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People ask me for wine recommendations a lot. I enjoy being the go-to wine person for friends who need guidance. It’s flattering that people trust my taste. I would bet that a lot of you serve the same purpose. The challenge though, is that I’m never given any specifics. I’m never approached by a friend who wants to give a gift to a person who only likes Austrian Pinot Noir or medium-bodied Italian reds. Instead it’s: “can you recommend a really good $50 bottle of wine?” No region or taste preference is ever specified, or a favorite wine shop to make the selection from. I’m lucky if I get an answer to the “red or white” question.
Of course there are thousands of wines on the marketplace in this price range and the possibilities are endless. To narrow it down, I often ask obnoxious questions about the gift recipient. How old are they? What kind of food do they like? Do they drink wine a lot? When I know that the person seeking a recommendation wants a quick answer, not a barrage of probing questions. I sound like the wine snob they’re hoping to avoid. Sometimes I can come up with a tailored wine recommendation based on their answers but more often than not, they want a basic suggestion without conducting an interview. I wish I had a perfect answer to this question, but I never do.
So I handle it by recommending something based on my own taste. With nothing to work with, what choice do I have? If I’ve recently been drinking a lot of Spanish wine for example, maybe I’ll suggest that they look for 2001 Rioja Riservas. I assume people are asking for my opinion because they want to choose based on something beyond a cute label. But I wonder if this is the right approach. Is there one wine that pleases most palates? I’ve heard just as many people say that they love fruit-forward wines as “dry” wines or more subtle, old-world style wines. So what’s a safe bet for a recommendation when you have no information?
I would love to know how people handle this question. Does this happen to you? Can I borrow some of your insight?
Filed under: Wine Gifts, Wine Recommendations
14 Comments
14 Responses to “Is There a Perfect Wine Recommendation?”
Please Wait
March 14th, 2009 at 9:44:21 AM
There’s no perfect answer here. I get this question almost everyday. I do what you recommend, I go by own tastes and work within the customers budget. If they want to spend $50-$100 i’ll give them a wine I would drink and what I think is a great value.
recently I’ve found customers asking for oddball wines that they’ve had at friends homes or found in a bargin bin somewhere. These wines of course I either have never heard of or wouldn’t carry because of quality or availability. In this case I steer them toward a similar wine I carry at a similar price point. That usually does the trick. It’s really all about getting your client to trust your opinion.
March 14th, 2009 at 9:58:00 PM
If you have zero information from the requestor, I think its best to recomend something that you know will go well with pretty much anything.. alone, or with fish, chicken, meat, vegetables, etc….
I would recomend a FINO SHERRY or a bottle of Champagne, a Greek Moscofilero, or a young-ish versatile pinot. I think those are all fun and will not only go well with most food items, but will lead to interesting conversations about the beverage as well.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:07:02 AM
@Stuart that’s interesting about people ask about oddball wines! What kind of wines do you mean? That’s cooler than people requesting generic wines. Good to hear that.
@Authentologist versatile Pinot is a great suggestion. I often recommend Pinot for people who say that they prefer white wine but want to venture into red territory. Sherry seems daring! Do you find that a lot of people like Sherry?
March 17th, 2009 at 6:08:56 PM
the odd ball are private label wines like Total Beverage sells, Limited productions that are near to impossible to get. Try to get someone a case of Cakebread Chardonay or even a bottle of Screaming Eagle. It takes someone extremly resoursful. Most times I strike out with these requests.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:16:26 PM
I often have the same problem recommending wines to others – it’s hard enough to pinpoint my own taste in wine without resorting to vague categories like “new world riesling” or “California chardonnay.”
Recently, I’ve been using a service called Bottlenotes. You create a profile and they match your tastes to different wines. They also keep track of what you’ve bought or liked in the past and can make suggestions based on those choices. I bought a bottle of a 2004 Australian Pretty Sally Shiraz based on their recommendations and it was great and different from what I’d tried before. Since Bottlenotes keeps introducing me to new wines, I feel like I can make more interesting recommendations to others beyond what they might have tried before.
March 18th, 2009 at 5:34:17 AM
If they take Steve Olson’s lecture on it, they will come out not only loving it, but ready to lead a pilgrimage to Jerez .. to help spread the word. Most people only know sweet sweet sweet when it comes to Sherry.. but when educated and guided through some good quality dry versions, I don’t see how they could not like it…
However, unless they have the opportunity to try them all (Fino thru Pedro) , probably not the best one to recommend to a novice.. thus I take back that recommendation.
But still… I find that once I get people to try it, they usually like it. It just needs some good press..
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:20:56 AM
Erica
A terrific question and I enjoyed reading the answers. I usually answer with cakebread (as Stuart did) Rombauer, either Pinot or Chardonnay, or go to the top og the Justin Line. I guess I do not have to much to do if I have the answer to this question in my back pocket.
Terry Connor
March 26th, 2009 at 10:16:30 AM
Personally, I’m often the person asking for a good wine recommendation–and I LOVE the interrogation to find the perfect bottle (though, really there probably isn’t such a thing). Ask me about the purpose of the purchase, the wine drinker, what kind of food we’ll be eating. The process, much more so than the answer, helps me discover what I’m looking for, too–and often steers me to a new wine to love.
By the way, I’m looking for a good pinot noir if you have any suggestions. Kidding.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:07:50 PM
Mary Lynn, if you are still looking for a good Pinot Noir recommendation, try the Truckee River Pinot. The fruit comes from Gary’s vinyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands and the wine is made in Truckee, CA which is in the Sierra Mountains. You will be pleasantly suprised. Check their website for details.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:06:50 PM
We get asked about wine AND accommodation in France (yikes!). Accoms are way worse.
I think that price point is the first (and most difficult) question.
Then whether the receiver likes wine (vaguely or a winophile).
If vaguely, then buy to a price point and don’t go crazy. Buy something you like that is not high alcohol.
If winophile, and you know the varietal or the appellations, buy something in YOUR price point.
If wineophile and you don’t have a clue or if not winephile and they don’t have a clue, buy Sherry. I agree. It is wonderful. (So is Porto…)
Buy outside California in any case. Therefore, it is likely they won’t have a point of reference.
Or you can always buy flowers.
April 10th, 2009 at 12:52:12 PM
The only problem here is that using price as a starting point is often deceiving. There are many really great attractively-priced wines out there. Perhaps a better starting point might be their mood. Or the type of occassion. Or kind of food being paired with. This makes wine more of an entire experience rather than just another commodity. Any thoughts?
April 10th, 2009 at 2:46:53 PM
The “interrogation” is always the key in reccomending wine. Nine times out of ten lately, it has come down to price for most clients. It used to be about 20% cared about price now its more like 75%. The refined buyer rarely cares about the price buts only about 10%. I’m seeing more people looking for that perfect $10-$15 bottle. There are alot out there. One has to pare down ones inventory to these lesser priced wines.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:49:24 PM
Yes, this does happen all the time and your use of the word “interrogation” is correct so I try to somehow avoid it. Sometimes I think out loud while rubbing my chin saying “I’ve got a really good bottle, but I’m not sure which food it goes best with.” Or, “…not sure if it is for everyone” or “…it only goes with red meat.” That way I’m not asking a question, I do sound like I know what I’m doing, and the requester usually chimes in trying to extract the name of the bottle I have in mind by feeding me more information about the circumstances. At the same time I like to sound like I’m just on the edge of identifying the magic bottle but hold out for as long as possible. Finally, when I’ve done my best, I release the information. They usually purchase the bottle.
October 30th, 2011 at 1:32:49 PM
As a novice liking to try different wines, I always wish for the ability to try two or three during a meal to not only enjoy the food but also the wine. Restaurants should offer a ‘flight’ of wine or wines to really make it a dining experience! I am willing to pay LITTLE bit more to do this!