How to learn your wine preferences

Quick answer: how do you find wines you like?

The most reliable way to learn your wine preferences is to taste deliberately over time. Start with a wine you know, compare it with one or two contrasting wines, and write down both your observations and your reaction.

You do not need to identify the grape, region or vintage perfectly. First ask simple questions: Was the wine refreshing or rich? Soft or drying? Light or full? Aromatic or quiet? Did you want another sip?

Then look for patterns across several tastings. Perhaps you often enjoy wines with noticeable acidity and citrus aromas, but dislike obvious oak. Perhaps you like full-bodied reds with warming alcohol, or lighter reds with little tannin. These observations are more useful than deciding that you are permanently a “red-wine person” or a “Chardonnay person”.

Your preference is personal evidence. It is not a score for the wine, and it does not need to agree with a critic, friend or conventional idea of quality.

Start with a reference point

Choose one wine you already enjoy, or one you clearly dislike. This gives you something to compare against.

For example, you might compare a lighter-bodied Pinot Noir with a fuller-bodied Shiraz, or a crisp Riesling with a richer Chardonnay. You could also compare two dry wines that differ in acidity, body or oak influence.

These are comparison prompts, not rules about what those varieties always taste like. Grape variety, region and winemaking choices can all produce variation.

The goal is to change one main feature where practical. If you compare wines that are different in every way, you may discover that one is your favourite without learning why.

For the mechanics of looking, smelling and tasting, see How to Taste Wine. This page is about what to do with those observations afterwards.

Record what you notice—and what you feel

A tasting note becomes much more useful when it separates observation from preference.

Try this simple template:

• Wine or code:
• Date and setting:
• With food or without:
• Aroma and flavour: fruit, citrus, floral, herbal, spicy, earthy, savoury or another familiar association
• Sweetness: dry, slightly sweet or sweet
• Acidity: low, moderate or high; fresh, sharp or mouth-watering
• Body: light, medium or full
• Tannin: absent, low, moderate or high; drying, grippy or smooth
• Texture: soft, crisp, creamy, silky, oily or firm
• Alcohol impression: neutral, warming or prominent
• Finish: short, medium or lingering
• Liking: dislike, neutral, like or strongly like
• Would I choose it again? Yes, no or unsure
• Why? One plain-language sentence

You do not need to find the “correct” aroma. “It reminds me of lemon” is a useful description even if someone else smells apple or flowers. For more on the difference between smell and taste, see What Is Wine Aroma?.

A few terms are especially useful:

• Sweetness is the perception of sweet taste. It is not the same as fruitiness.
• Acidity creates freshness and can make your mouth water.
• Body is the wine’s apparent weight or fullness.
• Tannin can create drying or gripping sensations.
• Mouthfeel describes how the wine feels in your mouth.
• Finish describes what remains after you taste the wine.

You can explore these ideas in What Is Acidity in Wine?, What Is Wine Body?, What Are Tannins?, What Is Wine Mouthfeel? and What Is Wine Finish?.

Compare, then look for patterns

Side-by-side comparison helps make differences easier to notice. Keep the practical conditions reasonably similar:

• use clean glasses;
• pour similar small amounts;
• serve the wines at comparable temperatures;
• use water between wines;
• avoid strong food, perfume or household smells;
• take a break if your senses become tired.

This does not need to become a laboratory experiment. Consistency simply helps you avoid asking a different question every time.

After several tastings, review your notes. You may discover that you:

• often prefer fresh, high-acid wines;
• enjoy full-bodied wines but dislike drying tannin;
• like aromatic wines but not noticeable sweetness;
• prefer crisp whites in warm weather;
• enjoy richer reds with substantial food;
• like fruit-forward wines casually but more savoury wines with a meal.

Treat these as hypotheses, not fixed categories. “I often enjoy…” is more accurate than “I only drink…”.

Before ruling out a style, retest it. A first impression may have been affected by temperature, food, fatigue, serving conditions, mood or expectations. Sensory assessment guidance recognises that fatigue, adaptation and other presentation effects can influence perception.

Blind tasting can be useful—but it is not the final answer

A simple blind comparison involves placing wine into coded glasses and recording your reactions before revealing the labels. It can reduce the influence of information such as price, producer, region or grape variety.

That matters because research indicates that price and descriptions can affect how pleasant a wine seems. Blind tasting may show how you respond to the wine’s sensory qualities without those expectations.

But blind tasting asks a different question from ordinary drinking. It removes information that is part of a real choice, including the meal, occasion, label and price. It also cannot remove every influence: serving order, temperature, glassware, fatigue and social setting still matter.

So do not treat blind tasting as the one “true” version of your preference. Compare the results with how you respond when the wine is served normally, perhaps with dinner or among friends.

Preference is not the same as quality

Wine professionals may assess balance, intensity, complexity, persistence, typicity or faults. These are different questions from “Do I enjoy this?”

A wine can be technically well made and widely admired without being right for you. An inexpensive wine can also suit your taste better than a highly rated bottle. That does not prove that price is meaningless or that expert opinions are unreliable. It simply means that different assessments have different purposes.

Use scores and descriptions as information, not instructions about what you are supposed to enjoy. How to Understand Wine Reviews can help you separate another person’s assessment from your own response.

Turn your pattern into useful language

Once you have noticed recurring preferences, translate them into a sentence you could use at a bottle shop or restaurant.

For example:

“I usually enjoy dry, fresh white wines with noticeable acidity and citrus or floral aromas. I prefer little obvious sweetness and do not enjoy heavy oak.”

Or:

“I often like medium- to full-bodied reds with ripe fruit and a warming feel, but I prefer smooth rather than strongly drying tannin.”

This is more useful than asking for the “best” wine or naming a score. It also gives you room to change your mind as you gain experience.

For broader comparisons, explore Red Wine Styles, White Wine Styles, Fruitiness vs Sweetness and Why Wines Taste Different.

Taste responsibly

Wine tasting should be a learning activity, not a reason to keep drinking. Use small pours, have water and food where appropriate, and spit during deliberate tasting if you wish. An Australian standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol, and packaged alcohol labels show the number of standard drinks.

This article is for adults of legal drinking age. Do not drive after drinking, and do not treat legal limits as a target for consumption.

Frequently asked questions

How many wines do I need to taste before I know what I like?

There is no fixed number. A single tasting can provide a useful clue, but repeated tastings help distinguish a lasting pattern from a reaction to one wine, setting or occasion.

Should I start with grape varieties or wine styles?

Start with a wine you know and compare broad differences such as body, acidity, sweetness, tannin and aroma. Grape names can help you choose what to compare, but they do not guarantee a particular flavour.

Does liking fruity wine mean I prefer sweet wine?

No. A dry wine can have strong fruit aromas and flavours. Fruitiness vs Sweetness explains the difference.

Should I ignore wine scores?

No. Scores and reviews can provide useful information, but they describe someone else’s assessment. Use them alongside your own tasting experience rather than as instructions.

Can my preferences change?

Yes. Your response can vary with food, temperature, occasion, familiarity and experience. That is why retesting is more useful than assigning yourself a permanent wine identity.