Not doing Dry January? Here’s how to upgrade your wine know-how

Have you abandoned your new year’s resolutions yet? Yeah, me too. Actually, I long ago abandoned the idea of new year’s resolutions altogether. But I do like to take the new year as an opportunity to consider ways to juice up my wine exploration.

Despite the incredible variety of wines available to us, it’s easy to become a creature of routine, locked-in preconceptions of what we like, too timid to venture into the new and unknown. So, let’s pop a cork to new adventures.

Here are a few suggestions for jump-starting your wine life in 2023. These aren’t revolutionary ideas, nor are they difficult, though some may challenge your budget.

Mostly, they require your attention and focus. Let your corkscrew be your passport to wine adventure in the year ahead.

If you’re not on a first-name basis with a specialist at your local wine shop, you should be. Your local retailer is the single best resource you have for exploring the wine available in your market. A good retailer will have tasted the wines, maybe travelled to the regions where they were made and met with the winemakers, and can introduce you to the story that brings the wine to life.

Don’t be wary that the retailer is “trying to sell you something”. Of course they are. But they also want to sell you the second bottle, and the only way to do that is to make you happy with the first one.

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A good retailer is a good listener. Tell them what you do and don’t like. If they seem uninterested in what you have to say, find someone else or a different shop. But when you get on a first-name basis and cultivate this relationship, your personal wine curator can point you to interesting wines you might not have heard of, and away from pretty labels that may not be your style. This is where you must pay attention. It won’t work to say, “I loved that red wine with the blue label you sold me last month.” (Pro tip: a photo of the label on your phone will help.)

Does your wine merchant offer monthly sampler packs? These are a great way to explore wines that may be new to you or outside your comfort zone.

And if your shop sponsors dinners at a local restaurant with a visiting winemaker, take the opportunity to learn about wine over a delicious meal, usually at a reasonable cost. You’re supporting two local businesses (the wine shop and the restaurant) while getting a first-hand introduction to a winery that may become a new favorite.

Do you enjoy Argentina’s malbec? Mendoza, where most of Argentina’s wine is made, is one of the most fascinating regions in the wine world. Winemakers are exploring different areas of the Uco Valley in the Andes foothills to suss out subtly different expressions of malbec, cabernet franc and other grapes. Catena and Zuccardi are two wineries that offer wines from subregions of Mendoza’s Uco Valley such as Gualtallary, San Pablo, Tupungato and Paraje Altamira. With a modest investment, one could do a mini master class on Mendoza terroir. Just fire up the grill for some steaks.

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You could also explore the classics, of course, such as Bordeaux’s left bank (based in cabernet sauvignon and merlot) or the right bank (merlot and cabernet franc). Or you could go down the ultimate rabbit hole of Burgundy. (Pro tip: your retailer can help with these.)

If you love cabernet sauvignon, compare Chile with South Africa, then Paso Robles, and don’t forget Mendoza. Compare the syrah of the northern Rhône Valley in France with shiraz from Australia’s Barossa or McLaren Vale. Same grape, different names, two wildly diverse styles of wine. All delicious.

Support your local wine region. Even if you don’t care for the wines, the experience can be fun and you will be supporting a local business. Since wine is made in every state now, a visit to “wine country” doesn’t require a plane ticket. If you’re lucky enough to live near the vibrant wine regions of Virginia, Maryland, the Texas Hill Country, Michigan’s Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas and, of course, New York’s Finger Lakes and Long Island, wine country is just a day trip away. Don’t neglect urban wineries either: what they lack in views they make up for in vibe.

The pandemic has changed the winery experience dramatically. More wineries are charging for tastings and requiring appointments (to be sure, the pandemic may have accelerated, rather than caused, this shift). So a visit to wine country – even the one near you – involves planning and a budget. (Pro tip: check the websites of local winery associations for travel info as well as lists of wineries and their hours.)

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When you do go, try to break away from the touristy faux chateaux and Tuscan-style vanity wineries, and seek out some small, family-owned or independent businesses. In such places you can find artisans without the glitz and glam, just an intense focus on the quality of their wine.

No special occasion needed. You owe yourself. Once in a while, splurge on a bottle above your normal comfort price. If you love it, go back to your retailer friend who sold it to you and ask for more affordable bottles with similar qualities. You may be pleasantly surprised. (Pro tip: well, you got it – specialty retailer.)

Throughout this year, we’ll explore these and other themes. For now, I raise my glass to you with good cheer and hope for a fruitful, healthy and happy 2023.

© The Washington Post