FoodieGuide2019 - v3 - FINAL_SJM Feature 1 / 31 / 19 12 : 14 PM Page 4 how to become about vintage can be huge . Little pocket guides can inform you ? ? about certain years and other notable factors such as how the A BETTER weather may have affected the wine during that growing season . E S TAT E W I N E S WINE EXPERT When looking for a truly great bottle of wine , it doesn’t necessarily need to cost an arm and a leg , but it should be produced in small batches . “ If the wine is in every liquor store or if you see an ad for it in a magazine , you don’t buy it , ” Moore says , citing the adjuncts placed by many large winemakers . “ If a reasonably informed person had the choice of a jar of handmade marinara sauce from a woman any people love nothing more than a glass of wine with in Abruzzi or a jar of Ragu , they’d choose the former because it dinner or perhaps as they decompress from a long day at would be a much better experience . ” Katsikis calls these artisan bot - the office , but not everyone enjoys wine in the tles special because of the care and attention to detail put same way . For every one of us who feel into their production . “ The fruit is sourced from M no shame drinking a glass of white the estate , vinified on the estate and it is bottled poured from a box in the fridge , there is on the estate ; it’s a one - stop shop . They are not someone who would easily spend $ 1,000 on a sourcing grapes from here and there and coveted vintage . Indeed , to know wine is to blending them , ” he says . Because these wines love wine , but with so much ground to cover are not overly produced , the consistent quality in between , trying to become well - versed in is overwhelmingly evident . the culture isn’t that easy . David Moore , co - founder of Moore A G O O D Y E A R Brothers Wine Company in Pennsauken , Whether you have a mini wine fridge or a choose has been buying and selling wines for full - blown cellar , storing and aging wine is more than four decades along with his a must with certain bottles as they will only the food . . . brother Greg and they have a saying they become more complex and enhanced . “ The like to incorporate whenever someone thing that people will start to realize when asks them how they can become a more they get into wine is how wonderful it is before you . . . seasoned oenophile : “ Wine’s a simple plea - when it ages , ” Pavlis says . “ There are wines sure and a really complicated subject . ” that with time reach a whole other level of choose the wine . So how can you become better educated enjoyment . [ For instance ] I’ll never drink a without coming across as a total wine snob ? Bourdeaux before it’s 10 years old . ” We spoke with some local authorities in the matter to gain an increased understanding on T H E P E R F E C T M AT C H Fine food and fine wine are nearly synonymous , some of the little things you can do to enhance but not everyone grasps how to properly pair the two . your knowledge . Their advice may not make you “ The mistake people make is choosing the wine before an overnight sommelier , but following these tips can they choose the food , ” says Katsikis , who suggests thinking take you from novice to knowledgeable in no time . about what dish you are eating and what flavor profiles of wine will help elevate the experience , such as pairing a white wine with F O R S TA RT E R S Before you can fully wrap your head around wine , you have to shellfish or a red with lamb . “ People will say , I only drink white or study the benchmarks that producers try to emulate . For example , I only drink red and that there are no rules , drink what you want , no matter where in the world a bottle of Riesling is made , the bench - but I don’t get along with that , ” Pavlis says . “ If you have a cabernet mark is Germany . “ It took me 20 years to realize this , ” says Gary with lobster it’s going to taste like cardboard . ” Pavlis , a Rutgers University professor and certified wine judge . “ Everyone that wants to learn about wines should start with the R A I S E A G L A S S benchmark . ” This allows you to get a foundation of taste and flavor If you want to become a better wine expert you’ll have to drink more profile so that when you sample a variety that is different from the of it . “ The only way to expand your knowledge is to drink as much benchmark , you can identify the nuances more easily and help give variety as you can , ” says Moore . “ One of the things you’ll learn over yourself a better sense of wine from a worldwide perspective . time is how to identify good farming , just by tasting the wine and that can only happen when you drink [ lots of it ] . ” For Pavlis , experi - menting is part of the fun . “ You’ll never be a total wine expert , you’ll R E A D T H E L A B E L never know everything and that is the best part , ” he says . Katsikis “ Understanding a wine label is huge , ” says George Katsikis , gen - sums it up by saying no matter how well - versed he is in eral manager of Caffe Aldo Lamberti in Cherry Hill . “ Cali - the subject , everyone’s palate is different and wine - fornia calls their wines by the grape , France by the region . making is a constant evolution . … You have to understand what are you are “ We learn every day . ” drinking . ” Also , knowing a thing or two S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E ? V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 1 1 ? S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E . C O M ? 4 7