Don’t be a sucker or a sommelier

Life is too short to drink bad wine.

My dad and some wino colleagues have taught me some basic fundamentals of how to get by in the wine world.

The two biggest lessons they taught me were:

1. You don’t have to pay a lot of money for a good bottle of wine (aka avoid being a sucker)
2. You don’t need to know everything about wine in order to find a good bottle (aka avoid being a sommelier)

How to achieve this is simple:

• Find out what you like through trial and error and simple research 
• Understand the 100-point scale
• Keep track – I have already disclosed my love for google drive and I highly recommend creating a doc with your favourites and wines you want to try.  This really helps me so that I only have to spend a reasonable amount of time wandering around the store.
• Ask for help, but if people are too pretentious don’t listen and move on
• Make note that in some locations if you purchase a case or 12 bottles you can get a discount

You have definitely gone to the dark side if you ever sound like this…

Here is a list of my current go to wines under $20:

1. Villa Maria | Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, $17
2. Apothic Red | Blend, California, $16
3. Mission Hill | Chardonnay, British Columbia, $16
4. Porcupine Ridge | Syrah, South Africa, $15
5. Morse Code | Shiraz, Australia, $14
6. Trapiche | Malbec, Argentina, $10
7. Dunavar | Pinot Blanc, Hungary, $9

*Prices based off LCBO website

Here are some pro-tips from one of my fav blogs Cupcakes & Cashmere.  

I am still trying to find my go-to Ontario wine.  Any tips or suggestions?