What Really is a Good Bottle of Wine?

So, you’ve bought that bottle of “good wine.”  But you know, that title is kind of misleading.  Why?  Well, one person’s good wine might not be another person’s.  After all, we all don’t share the same taste buds, right?

Personally, I think the term “quality wine,” while perhaps just as potentially misleading, should be used.  When I say something is a good wine, I’m talking about the fact that I enjoyed it.  It could be a cheap plonk, but if it went down easy and my taste buds didn’t want to curl up and die as it passed by, then I’d feel okay about casually labeling it as a “good wine.”  When something is a “quality wine” all it means is that it lives up to some standard.  It passes a list of tests set by a body of professionals or experts in its field.

Here is Canada, we have VQA wines.  If a wine has a VQA label on it, it means that it has passed the tests set by the Vintners Quality Alliance Act.  It truly is a “quality wine.”

But let’s get back to our original point.  Does that fact that I’m buying a quality wine assure me that I’ll take a sip and be able to categorize it as a “good wine?”  Or at least what makes a good wine by my definition?  No.  Absolutely not.  Why?  Because we are missing a very important part of the equation.  And that is, we all have our own likes and dislikes.  One person’s good wine will not be a good wine to everybody else on the planet.

So, what to do?  Well, there isn’t really any magic secret.  And trust me, you’ll waste some money in your endeavors to find what constitutes a good wine, because there will be a little bit of trial and error going on too.  Find your likes and dislikes.  Read the labels on wine bottles.  There’s a lot to learn there.  Every bottle of wine clearly states what tones and flavours it has.  Personally, I hate peppery wines, so you’ll never catch me buying a bottle of Shiraz.  You see, I know that Shiraz tends to be peppery, but other wines can be as well, and the label will give me that info.

Trying out something new?  I’ve learned to only take tried and tested wines with me when going to some sort of dinner party.  If it’s going to be a taste test bottle, it stays at home or goes with me to friends and/or families homes.  You know, the kind of people that won’t be appalled when you say excuse me, but I need to spit this out, and the kind of people you won’t be deeply embarrassed in front of when they say, “Blech.  What is this crap you brought tonight?”

So, the point of all of this?  Don’t get so caught up on other people’s labels of what’s a good wine or a quality wine.  The only thing that matters is what your taste buds think, so make them happy!   Get to know what you like.  Do you like a wine that’s heavy on the berry flavours?  Or that hint of oak?  Do you hate pepper?  Read the label before you buy.  It’s the only label that really matters.