A few simple rules for choosing a high-quality wine

According to data from the Wine Institute, each citizen of Andorra consumes approximately 56.9 liters of wine per year (around 76 bottles). This impressive number will sound absurd to many, but we must remember that in many countries in Europe and South America the culture of wine consumption is highly developed. We do not intend to encourage the regular consumption of alcoholic beverages, but we believe that knowing how to choose quality wines at affordable prices will not harm anyone, quite the contrary. After all, we all go to parties or festive events, or gather our friends and family at home, and good wine is the decoration of any table.

O incredible.club found 11 simple rules that will help you choose a good wine so that, when you are in a store, you can take the most suitable one for each occasion.

If the manufacturer meets all processing conditions, the bottle will have a national quality control level mark. Here are some examples of this tag: for France — AOC, VDQS, VdP, VdT; for Italy — DOCG, DOC, IGT, VdT; for the US — AVA: Varietal, Reserva, Meritage.
How to choose wine and not get confused? There is a simple rule: the closer to the letter “A” the name of the quality control category begins, the better the wine. And of the two categories that start with the same letter, the longer one is better.

Often on the labels there is an inscription that indicates that the wine contains sulfur dioxide (E220). Many people are afraid, but it is necessary to remember that the dioxides are present in small amounts (only 10 mg/l) in almost all beverages, since they are the result of the fermentation of the ingredients. However, if sulfur dioxide is not added to the wine, storage costs increase, because it is necessary to create special warehouses with a constant temperature, which is very expensive and takes a lot of time🇧🇷

The permitted level of E220 varies from country to country. For example, in Australia the permitted concentration is 250 parts for dry wines, and 350 parts for all types of wines in Brazil and the United States. But if after a few hours of moderate consumption of the drink your head or stomach starts to hurt, it is likely that you have exceeded the amount of the additive.

When choosing a good wine, check its vintage year. You can judge the freshness of the wine by the date of its preparation. It is advisable to drink wine from some varieties exclusively young🇧🇷 For example, if you choose dry white wine “Sauvignon-Blanc 2010”, you should know that it has not been stored for a long time. Although, if it is written that it is a “Reserva” or “Roble” wine, it is older.

With sparkling wines it is more difficult, the label rarely shows the year of harvest. In the province of Champagne, producers only write the important years on the label, that is, 2 or 3 years per decade. In these cases, you need to pay more attention to the date of bottling or labeling.

It is desirable that the label indicate the variety of grapes from which the wine was produced. Often, on bottles of cheap wines, it is written: “made with the best grape varieties”. However, it is very likely that be it only with the remains of the best varieties. The exception is France: there it is not allowed to indicate which type of grape was used in the production of the wine. In reality, the ban is only for domestic production, for export they allow such an indication.

When choosing a wine in a store, avoid taking the bottle that has been exposed to direct light, that has been in the window or near a heat source. The impact of direct light or heat causes the wine to become rancid and lose its freshness.🇧🇷

If you bought wine for a special occasion in advance, look for a dark cupboard in your home to store it. It better be a closed cabinet and not the refrigerator, where the light comes on every time the door is opened. The ideal place is the back of the closet. And the main thing is temperature stability.

If the wine has a cork stopper, choose one that can be stored in a horizontal position. It is important because in this way the cork is wet with liquid all the time and does not dry out. Otherwise, the oxygen can enter the bottle through the cracks in the cork and the wine will begin to oxidize. If the cork is made of plastic, the wine can be stored vertically.

Furthermore, the wine must not be subjected to shocks or vibrations. For the drink, it is a kind of stress and greatly affects its taste.

Check the wine level in the neck area of ​​the bottle. If you place it in an upright position, there should be no more than 2 to 3 cm of air on the surface of the liquid. Otherwise, there will be a lot of oxygen in contact with the wine, and this has a bad effect on the taste🇧🇷

At first glance, it may seem that all wines have the same packaging, but this is far from the case. Many manufacturers try to protect themselves and use asymmetrical bottles, as well as putting some kind of branding on the bottle. If you like a certain winery, you should look up information about all its brands on the manufacturer’s website. As a general rule, copying them is not profitable and difficult, especially when it comes to not very expensive wine.

It is better not to buy cheap wine in an overly “ornamented” bottle. After all, the more elaborate the packaging, the more expensive the wine. Often, the manufacturer may have invested most of the money in the bottle itself and little in its contents.🇧🇷 Therefore, even if it is not a copy, it could be a product of very dubious quality.

Before opening a bottle of wine, point it to the light and turn it upside down. If there is a lot of sediment, this should be a warning sign. Although there may be some sediment in older, more expensive wines, it should not cover the entire bottom of the bottle.And even if it exists, it quickly disappears after shaking the bottle.

A large amount of sediment usually indicates that the beverage was not stored properly or that production rules were not observed.

Grapes love heat and light, so the further south the producing country is, the better. Don’t be afraid to taste wines from Chile, Spain, South Africa and Argentina. However, when choosing the Italians or the French, you need to be more attentive. Contrary to the common opinion that European wine is the best, its taste actually depends to a large extent on the year of its harvest. For example, if the season was rainy, the grapes could be sour. It is no coincidence that, when analyzing wine, experts often mark the year of its production.

The relatively low cost of a wine does not necessarily mean that it is bad. There are wonderful wines, fresh and light for low prices. Many large producers have bids for budget brands that can be trusted. They are not just dumped waste, it’s just a work tactic in the market.

When buying relatively inexpensive wine, don’t go for French or Italian brands; It is it is better to choose wines from Chile, Argentina and South Africa, because there the probability of finding a good wine at an affordable price is greater. In addition, Brazilian wines have also greatly improved their quality.

And you, what do you pay attention to when choosing and buying a wine? Share in the comments!