Develop a Wine Palate

Filed in archive Wine Tasting on May 3, 2006

If you are new to the wine world, then it can be tough to figure out where to start exploring. Winemaker David Mirassou offers some advice in this interview, "The Growing Taste for Wine." One of his suggestions is to start developing your palate by trying different types of wine, and Mirassou recommends starting with white wines first. I tend to agree. I started with whites, and then the more I drank different types of wine, the more my taste buds tolerated stronger tasting wines.

Here's a little from his interview with the Des Moines Register:

Q: What should people try if they want to get into drinking wine?

A: Most people like starting with white wines because they don't have as many tannins, which are a little bitter and which gives the wine character. In whites, start with Riesling, chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, in that order.

Q: How about with reds?

A: I'd go with Pinot Noir, because it's soft and silky. Then to Merlot, then Cabernet.

Q: What's your favorite wine?

A: The wines are like my kids; it's hard to choose. [Long pause]. My favorite white is Chardonnay, and my favorite red is Pinot Noir.