What is good wine: not powdered, prepared without breaking the production technology, not sour; tasty - even though it is subjective, but frankly sugary or extremely sour, a sore drink that has a "chemical" smell and taste, cannot be considered good for sure.

Do not believe the myth that you should only buy wine in specialized stores or abroad. Of course, the probability of finding exceptionally high-quality wines worthy of becoming a pearl of a collection in a regular store is small, but not excluded. But just decent wine for dinner and friendly gatherings is sold in most of our supermarkets, the main thing is not to make a mistake in your choice. How to do it? Here are some tips.

1. CHOOSE A MID-RANGE WINE
It is unlikely that a wine that is too cheap will be good - yet making it is not easy, and it requires costs from the producer. Plus, if the wine is imported, the price of the drink will include the costs of the importer. Expensive wine is also not worth choosing - most likely, you will pay most of its price not for the taste, but for the brand. For example, supermarkets often sell wines from Bordeaux at exorbitant prices. Customers know that these wines can be very good, and they take them without sparing money. In fact, a significant portion of Bordeaux wines are mediocre. Maybe they can't be called bad, but the money that is on the price tags is definitely not worth it.

supermarket wine

The optimal cost of a bottle of wine in a supermarket is from 500 to 1200 rubles, usually 600-800 rubles.

2. WINES FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES DESERVE ATTENTION
Not only Bordeaux, but other French wines can turn out to be average, as well as Italian ones, which are also very popular. On the contrary, those wishing to win their place in the world wine market in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and Chile are often good at a relatively low price.

3. ATTENTION TO PROMOTIONAL WINES AND ALL SHELVES IN THE WINE SECTION
Merchandisers usually place expensive or stale goods on the shelves at eye level that need to be sold faster. Accordingly, the first wine you come across may be either unreasonably expensive, or unpopular, that is, not to the taste of consumers.

supermarket wine

You need to be careful about promotional wine - a good product is bought up without any discounts. Although sometimes a great product is sold for a promotion, just to introduce the buyer to it. In short, pay attention to promotional drinks, but be critical when choosing them.

4. USE WINE APPS, READ ONLINE REVIEWS
In applications and on sites, there are overly subjective and uninformative, and even customized reviews. However, by regularly using these sources of information, you will learn to "separate the wheat from the chaff" - to find useful reviews and ratings.

supermarket wine

Just start using the apps by taking photos or scanning the wines you are interested in in stores and reading information about them at home. You don't have to buy right away. Pretty soon you will get comfortable with Vivino or another application (we talked about the most popular in the article "The best mobile applications for wine lovers" ) and it will provide you with significant assistance in choosing wines.

5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE LABEL
The label and counter-label (by the way, it is obligatory for a good wine) must be well readable. They should contain information about:

producer, region, vintage of grapes, alcohol percentage;
vintage. It is better that it is no more than two years old at the time of purchase of white and rosé wine and no more than five - red. Wines suitable for long aging are hardly sold in supermarkets, so an older drink will most likely just turn sour;
a variety or varieties of grapes, and if it says "made from the best varieties" or something similar, without specifying specific varieties, then such a wine is almost certainly made from the waste of wine production. The only country whose wine bottles may not include a grape variety is France.
On imported wine, the counter-label in Russian must be pasted over the original or next to it.

6. JUST A FEW FACTS TO KNOW
White wines often turn out to be of poor quality, as they are a little more "capricious" in production. Accordingly, if you like white wine, choose more picky.
It is easier to disguise the bad quality of the drink behind the sweetness, so it is better to choose dry wines. Although if you do not like them, then they will seem bad to you, even though they are great. The most dangerous in terms of quality are semi-sweet wines, among them most of all are defects and outright fakes.
Most likely, a bad wine will be with a tasteless label and a flashy name - good drinks do not need such an intrusive design. There are exceptions, but, just in case, it is better not to take a bottle that stands out too much on the shelf. Or at least Google the wine.
The cork of a good wine can be anything, not just a crusty one, and wine in a tetrapak is not necessarily bad. Little-known conscientious manufacturers, as well as well-known, but focused on thrifty buyers, companies often save on packaging, but they strictly monitor the quality of the product itself.
supermarket wine
7. TASTE, TASTE, LOOK FOR "YOUR" WINES
With time and experience, you will understand wines from which countries, from which grape varieties or blends you like more than others. Do not dwell on a few successful options - you can taste, wonder and admire the variety of wines all your life. But knowing, for example, that you are usually not disappointed with Pinot Gris or Portuguese wines, you minimize the risk of making the wrong choice.