Let’s face it, picking wine is hard!
This is especially true when you are bombarded with wine name and wine terminology that you will find that’s it is not only confusing and rather frustrating.
Doesn’t help either that Old world wine labels does not even contain grape name eg Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc or Shiraz. All you get is Bordeaux, Barolo, Chianti or Rioja.
For Old world wines (which means country like France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany) named their wines based on their location as they believe the main contribution factor in making good wines is terroir (a term coiled on the harmony between soil, topography and climate). There are exception like Spain and Germany which you would still be able to get the grape name like Tempranillo and Riesling but majority it is still a lot of wines jargon.
As we pour through suggestion on the Internet on how to pick the wines, we realized that the wines selection online does not reflect the real selection available in Malaysia. This situation is pretty much like searching interior designs on pinterest and realized that most of the design is not available in Malaysia no matter how much you like to have it!
So far, the closest we have is Vivino but entry in Vivino is by individual and you pray hard that your wine selection is being reviewed in Vivino but most of the time, it is not. Bear in mind, the review in Vivino are by individuals and their review on the wines would never be you as everyone taste wine differently.
The good news is, in respond to the lack of reliable source to help pick out wines, About Wine has put together an infographic to assist you in this difficult situation.
Please feel free to share it out with friends especially to those poor lost soul who stand in front of the wine racks starring.
Happy Tasting!