Mike Cohen, the Collegeโs resident sommelier who is developing a VR wine appreciation course for students and alumni, offers a six-pack of wine-buying tips.
1. Download an app such as Pocket Wine or Hello Vino. โWhen most people buy wine, itโs usually to pair it with food, and these apps can help,โ says Cohen, who teaches three different beverage courses.
2. Find a good local wine shop where the proprietor will get to know you and your tastes. โTheyโre going to ask you what kind of foods you like. What kind of spices, flavors and aromas do you like in wine? Then they can start to get a feel for what you want. Once you get a shop that understands your palate, they keep track of all your purchases so they can recommend similar vintages to try.โ
3. Donโt shop by price. โEverybody has a budget in mind, but itโs important to be open minded. People are as turned off by a low price as they are by a high price. There are a lot of good wines for $5 if you know what youโre looking for, but most people donโt, which is why it helps to find a good wine shop.โ
4. Donโt buy a white wine more than three years old. โTheyโre meant to be drunk within three years of production because of the way theyโre structured.โ
5. Examine the neck of the bottle closely. โThe fill should be almost to the cork. If itโs down by the shoulder where the bottle begins to round out, thatโs a sign of leakage. You should also be able to spin the foil cap. That means that thereโs been no leakage through the cork. Wine has residual sugar that will make the cap stick when it dries out.โ
6. Skip the vacuum stopper if you donโt finish the bottle. โJust cork it and put it in the refrigerator. When you take all the oxygen out, the wine begins to deteriorate. White wines will last two or three days in the refrigerator, while reds stay good for up to two weeks. By the way, box wine will soon be the rage. The box doesnโt expose the liquid to any light, and the liner and funnel donโt expose it to any air. A box wine will last 6 to 12 weeks in the refrigerator.โ
