Sommelier & TV Host Vince Answers Wine Questions! (Part I)

In this video, I sit down and answer some wine-related questions from our Vino VIP members! What’s my favorite wine? How do you know if a bottle is corked? Why are expensive wines often underwhelming? And more!

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00:00 Introduction
00:21 Best unexpected wine region?
01:30 Why are expensive wines disappointing?
04:12 Winery wine clubs?
05:11 WSET level III?
06:19 How’d you get interested in wine?
07:36 Where should I visit?
09:02 How do you know if a wine is corked?
10:23 Will you visit Argentina?
11:06 Friday night wine?
11:35 Special wine experience?
12:44 How to smell wine?
14:40 Light reds?
16:56 Favorite wine?
17:28 Where would you avoid?
18:03 Outro
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ABOUT V IS FOR VINO: Wish learning about wine was easier? It’s fun AND easy with your personal sommelier, travel guide, and host, Vince! Join him as he travels the world of wine – eating, drinking, and breaking down wine topics for you up close and personal!

Want to know more? On each episode of V is for Vino, you’ll:

– Meet a winemaker and learn their story. One of the best parts of drinking wine is getting to know the place where it came from and the people who made it!

– Learn about the grapes. Vince breaks down wine topics easily, making them fun and easy to understand!

– Visit the region. Not everyone gets to travel to wine country as much as they’d like, so experience the beauty and culture firsthand with Vince. Travel the world and sip along from the comfort of your couch!

– Cook dishes that pair at a local restaurant because what’s good wine without good food? Luckily, the world of wine is full of amazing chefs and restaurants ready to serve up something delicious to pair with the wine you just learned about.
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hi everyone Vince with v forino here
here today to do another session where I
answer a bunch of your questions all
these questions were submitted by our
Veno VIP members which is a really great
way to support us and get all sorts of
bonus content Early Access to our
episodes the link is right above my head
so if you want to go check it out you
can but let’s dive right into the
questions number one Ben asks what
region surprised you the most by
visiting it exceeded the expectations
you had going in in well this is a good
way for me to plug our upcoming episode
Lebanon I went to Lebanon which is I’m
half Lebanese so it was really exciting
for me but I knew very little about
Lebanese wine going into the project
when I got there I was I was blown away
by one the history is older than most
places on the planet at some of the
oldest wine making in the world took
place in Lebanon but also the wines they
have this amazing freshness to them
because I didn’t realize this before I
but the altitude of where they grow the
wines is really high and so you can get
ripe wines that have really ripe fruit
character while still retaining their
freshness because the the heat doesn’t
get to them as much with the altitude so
and and Mountain Wines By the way
mountains have really good soils drain
well so that episode comes out on June
2nd for everybody but if you’re a VIP
member you will get it in just a few
weeks on May 26th so there’s my plug for
our upcoming episode it’s going to be
amazing Steve asks why am I often
underwhelmed with Fine Wines spending
over $50 on a bottle just doesn’t seem
worth it I love this I have so many
great things to say about this so there
are places in the world where I think
you need to spend that much to get a
good bottle because they have a
reputation pedms your Nappa you really
can’t get a Napa Cabernet for for less
than that that’s a decent price maybe 40
35 40 maybe if you find a value so
there’s places in the world where I
think you need to spend a a little bit
more money to get what you
need but in a general sense you don’t
have to spend that much ever there are
so many amazing wine regions in the
world where you can get $20 $30 bottles
that are mindblowing so it really just
depends on where you’re drinking and the
other thing I’ll say is you’re why am I
often underwhelmed with maybe the same
wine from that region at you know $80
vers
$40 one of the things that happens is as
you get better at
tasting you start to understand what
quality means quality might not mean
what you think when you’re a young
taster and I’ll give you an
example flavors often can be similar and
structure can be similar but some of the
things that we look for in quality when
they’re measuring quality is
complexity and finish and balance I’ll
take those three really quick complexity
is how many many different things you’re
getting and as you become a better
taster you’ll pull out more notes right
but when you’re kind of tasting as you
are first starting out or maybe not
quite as experienced with a specific
wine or grape you might not get all
those flavors so that’s number one uh
number two length we’re looking for how
long it stays on the palette after you
take a sip and that’s something if
you’re not consciously thinking of maybe
you won’t notice right and so look for
that the next time you’re tasting
quality wine is how long after you take
a sip are you still tasting it and then
number three
is what did I say complexity length and
oh and balance how well balanced is the
ripeness and and especially the
structural components right the alcohol
the acidity the body and you kind of
want it to hit a perfect balance and
again until you’ve tried a lot of wines
you might not know what a perfect
balance is so I’d say EV valuate your
wines a little bit more aggressively
when you’re tasting Fine Wines look for
some of those elements and you might see
why they are a bit more money than other
wines it’s not to say you have to spend
that much on it but if you’re looking to
look for what SS look for when we look
for a quality bottle those are your
elements Paul asks what are your
thoughts on Winery wine clubs are they
worth the expense that depends what you
value there’s a little bit of a dirty
secret in the wine world that wine is
actually the most expensive it will ever
be at the winery for the most part you
can usually find the same wines that the
winery sells cheaper in a resell Market
in a retailer they’ll buy in bulk
they’ll run specials but as a wine club
member you almost often get things that
you can’t find in stores exclusive
Winery only things so if you like a wine
maker a lot and you want to really dive
deep you can try all these exclusive
bottlings that they don’t offer to the
public uh in addition if you’re in
proximity to the winery they almost
always offer free tastings discounts on
the bottles you you do buy when you’re
there so it’s worth it depending on what
your definition of worth it is from a
dollars and cense standpoint could you
maybe find the exact same wines for
cheaper sure but those other perks might
be worth it to all right next question
Teresa asks as someone who’s not in the
industry but very passionate about wine
does it make sense to go beyond W set
level two certification and get a level
three I may want to work in a Tasting
Room someday okay
so tough to say I would probably say yes
and here’s why level three brings in an
element that is going to force you to
really learn wine better and that is
your test is going to include a blind
tasting component the blind tasting
component is not just about if you can
blind taste it’s about honing your
palette and so by being forced to do
that in the training as you lead up to W
set level 3 you’re going to really
really develop your palette a lot better
so I really encourage if you are going
to go in a Tasting Room uh or even just
for personal personal use I like going
to level three I actually don’t think
you have to go past level three I think
that’s the cut off you only need to go
past level three or past Court of Master
Level Two If you’re trying to do it
professionally in a really high capacity
everybody else 90% of people you you do
not need to Go pass those levels Chrissy
asks how didd you get interested in wine
great question I was around wine as a
kid because my family owned a business
that imported some wines from some
places I think mostly
and then so I was my dad liked line and
I just kind of grew up around it but the
real answer is I went to a restaurant in
Chicago that I wanted to work at I was
working at a kind of low-end casual
restaurant I wanted to go into a upscale
restaurant and they wouldn’t hire me
because they said you didn’t have the
wine knowledge that we need for this
position and it’s kind of one of those
things where when somebody tells you
something you can’t do you’re like yes I
can yes I do and so I went back and I
was like I want to learn everything
about this I don’t want to be ever told
that again and that’s really where I
started diving deeper than when I went
to Los Angeles I was working in even
nicer restaurants and had some mentors
who got me into it and so in general it
was just kind of a hunger for like
knowledge and I was also really
curious why can like a glass of wine be
super expensive like what is the
difference between a $10 glass and a $30
glass or a $100 bottle and a $15 bottle
and people collect it and they invest in
it and I I just had interest into why
and so I wanted to get those answers so
I was I was just kind of genuinely
curious about it Matt asks of all the
places you’ve traveled is there one you
think offers the ideal combined
experience of travel quality wine
experiences food accessibility and
people in a way that is a must do or see
for this group yeah I probably sound
like a broken record for this but I
would say Portugal I am so bullish on
Portugal I loved it I really felt like
they were some of the nicest people on
the planet I think from an accessibility
standpoint it’s the Clos
European country to America like in
proximity in physical proximity and it’s
also really affordable especially for
Western Europe you know you go to France
and Spain and Italy they’re used to
tourist they’re expensive but Portugal
it’s more expensive than it used to be
because the secrets out but it’s still a
great value I think the food isn’t far
off from a lot of food that you might
know in America you know there’s there’s
really kind of accessible things that
are made with ingredients you might
recognize
and from a culture perspective going
there like it’s mind-blowing it
absolutely mind-blowing you’d be shocked
you know Portugal basically you know
their empire was all over the world so
they had this really really amazing
history where you have all these great
monuments and statues and all these
things that you get from going to Spain
or France or Italy or any of those
without necessarily having the price
point so Portugal love it Peter asks how
do you know if a wine is corked good
question I think I’m actually going to
film a tick tock about this very shortly
here but the short answer without
getting into let’s talk about what
corked is corked wine means that the
wine has been infected the cork has been
infected with a bacteria and it got into
the wine and ruined the wine you can’t
fix corked wine now it’s not the Wine
Maker’s fault it’s the Cork’s fault and
it’s different from bottle to bottle you
might have the same bottle from the same
producer but that bottle’s fine but the
one you have is corked corked wine is
going to smell when you get into those
the number one thing that happens that’s
obvious is damp musty wet cardboard now
that’s if it’s bad the bad thing about
corked wine is that sometimes you can’t
even tell sometimes it just seems like a
dull wine that doesn’t have a lot of
flavors doesn’t have a very nice nose
and it’s just kind of muted that’s worse
I’d rather have the obviously bad one
because then I know that it’s bad I can
send it back get a new one but if it’s
just muted it’s hard if unless I’m like
the wine maker I’ve had the wine before
how am I going to know it’s just not the
wine maker not being very good right and
so wine makers hate corked wine so
that’s tougher but the obvious one is a
damp wet cardboard kind of smell um on
the nose in particular you’ll get it so
that’s how you know number eight Alex
and Charlene asks are you interested in
doing an episode in Argentina yeah 100%
I mean we did Chile I loved it and it
was our first fora in the south America
it won’t be the last we will get to
Argentina I’m also talking to Peru I’m
in talks with them about an episode
because they have an interesting history
and not only do they do some wine but
they have Pisco uh grapes Pisco is a a
brandy and they they make that out of
grapes and they have a good history with
that too so I think it’d be a fun fun
episode and even um uh Uruguay and some
other South American episodes and I
might do a Chile part two so I’m
definitely going to go back South
America and Argentina’s on the list
number nine Eric asks imagine you come
home on a Friday evening no plans at all
and you’re looking to sip on your
favorite bottle of wine chill out which
one are you
picking that is a tough question okay uh
because SRA is one of my favorite
favorite grapes and I love Santa Barbara
sarra ohigh Vineyards is one of my
favorite Wineries and they make a killer
Santa Barbara
SRA that um you know because it’s cool
climate so it’s not this big brooding
wine you can just sip on it it’s a good
end of week lne that’s what I’m saying
10 Adam and shells can you remember one
experience with wine that started you on
this
journey yeah you know I I don’t know if
it’s what started me on this journey
with via Rino but it started me on a
wine Journey where I was like I really
really find this interesting and fun I
went to a restaurant called maliss my
buddy worked there as a sonier and he
brought out shenon Blanc in a coursed
meal I think three to four times in in
three to four courses and everyone was
wildly different even though it was all
shin and blong from the same place it
was a sparkling wine it was a betriz
wine it was a um an aged wine and then a
sweet one later so I was like this is
this is wild I’ve never had a white wine
that can be so many things and also you
get all these fun flavors with shanon
Blanc like you know kind of burnt rubber
sometimes or plastic which sometimes can
be bad but in chenon Blanc it’s like
really cool and fun wool and loline all
these savory flavors I always say French
Jen and Blanc is kind of like the red
wine lovers white wine and it was just
completely different than anything I
ever had I was like I want to know why
I’m getting this why why is this like
this and so that was that was a really
fun experience from Scott Vince I
struggle to note the different Aromas
and wines and to fully get the nose of a
wine what tips do you have to help me
learn how to do this better good
question so the problem when you’re
first starting and people say it all
tastes like wine that’s a very common
thing right it just tastes like wine to
me well if you’re trying to pick out
every literally there’s there’s hundreds
of thousands of different smells and
flavors and if you’re just trying to
pick them out of the air it’s really
tough and so you need to almost do like
a checklist in your head and this is
actually remember earlier when I was
saying W set 3 helps you learn to taste
that’s this is what it does you’re
essentially going through and you’re
almost saying what it isn’t so you’ll
start with okay fruit do I get any fruit
flavors if the answer is yes okay what
kind we start with with what color right
on a white wine is it green fruits
yellow fruits uh more ripe you know is
it citrusy fruits like lemon and lime is
it pear is it Apple like you’re going
through your head do I get this no do I
get this yes do I get this no and then
you go okay put fruit aside mineral do I
get mineral yes yes I do what kind is it
a clean minerality is it like funky
dirty earthy minerality okay put that
aside what nonf fruit and non-mineral
characters do I get do I get Oak
influence that would be vanilla and
caramel do I get and baking spice uh do
I get floral if so what flowers is it a
honeyed flour is it a fresh white flour
so that will put you instead of trying
to get every single thing just like pick
it out of thin air you go through this
mathematical process and that’s where
the W set training or even a tasting
grid if you look at the possible flavors
it takes you step by step by step into
how to analyze a wine and so that’ll
really help you because it’ll limit your
options Jim asks the lighter side of red
how to bring big red drinkers to embrace
something other than California Cabernet
yeah that’s a great question it’s
actually one of my hidden goals of the
show and listen there’s nothing wrong
with a big old California Cabernet I
mean I like those on occasion it kind of
comes down to the evolution of wine most
people are comfortable with that they
start off with those wines right because
they have big rich flavors uh you kind
of they’re they’re easy they’re easy to
love um a lot of people use the word
smooth and they see smooth as a quality
indicator which I would say that isn’t
but those wines are smooth they’re oaked
the acid is lower and so you get this
smooth rich flavor to it and it’s
similar to Flavors people like say in
Bourbon right if you like bourbon
flavors and so that’s why people like
those wines but what happens eventually
is you want more like those wines
eventually I kind of want something
different you start to be like all right
I’ve had a million one Cabernet and they
all taste fairly similar they’re in the
same palet same structure and how do we
find new flavors and then you start
branching out so the number way that I
number one way that I do that that I
convince people to do that is I give
them something same same but different I
give them a cabernet from Bordeaux
France same grape but more mineral
driven than kind of that Lush ripe fruit
driven that a California would be or
I’ll get him next to a southern rone
blend a shat to pop or a big Southern
Rome blend that’s still high alcohol and
Rich and developed black fruits like the
Cabernet would be but again old world
different grapes and it’s slowly easing
you into a wine that’s similar but
different and then I’m going to go like
a little lighter I’m going to go with
something medium bed maybe like a a
sarra from a cool climate uh and then
I’ll transition them into maybe some
penos and so it’s like a slow easy baby
steps transition and what you’ll find is
if you get into pairing this will also
help because those wines those Big Rich
wines they don’t pair with much and if
you want to get into wine pairing you’re
going to have to start drinking lighter
wines and sometimes those wines like
people won’t like them until they try
them with food and they’re like oh I get
it so that’s another way too is to talk
about pairing what is your favorite wine
I know I get this question all the time
I don’t like to say I’ll say favorite
grape because it could be favorite
region it could be favorite favorite
wine bottle um but I’ll say let’s say
favorite grape uh for red I think I
mentioned I like SRA and for white I
think I like French shenon Blanc and
let’s just give a good example of one of
my favorites uh Nicholas Jolie’s savir
which is a French shenon Blanc from the
lir valley that’s one of my all-time
favorite wines if that’s on a list I
usually have to have to get it Crystal
asks is there a wine region you’re not
interested in returning to uh you guys
aren’t going to like this answer but any
of the ones I’ve already been to there’s
just too many places I want to see and
so I don’t really have any interest in
going back to places I’ve already been
um as much as it might be fun maybe I’d
go for a personal trip definitely not
for the show I I don’t think for the
most part but I don’t know never say
never but I just there’s so many wine
regions I still want to go to I haven’t
done anything in Australia or much of
Eastern Europe or New Zealand or South
Africa I mean they’re just too many
places I want to go so uh I I don’t have
any interest in going somewhere I’ve
been okay I got so many questions this
time around that I’m actually going to
make this a two-part video so I’m going
to answer the rest of the questions on
our next go around and if you’re
watching and you want to submit
questions the next time we do this you
have to join vov VIP I’ll put the link
in the description we would love to have
you not only do you get to ask questions
and do cool members videos like this you
get members only videos that you won’t
see unless you’re a VIP you get early
access to our episodes and whole bunch
of other stuff monthly Raffles an email
where we get all sorts of updates so
we’d love to have you if you’re
interested thank you for watching and we
will see you soon
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