Buying the Perfect Bottle of Wine
The perfect bottle of Wine.
You’ve been invited to dinner and the hosts know a thing or two about wine. They ask you to bring a bottle.
You’re new to wine. You like your friends, and you don’t want to be embarrassed. What do you do?
Well, if you’re Milena DiFiore, Media and Marketing Director at Khoury’s Fine Wines in Las Vegas, you start by asking some questions. Ask your friends what’s on the menu?
How many guests? You can get four respectable glasses from a bottle. If there are more than four guests, buy accordingly.
Will the wine be used to toast guests when they arrive? Or do they plan to pour it with the appetizer? Perhaps they want to serve it with the main course? The more information you have the better.
If you’re a wine novice, your best bet is to start with a specialty wine shop, whether it’s a local community landmark like Khoury’s or a big-box wine retailer. The staff is knowledgeable about wine and happy to help.
Let them know what you want the wine for. You can then add in a price range. For example, what have you got for between $20 and $30?
That will help determine the region. You can get remarkable value with red wines from Chile. They taste more expensive than their price would imply.
There are also pockets in well-established wine regions that offer value. Khoury’s specializes in wines from California’s Central Coast, specifically Paso Robles. It’s considered a hidden gem.
Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone. DiFiore helped a customer who was a diehard Pinot Noir fan. She encouraged him to try a bottle of Grenache for a change.
You can also ask the clerk what they are drinking. DiFiore recommends a Spanish white wine from the northern Basque region called Txakoli (pron: cha-ko-lee). It’s a crisp, refreshing wine with hints of minerality, citrus and floral notes.
Heading into fall, she also suggests Pinot Noir, Beaujolais Nouveau, Gamay, and oaked white wines. The key is not to be intimidated. Do your homework. Ask for help.
Experiment. Cheers!
