Hello all members of the Bangkok Wine Society. I am very much a “Wine Newbie” when it comes to wines. What I know you could write on the back of a postage stamp.

But, since I am a part of the Bangkok Wine Society, I thought it wise to learn a little bit about wines. This way, I can sound a little more knowledgeable at our next wine tasting event.

I have heard many myths about selecting wines, but never had anyone explain the facts to me. So I scoured the web looking for information on “Choosing the Right Wine” for a meal. If there is any clarification that our members can offer, please post your comments on the blog for everyone to read.

I have identified several of the most common types of wine and been able to assign each a “flavor intensity” provided by another website. I understand that a complete list of wine types is much more extensive. If you remember a few wines on this list and where they are on the flavor scale, you should be able to select an appropriate wine for your meal.

I have done a quick summary table where 1 is the lowest intensity and 10 is the highest:

This table is just to give us beginners a guideline. The Wine Flavor Intensity value stated is a bit biased based on a specific wine tasters opinion. Wine tasters evaluate wines based on such factors as color, aroma, flavor, finish, and overall quality.

The guidelines for selecting a wine were to choose a wine with a lower flavor intensity rating for foods such as Thai or Japanese. Select a more robust flavor for heavier meals with more meats.

Some further suggestions were:

• DO NOT select a wine based on it’s label. Most are deigned by professional marketing companies and have no relationship to the quality of the wine.
• DO NOT buy a wine located near the checkout. If you are buying a bottle to take home for a meal, chances are the wines for sale at checkout are the ones the shop is trying to get rid of.
• DO NOT pretend to know what you’re doing. When dining out, mention to the waiter a wine that you like. He should be able to bring you something that you will enjoy with your meal.

SUMMARY: As a guideline, light foods go with light wine and heavy foods with a more “flavor intense” or heavier wine.

If you are looking to further your knowledge of wines, exercise your taste buds, buy several types of wines and compare for yourself at home. There were many sites that provided good guidelines on wine tasting. We hope to be able to further your knowledge of wines in further posts.

Our Wine Professional, Peter will probably have much more to add to this subject when he gets back online.