Any decent shop or restaurant will replace the bottle.
