A Toast to Taste: Fort Lauderdale’s Rhonda Rosen-Virgin on Picking the Right Wine Every Time

Picture this scene: You walk into a wine shop and you lay eyes on a vast sea of options. There are bottles lined up on endless shelves, organized by country/region (France, California, etc.) or sub-region (Burgundy, Loire, etc.). Or, scenario #2, you are in a restaurant, and you want to order a bottle of wine, but the names on the menu are as incomprehensible as hieroglyphics. You feel yourself shrinking, looking to the right and left, and what do you do?

If you are like most, you forgo the wine and order a cocktail (much easier, embarrassment averted) or you roam the aisles hoping for a ray of light to descend from the heavens to aim its beam on the perfect choice. Another common play, you pick the bottle with the trendiest label – even if you don’t like the wine, at least the artwork was cool, right? When you are greeted by a friendly shop owner or the sommelier, how do you even explain what you want? Do you know what you want and why? I have been in this situation so many times, overwhelmed by the vast choices, not wanting to be wrong and look silly. I get it. Wine is complicated with names and places and tasting notes that blur with their similarity as much as their distinction.

Rhonda Rosen-Virgin

Luckily, this easy guide will help you choose the perfect wine and learn the vocabulary to express yourself in a wine shop or to a sommelier. Keep me posted if you use it, and let me know how it went. Cheers!

Wine Without the Jargon - A beginner’s guide for picking wine that you will enjoy!

Wine can seem complicated and overwhelming, but if you are curious about wine, try many kinds of wine to see what you like. Use this basic guide to give you the vocabulary to express what you like and what you don’t like,e and begin the first step to selecting a wine that you will be sure to enjoy. 

If you found this guide helpful, please follow me on socials: @GrapefulMoments and www.grapefulmoments.com. I look forward to your comments and thoughts. Please drop me a line for any wine-related questions you’ve always wanted to ask but never could. Cheers!