How To Choose The Right Wine

Some occasions call for a good bottle of wine to indulge in. However, choosing a wine means got the occasion and food are significant to the taste you want. Wine can complement food or not.

We will take you through a guide to selecting the right wine for yourself. From our guide, you'll become a sommelier. Read to the end and find out what our recommendations are.

Not everyone is well versed in wine picking and it can be a daunting process when done alone in a store. Here is a way to make your process less frustrating and more interesting.

Where to go

Pick a store that is independently owned, this way you know you're walking into a place where quality and preservation are taken into consideration. These stores will have assistants who know about the wine well enough to help you gauge where you should start or what you should go for depending on the occasion.

How to choose

Keep an eye out for these 5 factors when picking your 5:

• Avoid the big names
• Look for region-specific bottles
• The price point
• Food for thought
• Know your regions

Names

We say avoid big names simply because these wines with big names are made to attract the largest audience and aren't always the best. Do not attempt to go in blind, do some research beforehand because wine brands will take advantage of this, by creating bottles that look interesting with animals and plants, they are known as "critter wines" and surprisingly sell easily.

Go for the independent, low-yielding ones, you are more likely to enjoy them simply because they work hard to have their brands recognized and enjoyed.

Region-specific

Where the wine is made can tell a lot about its quality. Quality wines will be specific to the region produced and not labeled at large to the country. In popular wine-producing cities, there are strict laws put into place to ensure quality is maintained and wineries continue producing wine that portrays characteristics of the region or sub-regions.

When wines are labeled at large, most times they aren't very good.

Price Point

Pricier isn't always better. But when you know your wine well you can decide for yourself whether the price is worth the brand or not. Most times, however, your expensive wines are very similar to your mid-range ones. They are oftentimes just the more famous wineries or have better-aging potential.

sticking to your middle-range price point will ensure you buy a decent-quality wine.

A need to know

The taste of wine can be elevated by the kind of food you're eating. Depending on how flavourful a meal will be can assist you in choosing the perfect wine to pair with it.

Light meals with softer flavors pair well with white wines or light red wines

If you're eating a heavy, flavourful rich meal go for a deep red wine to complement it.

Your most versatile wine options that pair well with most things are your Sauvignon Blancs and Riesling wines.

The Wine's whereabouts

Wine-producing countries are best understood for their ability to create wines specific to the area. Knowing what good wines are and their origin country help in the future to know where your wine taste is derived from and similar wines produced in the area.

Pro Tip:

Look for this leaf label for verification that the wine follows the EU organic standard or the American one. This is because when wine is organic it means that the winery worked ten times harder to ensure the wine is quality as there are specific winemaking practices they have to adhere to.

Once you've found a love for a specific brand, and are unable to get the bottle again after, just request through your bottle store that they order a case for you next time they order. That was you can say you have a "house wine"

Follow your winery on social media to keep up with new ones being shipped in and specials taking place, or their own recommendations.

Our Top Picks

At Culinary Table, we have our wine cellar filled with a range of local specialties from limited edition aged wines to your normal red and whites except these are assured quality.

As we enter the winter season Culinary Table has transformed the menu to greet the winter season. In doing so there are a wide variety of options to choose from and the perfect wines to pair with them.

These are our monthly top picks, curated to include a wine for every meal. Whether you're wanting seafood, meat, or poultry we have a wine for each.

Here are our top picks for May

White Wine:

Domain des Dieux - Chardonnay Wooded, Hermanus

Opstal Wine Estate - Chenin Blanc, Slanghoek

Black Oystercatcher - Sauvignon Blanc, Wellington

Mischa Wine Estate- Sauvignon Blanc, Wellington

Red Wine:

Zevenwacht - Syrah, Stellenbosch

Vriesenhof Wine Estate - Grenache, Stellenbosch

Limited Edition Aged Wine

Viljoensdrift - Cabernet Sauvignon, Somerset West

Learn more about our wine offerings and our menu by viewing our website menu and list

https://www.culinarytable.co.za/menu