How to remember wines you liked

Quick answer

The easiest way to remember a wine is to make a short note soon after tasting it. Record enough information to identify the bottle later, then add one or two sentences about why you enjoyed it.

A useful note might say:

Producer: Example Wines
Wine: Estate Chardonnay
Vintage: 2024, if shown
Variety or blend: Chardonnay, if shown
Region/GI: Yarra Valley, if shown
Where and when: Melbourne restaurant, September 2026
What I liked: Fresh, gently creamy and good with roast chicken. Would order again.

This takes less than a minute. It is more dependable than trying to reconstruct the wine from memory weeks later.

Why wine memories fade

A wine is usually experienced alongside conversation, food, music and other wines. The details that identify it can quickly blur together, especially after a restaurant meal or a tasting flight.

Time also makes later recall harder. Distinctive details—such as the venue, dish, label design or a memorable flavour—can act as useful cues when you search your records later. That is why a brief note made at the time can be more useful than a confident but vague memory.

This does not mean note-taking is a medical memory treatment or that it guarantees recall. It is simply a practical way to leave yourself better clues.

Make a minimum useful wine note

Begin with the facts that answer: What was this wine?

• Producer or brand
• Wine or label name
• Vintage, where shown
• Grape variety or blend, where shown
• Region or geographical indication (GI), where shown
• Venue or setting
• Date, or an approximate date
• A label, menu or wine-list photo, where practical

Australian wine labels do not all display the same information. A label may identify a grape variety, a blend, a region, a broader origin statement or another product description. Vintage, variety and origin claims are not universal requirements, so use “where shown” rather than assuming every bottle will provide every field.

A region or variety is a useful clue, not a promise of a particular flavour or quality. Likewise, do not assume that a town named on a label is the legal GI, or that a producer’s address tells you exactly where the grapes were grown.

Add the reason you liked it

Identification tells you what the wine was. Preference notes explain why you would want to find it again.

Use ordinary language:

• “Crisp and refreshing.”
• “Rich, but not heavy.”
• “Savoury rather than sweet.”
• “Soft tannins and good with lamb.”
• “Loved the spicy fruit; found the oak distracting.”
• “Best with food, less appealing on its own.”

You do not need formal tasting vocabulary. If you want more structure, you can optionally note sweetness, acidity, tannin, body, oak, texture or finish. These are prompts, not a test.

A personal reaction is different from a professional tasting note. “I liked this because it was fresh with seafood” is a useful record, even if it does not describe the wine in technical terms. A score can be included if you find it helpful, but no rating scale is objectively correct, and a high score cannot guarantee that you will enjoy the wine in every future setting.

Use a simple before, during and after routine

Before the first sip

Open a note on your phone or take out your notebook. Photograph the front and back labels if that is practical and permitted. In a restaurant, record the wine-list entry instead.

Add the date, venue and occasion. At a cellar door or tasting, number wines in the order you taste them so your notes do not become confused.

While drinking

Write one or two immediate impressions. Start with words you already use: light, full, dry, sweet, juicy, floral, spicy, smooth, sharp or oaky.

Note the food if it changes your view of the wine. You might enjoy a fuller red with a slow-cooked dish but find it too weighty without food. That is useful context, not a contradiction.

You do not need to finish a glass to complete a note. Recording a wine is a learning tool, not a reason to drink more.

Afterwards

Add a final verdict in your own terms:

• Seek it out again
• Good for a particular meal
• Interesting, but not for me
• Enjoyed it at the venue; unsure how it would travel
• Need more information before deciding

Then check for missing spellings or fields. If you photographed the label, type the producer and wine name into the note title or first line so you can search for it later.

When there is no bottle in front of you

Restaurants, wine bars and tastings often make identification harder. A menu or wine list may provide the producer, name, vintage and region but omit the variety or blend. It may also change after your visit.

A receipt can confirm where and when you bought something, but it may contain only an abbreviated name or product code. Venue staff may be able to help later, though their records and availability vary.

Treat these sources as leads to cross-check, not complete proof. A producer’s website or retailer listing may help confirm spelling and identity, but its descriptions are not a replacement for your own reaction. Write “possibly” or “uncertain” rather than guessing when a detail is unclear.

Choose a system you will actually maintain

Phone note

Fast, searchable and convenient for photographs. Use a consistent title such as:

Producer — Wine name — Vintage — Venue

Spreadsheet

Useful if you enjoy sorting by variety, region, date, food or “seek again” status. It is less convenient during a busy dinner.

Notebook

Flexible and enjoyable to use, particularly at tastings. It is harder to search and back up, so photographs or occasional transcription may help.

Dedicated app

An app may combine photographs, fields and search, but features and commercial terms vary. You do not need one to build a useful record.

A basic system used regularly beats a sophisticated system abandoned after three entries.

Find patterns in your favourites

After recording a few wines, search for repeated words and situations. You may discover that you often prefer:

• Lighter reds with noticeable acidity
• Aromatic whites served cold
• Richer wines with slow-cooked food
• Less obvious oak
• Dry, savoury styles rather than sweet-tasting fruit

These are personal patterns, not permanent rules. Mood, food, temperature, company and occasion all influence enjoyment. The purpose of your notes is to make future choices more informed—not to turn your preferences into a scorecard.

A reusable wine-note template

Copy this into your phone:

Producer:
Wine name:
Vintage, if shown:
Variety or blend, if shown:
Region/GI, if shown:
Where and when:
Food or occasion:
What I noticed:
What I liked:
Would I seek it out again? Why?
Label, menu or receipt photo:

Frequently asked questions

Is a photograph of the label enough?

It may preserve useful information, but a photograph is not always searchable, complete or clear. Pair it with typed details and your personal reaction.

Do I need to know wine vocabulary?

No. Plain language is enough. Terms such as acidity, tannin and body can help you compare wines, but they are optional prompts.

Should I give every wine a score?

Only if scoring helps you. A sentence about what you liked and the occasion may be more useful than a number, and no scoring system is universally correct.

What if I cannot remember the vintage?

Leave it blank or write “not recorded”. Do not invent it. Vintage is useful where shown, but it is not displayed on every label.

Is remembering a wine the same as judging it professionally?

No. Your record is designed to identify the wine and recall your enjoyment. Professional tasting systems aim for more consistent, structured description. You can learn from those systems without needing to use them completely.

Can note-taking make drinking safer?

Note-taking is for learning and recall, not safety or improved alcohol tolerance. Australian Government guidance says alcohol is never completely risk-free and that less alcohol means lower risk.