How to Buy Wine: 4 Tips

Whether you’re shopping for wine in a grocery store, wine shop, or off the wine list at a restaurant, here are some factors to consider for selecting a bottle of wine.

1. 1. Know your budget. Before arriving at the restaurant or wine store, decide how much you will spend. Remember that the most expensive wine isn’t always the best wine to pick. If you’re having difficulty choosing a wine, tell your price point to the shopkeeper, waiter, or sommelier and let them guide you to some options within your budget.
2. 2. Consider the occasion. The criteria for buying wine vary depending on the occasion. For example, if you’re pairing wine with a meal, you’ll want to consider how the wine will enhance the eating experience. If you’re casually hanging out with friends, you might want a crowd-pleaser that won’t be a distraction from the evening. Consider the role you want the wine to play before making a selection.
3. 3. Pair with food. Different wines pair better with different types of food. As a general rule of thumb, rosé, sparkling wines, and white wines go best with chicken, fish, and vegetable dishes, while red wines go best with beef and lamb. For example, you might choose to drink Sauvignon Blanc with a salad, a Chardonnay with salmon, and a Cabernet Sauvignon with filet mignon.
4. 4. Follow your palate. Novice wine drinkers will benefit from reading the wine labels and looking for flavor notes they know and love. More experienced wine lovers will note the wine regions and vintages they have previously enjoyed and rely on that knowledge when choosing future bottles. For example, if you like wines from California, you might opt for a 2019 Napa Valley Merlot—a notable vintage for that varietal and region.
5. 5. Ask for help. Whether you’re a casual wine drinker or a wine expert, asking for guidance is always a good idea, especially when you feel stumped. Every good bottle shop or restaurant will have a resident expert who—knowing your budget, occasion, and preferences—can point you in the right direction. Help might be harder to come by at big box retailers—if you’re in the market for a great wine, consider shopping at a local wine shop instead.

Consider these tips for buying wine:

1. 1. Start with confidence. As you look through the options in the wine aisle, be confident with the options in the wine aisle. There are wines you know you like, which gives you some assurance that you will find another one. Start with the types of wines you know you like as the jumping-off point for discovering new wines.
2. 2. Attend a tasting class. The complexity of wine makes it intriguing but can also make it intimidating. However, there’s no need to be intimidated. As with anything, the more you learn about and experience wine, the easier buying it becomes. Tasting classes are the perfect area for this. Go wine tasting with a few friends and take note of the wines you enjoy.
3. 3. Drink like the locals. Traveling is the perfect opportunity to try new wines. Whether in France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, or Spain, visit a winemaker and purchase a bottle made from local grape varieties. Some of the best wine regions in the United States include California (especially wines from Sonoma and Napa Valley), Oregon, and Washington State.
4. 4. Price can be deceiving. Some high-quality wines fetch top dollar at wine shops and specialty cellars, but if you want something drinkable for tonight, you can try something cheaper. Generally speaking, the more expensive the wine, the more likely it is to have a complex flavor profile—which isn’t for everyone.

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