The Little Black Book of Wines

Choosing a wine can be a lot like online dating: lots of pretty labels and promises of grandeur, but until you open that bottle, you really don’t know what is going to hit your lips.

Whether you drink to savour or drink to forget, keeping tabs on your liquid investments is crucial to playing the field of wine. Learn to chronicle your sips, and watch as your little black book manifests into your roadmap to satiation. Here are a few tips to get started. —Laura Starr

1. Buy a mini journal! Small is key so it follows you everywhere. A classic, lined Moleskine is my go-to, as I find wine journals with pre-structured notes to be distracting and gimmicky. Your notes should reflect the style of you.

2. Jot down the name of the wine (producer, grape/region, vintage) and where you drank it! The circumstances will help remind you of your experience with the wine.

3. Keep your notes short! Writing down everything about the wine is cumbersome. What makes the wine memorable? Was it juicy? Did it smell like grandma’s apple pie? Did it linger in your mouth for a seeming eternity? Note two or three things that make the wine unique.

4. GRADE IT! This is the most useful reference point for the wine. I like to use happy or sad faces. If it really stands out to me, I’ll mark some aggressively excited circles around the happy face. Use whatever resonates with you, be it ABCs or 123s.

5. Remember that this journal is for YOU. There is no right or wrong when it comes to you drinking wine that you like. Your language will not be critiqued, your preferences not judged. It’s your mouth. It’s your choice of wine.

6. Reference the journal! Go back and flip through the pages. Remember which wines knocked your socks off and which ones flopped in the sack. Find trends, be adventurous, and get savvy! 

Practice is key, so pour those libations, put your pen to paper, and break in your new little black book of wine!

For more from our resident wine expert, check out Laura’s summer picks here.

Grape Minds is a multi-part summer travel series exploring British Columbia’s incredible array of wineries. Tune in Thursday for a guide to BC’s emerging wine regions.