How do you choose a good wine when you know nothing about it?

That's the question you ask yourself when you come across a large wall of bottles or an Internet page and know very little about this sweet beverage?

How do you recognize a good wine?

It all depends on what you want to do with it! We're going to help you decipher a bottle, to give you a few pointers that may help you. Choosing the right bottle will vary according to your needs. Here are some important criteria to consider:

• The Appellation : This is the region where the wine is produced, according to precise specifications.
• Bottled at the estate: as the name implies, this means that the bottle has been bottled at the estate. It may also be noted "bottled at the château or estate" or "bottled by ..." if the winemaker has no bottling line.
• Alcohol content : This indicates the degree of alcohol present in the bottle. In general, the higher the alcohol content, the more powerful the wine.
• Estate, Chateau, Farmhouse : means that it is a property. A brand cannot use the words Domaine or Château in front of its name.
• Le Millésime : indicates the year in which the grapes were harvested. This is an important indication, as each year is different and produces wines of better or poorer quality.
• Storage capacity As a general rule, a wine is "ready to drink" after 5 years, and is considered "mature" after 10 years. Of course, it all depends on the winemaking techniques used, the vintage, the maturity of the grapes and so on.
• Other information is mandatory on a label, such as "contains sulfites", the logo for pregnant women... to which are added those of the specifications.

 

Which wine to choose for a gift?

You'll find our guide to offer a fine wine on our website. First of all, it's best to know the region of preference of the person you're giving it to. Once you've identified this region, ask yourself: will she drink it now or in a few years? ?

• If it's now, take a bottle of mature wine that has already aged for 6-8 years, this will guarantee the wine's drinkability.

> Discover our Bordeaux à Maturité

• If you think the bottle will be cellaredTake a bottle as young as possible, and in particular a long-keeping wine ! As a general rule, ageing wines spend one to two years in barrel before being bottled. So, in 2020, you'll find bottles of 2017, and at the end of 2020, 2018, which will be destined for long ageing.

> Wines to keep in stock

These deductions are valid for red wines, as for dry white wines, it is preferable to automatically take a recent vintage. Older dry white wines are niche products that you need to know about before venturing into them: for example, the premier and grand crus de Bourgogne are wines made for aging, and will be more difficult to drink young, with a few exceptions. Sweet white wines, on the other hand, are made for ageing, with their sweetness giving them an extraordinary capacity for ageing.

If you ask yourself these two questions, you've already gone a long way towards choosing the right bottle.

For an aperitif or a meal

For white wines, automatically go for a recent vintage. For an aperitif, we need youth and freshness. Wines from Loire or Burgundy are perfect for this! For a meal, it all depends on the dish you're going to serve. I invite you to do some research on the blog for know the best food and wine pairings possible. For red wines, it is also preferable to start with a young wine to retain all its fruitiness.

You have three options : A classic Bordeaux: fruity and round with a little character.  A Bourgogne or Loire for a light, fruity red. A Côtes-du-Rhône that is just as fruity, but warmer and spicier.

Find all our great wines on Comptoir des Millésimes, including La Sélection du Caviste in which our cellar master advises you on a wide range of marvels!

> Discover the "Sélection du caviste