Want to Learn about Wine?

So you have discovered wine and gone through the shelves at your local supermarket. Now you are ready for a more in-depth experience. A small interest in wine has grown to a yearning to learn more about this complex and fascinating subject. But where do you start? 

Here are a few suggestions to start you down the path to greater wine knowledge.

You might want to begin at your local bookstore or library. There are numerous books and magazines on the topic of wine. At the magazine stand or online you can find Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Food and Wine and many others. The bookshelves are filled with hundreds of books on the topic.

Once you finish all that reading, you will probably be ready for a glass of wine and a more tangible learning experience. You might want to start at one of the numerous wine dinners hosted by restaurants in town. It is an appealing avenue for getting involved in  wine education. For example, the Copa Wine Bar (located in the Stone Oak area) is one of our favorites. The owners, Jeff and Angie Bridges, are “foodies,” which means they create some amazing dinners that pair well with and enhance the wines for the evening.   

You might also want to check out the Westin at La Cantera, Francesca’s, Auden’s Kitchen and Silo, restaurants that have wine dinners.  Contact one of these or your favorite restaurant and get on the mailing list to receive information and dates of upcoming wine dinners.

Are you looking for something fun to do on Saturday afternoons that includes wine tasting and education?  Several of the fine wine retail stores in the San Antonio area offer Saturday afternoon wine tastings, where you can indulge your passion for wine education and try new wines. Some of the tastings are complimentary, while others require a small fee.  A couple of locally owned places are Bergheim Cellars and WINE — a fine wine shop.

Bergheim Cellars offers free tastings on Saturdays, usually starting around 1 p.m. You can find Bergheim Cellars at 1 FM 3351 South in Boerne, (830) 229-5233.  WINE is located in the San Antonio Medical Center area at 7271 Wurzbach, #117,  (210) 240-5866. It offers free tastings every Saturday and pours four or five wines from small family-owned wineries from around the world. Their tastings are from 2 to 6 pm.  Check with your neighborhood wine shop for times and days of their tastings.

Another great way to learn about wine and wine appreciation is to join a tasting group. There are several good ones in town.  One club that is focused on women’s wine education interests is the Lillie Langtry Society. This group has been around for almost 20 years and meets monthly (except December) at local fine dining establishments. A typical meeting includes four to five wines paired with four or five courses plus an educational presentation. The Society’s mission statement is “women on a journey of wine education and appreciation.” 

Topics at the Lillie Langtry Society meetings can vary from something as simple as Wine 101: An introduction to fine wine to more complex subjects such as Sparkling Wines of the World and a component tasting (a tasting that offers the opportunity to recognize the different flavors and aromas of wine). If you are interested in learning more about the Lillie Langtry Society, e-mail them at lillielangtrysociety@gmail.com.

Finally, you might be interested in an inspirational book that tells the story of women winemakers and their sometimes challenging road to success. Women of the Vine by Deborah Brenner (2007, Wiley, ISBN 0470068019) is both informative and entertaining. One of the women pioneers in the modern wine industry is Merry Edwards, owner and highly regarded winemaker at the Merry Edwards Winery in Russian River Valley, Sonoma, Calif.

Edwards considered several careers before pursuing her degree in winemaking from the University of California at Davis. She discovered that the graduate program was looking for women for their viticulture and enology program and became one of three women to matriculate in 1973 and the only female to become a winemaker from that graduating class. Edwards has some good advice for gaining wine knowledge: “Go in and talk to a small shop owner. They get to know you, they get to know your taste, and they don’t fixate on what you should like.”

The book continues with other stories of famous women winemakers and their amazing journeys to success, including Heidi Peterson Barrett, Amelia Ceja and Gina Gallo.

Heidi Peterson Barrett has been described as the first lady of wine, a wine goddess and the wine diva of Napa. Heidi’s wines include Screaming Eagle and La Sirena, but most of her time is spent as a consulting winemaker for some of the best wineries in California. Four of her wines have scored 100 points from Robert Parker. The 2006 Screaming Eagle cabernet sauvignon is a cult wine that sells in the range of $2,000 per bottle, and the 1995 1.5-liter bottle has a price tag of $10,000.

Amelia Ceja came with her family from Mexico to become the owner of one of the best family-owned wineries in Carneros, Napa Valley.  This is truly an all-time great American success story.

Last but not least, we’re sure everyone has heard of Gina Gallo and the Gallo family of wines. The Gallo family has been a fixture in the California wine industry for many years.  Gina Gallo is the winemaker for Gallo wines and is making her mark in the industry, just as Julio and Ernest did in the 1930s.

We hope you have an enjoyable and successful journey into the world of wine education.  Cheers!

Valarie Spiser-Albert is the owner of WINE, a fine wine shop, and is working on her wine educator certificate.

Denise Easdon is a certified sommelier and a certified specialist of wine.