Picking your Prefect Match: How to Shop for Wine
- Kya Bryant
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
Updated: May 21
Heyy Winers! As tax season comes to a close and adult life trudges on, it is very likely you will find yourself in need of a glass or maybe even a bottle of wine. So you take yourself to the store to pick out a 'pick me up'. Join me as I break down 5 quick questions to ask yourself when shopping for wine!
1) Red or White?
Possibly the most obvious of the things to know when shopping for wine. This will divide your selection in half and get you one step closer to your ideal adult treat. If white feels too light and red feels too heavy, head to the rose’ section!
2) Sweet or Dry?
Now that you have ruled out some of the selections, it's time to keep ruling out not so perfect matches. Decide if you want something nice and sweet or something nice and dry. This will take your selection from 50% to about 30%. If you don’t want Moscato sweet but you're not feeling Sauv Blanc or Cab dry, go for a Riesling. This will give you the most selection as far as a sweetness variation!
3) Alcohol Content?
Keeping in mind your choice of sweet or dry, it's time to keep the ball rolling on getting to that perfect wine. Remember in most cases, the sweeter the wine, the lower the alcohol content. There are exceptions [drop a comment if you want a post on those wines]. So if you decide to go sweet, your selection will typically range from about 5% to 7.5%. If you decide to go dry, your selection will typically range from about 9.5% to 14.5%.
4) Still or Sparkling?
Now that you have the hard decisions out of the way, it's time to make an easier one. The difference between still and sparkling wines is the excess carbon dioxide in the wine, which creates the bubbles [drop a comment if you want to know more about this].
5: Screw Cap or Cork?
Lastly, decide on your closure type. This may seem like a strange thing to consider, but it ultimately narrows your selection and is entirely a matter of preference. If you choose a corked wine, make sure you have a cork screw of some sort to remove your cork and hold on to your cork to help preserve the bottle for your next glass if you aren’t planning to finish it.
Don’t have time to run the wine selection mental gauntlet? See below for some quick selections you can find in any store!
White:
Sweet:
Moscato (can be sparkling)
Riesling
Dry:
Pinot Grigio
Sauvignon Blanc
Prosecco (Sparkling)
Red:
Sweet:
Zinfandel
Brachetto (sparkling)
Dry:
Pinot Noir
Cabernet Sauvignon
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