Kansas City Blog

Tip number 1: “Bypass anything where there's more than ten cases of it. It's almost surely going to be a bulk wine and not good quality. Same goes for cases just stacked in the middle of the floor and not on shelves.”

Tip number 2: “For something that's not embarrassing to take to a party, you've got to drop at least ten bucks. Not much more but that's the general limit.”

Tip number 3: “After bypassing the cases and heading for the aisles, look for countries. You can still get great wine between $10-$15 from several countries. Italy, Australia, Spain are three that come to mind. Especially Italy. For American wine, look at what state. The best bang for your buck comes from Washington and Oregon where you can get a lot of bang for $10-$15.”

Tip number 4: "Natural human behavior is to look at the first thing that catches your eye. That's why producers display their ratings so prominently. Don't be a slave to ratings. Especially watch out for wines advertising ratings in the low 80s. Ask yourself why a producer would be advertising their mediocrity."

Tip number 5: "If the package is too much, stay away. Gold medals or awards on a bottle are a big red flag. More than the design on the label, look at the quality of the paper. If the paper is tactile, heavy, embossed then they're spending extra money on the label and in general, are probably also putting a little extra thought into the wine making itself."

Tip number 6: "Look at the vintages. You don't have to know good years or bad years just know that white over three years old, especially under $20, are getting long in the tooth. On the other end, reds can be too young. Watch out for ones that are only a year old."

Tip number 7: "Pick up the damn bottle and look at the back. If a wine has a whole paragraph with an ebullient description about the wine, they're probably completely full of shit. It means they're specifically dumbing down the wine and pandering to a certain demographic. Move on to something that the producer is confident enough in to let speak for itself."

Tip number 8: "Look for a vineyard or plot in the title of the label. It means the winemaker cares enough to know the specific plot on the property that the wine came from. As a rule though, those wines will be more nuanced. If you're looking for a big crowd-pleasing wine I like to go with a generic state. If the bottle just says Oregon on it that means the grapes are from across the entire state and blended for a very consistent style that's going to be approachable and easy. A party-pleaser."

Tip number 9: One last thing to look for on the label is a bottle number on the back saying something like No: 001250. If there's few-enough bottles for a label that means there's a manageable number of bottles and the producer believes in the wine enough to number each bottle. Secondly, it's also connotes the wine is from a single vineyard -- again, a really good sign of quality."

Tip number 10: "If it sounds to good to be true, there's a chance it may actually be true. The wine may just be a little bit old or the distributor may just want to unload it. If you're in the right place in the right time, you can find amazing wines for really cheap. You've got to roll the dice though. By now, you've hopefully narrowed your choice to two or three bottles. Pick the one with the grape you don't recognize or the most obscure country. Even if it's really bad, then that wine just goes into the next batch of marinade or you turn it into a vinegar. Take a gamble."

Tomorrow: I put Wooldridge's tips to a real-life test at Costco.