Simple Wine Tricks to Buying Good Wine (Wine 106)

What do you do when you are confronted with a wall of wine and you have no idea what to buy? As a wine guide in France, I get asked all the time ‘ how do I know what to look for when buying a French wine’? How can I be sure it will be any good? It made me realise there may be many people buying blah wine, or limiting their horizons, when with a little knowledge better wines could be chosen. Here’s a couple simple wine tricks to make that decision making just a tad easier.

What to Choose?

You are in a wine shop or supermarket and staring at a lot of wine bottles. You wish to try something new. Do you choose by the label design? Most people do. Traditional tends to equate to good quality, but expensive (even though the price might not actually be, in which case we usually snap it up.)

Or maybe you prefer the more colourful artsy style. Labels along these designs are designed to be eye catching. This can be in design (a woman on a bicycle has a lot to do with wine after all), name on the bottle (something about old goats?), even the wineries name. Sometimes the weirder the better as it peaks our curiosity. But all of the above is specifically chosen marketing to try to get you to notice, and ultimately buy, that bottle. However, as many of us will well know, marketing does not necessarily equate to a good wine.

When in France

When I first moved to France, I was confronted with just this issue. I was tasked with buying some wine whilst out grocery shopping. And in France the wine section of a supermarket can be very, very big. There were all sorts of labels. All sorts of prices. And I had no clue how to choose.

I ended up choosing randomly. Then brought the wine home. And my then wine making partner went ‘blech’. Well, actually, he didn’t as we rarely had a bad (not counting a rarely corked) wine here in France. But they certainly do vary. And price is definitely not always an indicator.

Give me a Clue

Since then I have asked wine makers for a clue. Given such a plethora of choice, how do I choose a good wine? I was given this tip.

On the wine bottle label it has to say where it is bottled. In French it looks like: ‘Mis en bouteille au…’ or ‘bottled at’. The trick is to look for these words and then what comes after.

You can literally ignore all the other information on the label.

(Unless you wish to know more – in which case read my article on Wine Bottle Labels.)

The other Mis en Bouteille

The three phrases above are not the only ones to be seen on wine bottle labels. There is another, much more common, ‘mis ‘en bouteille’ you might see:

• Mis en bouteille pour… / Bottled for … – insert name of bottling plant here.

This means the wine was taken from the domain and made elsewhere. Sometimes this could be a local Co-op. Sometimes a wine making factory. Yes, such a thing exists.

Sure, the owner or chief wine maker for the domain will probably be involved in the making of the wine, even when made else where. And there are all sorts of rules in place to make sure Wine A is not mixed with Wine B. But ultimately and simplistically, it means that the grapes have travelled further and will not have the same care and attention as those made on premises.

These wines are not necessarily to be ignored, but they muddy the waters if you do not really know your French wines, and who makes what where. So, if like me, you want to keep it simple, stick with the bottled ats rather than the bottled for.

Independent Winemakers

Another tip is to look for independent winemakers. These will generally be smaller, lesser known winemakers who live or die on making a good wine. (Because there is so much choice in France, if you make a bad wine you will certainly not be in business for long.)

There is an association in France called the Vignerons Independant. This is a collective association in support of smaller, independent winemakers. It was set up so smaller wine makers could compete with the larger wine corporations. To become a member, the winemaker member must:

My Own Searches

Of course, living in France, I have so so many wines to choose from. I could argue that makes it even mor difficult to decide. So when I find myself looking at that wall of wine, the first think I look for is the independent winemakers logo. Some winemakers put it on the metal that covers the cork and opening of the bottle. That always makes it super easy to spot. I cast my eyes along the bottles, skipping all other details, until my eyes find this symbol. Then, if I have a few choices, I look at where it comes from, eg what grape variety, and then price. Generally Independant Vigneron wines are incredibly affordable. Even in the areas that generally have higher prices.

If you don’t see it on the top of the bottle, then sometimes it will be found on the back label. This of course takes more time to check. But then if you are also looking for the Mis en Bouteille information, you may see this as well, or vice versa. Win, win.

If all else, you can use this search list, by region, on the Independant Vigneron site to research which wineries to look for. As these are smaller wineries, not all their wines will make it to your country. In some places you may find your choices very limited (even in some places in France!), but at least if you do look and find them, you know you will be getting a good wine. I know from my own experience, whether I search for the words Mis en Bouteille or the Vigernon Independant logo, when I find it it is going to be a good wine.

More Wine?

If you would like to learn more about wine, check out my Wine 101 posts. I write about quirky topics to take the mystique out of snobby wine ideas. All those things you wished to know about wine, but were afraid to ask. (And if I haven’t covered it, I hope you won’t be afraid to ask me to do so.)

Like what you read, consider nourishing Pumpjack & Piddlewick.

And/or, if you are like me and you like wine, or know someone who does, I can recommend checking out My Shop. I like to stock it with some unique wine gifts. Here’s a taste…

Simply click on an image to see more.