Wine At Home

A conversation between myself and a random lady behind me in the checkout-line at Publix; Me:” If you don’t mind me asking, how did you pick-out those two bottles?” Lady: “Well, the name of my child is (same name as the wine), and they were on sale.” Me: “Have you had that wine before?” Lady: “Yes…it’s okay, it’s not great, but it’s okay for a Cab Sav to drink at home.” The convenience of just grabbing a bottle of wine right before you checkout at the grocery store is impossible to overstate! BUT, do you want a wine to take home that’s barely okay OR do you want something that you will actually like? Let’s talk about a few ways to pick a “grocery store” wine to take home that is actually okay.
 
We know from studies conducted by the wine industry that around 95% of wine drinkers buy a bottle of wine to drink within five days of purchase. Most people do not want to put much thought into a wine that they are just going to drink at their house, probably while watching tv. This “house-wine” isn’t for a nice dinner or being shared, so why bother. This “house-wine” is also rarely spoken about after the fact…unless it was amazing. When it is amazing, it is spoken about in the same way you tell someone about a winning scratch-off, like “I won! Can you believe the odds that I picked a wine that I actually liked!,” all the while thinking that the chances of replicating the event are hard to even calculate. 
 
So how do you replicate it? The 1st way; go to any of the local wine tastings and find a wine that you like. Write it down. Then next time you see that bottle buy it. Some don’t have time or don’t want to go to wine tastings and taste wine until you find one that you like that is also at the grocery store. I have often heard; “I just buy wines with the prettiest bottle.” Well, just like that scratch-off, the odds of winning are NOT in your favor!
 
The 2nd way is known as the “Points” system. Everyone has seen 92, 89, 95. Can’t you just grab the bottle that you just walked past with “92” points on it and be good? Buyer Beware! There are MANY organizations that put points on a bottle of wine. ALL of it is for marketing, BUT there is a way to use the system with a little experimentation. Pay attention to the organization putting those points on that bottle. Buy at least three bottles of the same type of wine, say a Cab Sav from California, all with 92 points on it, from three different point givers, such as Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, etc. Each of the points givers have their own way of grading wines, so find the organization that seems to match what you like. If Wine Enthusiast seems to do it for you then when you see that 92 points from Wine Enthusiast on the bottle as you are racing through the grocery store there is a much higher chance that you will like it. 
 
Will it be amazing every time? No. Will you like it every time? Hopefully. All of this is predicated on storing the wine correctly, even for the next four days; no sun light and a constant cool temperature. And, no matter what wine you buy, serve that wine at the correct temperature! Good luck, and cheers to drinking a good wine at home.