( a great all-about-Italy resource and English yellow pages directory for all of Italy) and I of course must share on my blog since wine is my non-animate best friend! I am sure my parents love all of the wine-related photos I seem to constantly publish – but hey, its heart-healthy no? (a glass a day keeps the doctor away, I like to say, right I will go ahead and stop rhyming now). So if you can’t go to an enoteca or wine producer yourself to pick up bottles, and let’s get real who has the TIME or MONEY to do that as a young person trying to survive in another country; you probably get your wine at the supermarket, no? (or more likely in my case, the local vino sfuso) The problem is who knows what to pick, why there are 1,000,000 different bottles of Chianti, which is actually good – or fizzy and what’s just crap with a nice label; it can be overwhelming. The tips I got for picking wine out among the many choices came from a fantastic Italian blog http://simodivino.blogspot.it/2012/02/acquistare-vino-al-supermercatoecco.html.

WHERE: The first tip mentioned is regarding where you need to go? Your best bet is to pick up wine where they have the most selection (captain obvious) ie: Coop, Ipercoop, Auchan, Esselunga, Carrefour – all of which have a pretty wide range of wine. What you should avoid are mini-markets and small supermarkets which normally have much less selection and lets ahem say not the best choices and/or storing.top 10 selling wine in india PRICE: Tip number 2 – how much you should expect to pay for a bottle. best wine cooler for homeNeedless to say this cheap girl’s heart was broken when they wrote to avoid any bottle under 5 euros. buy italian wine from italyI know I know, all wine is good in Italy right? wine and beer health

So not true, just think about what it must cost to bottle and transport the wine and you may then start to wonder why some wine is so cheap. Does this mean you need to spend 10 euros or more for a decent bottle? Not at all – think more on the lines of 5-8 euros and you should walk away with something you really will enjoy. best selling white wine in ukAnother alternative for every-day table wine is to go to a vino sfuso where you can funnel wine taken from local agricolas and normally the cost is about 2-4 euros ( My favorite guy is within walking distance from my house – read dangerous).fine wine gift deliveryOften brands have a range of differently priced wines at the supermarket that you can choose from. box of wine qualityI would not assume that the lowest-priced or ‘best deal’ is the right choice.  red wine gift delivery

It can be a big difference from a cheap Chianti from lets say Rufina to a moderately priced version from the same farm. When Esselunga or Coop offer ‘special deals’ on certain bottles, instead of buying 5 at once, go ahead and just get one so you can see if it’s actually GOOD before you come back and pick up some more. the best wine in new zealandIt’s very tempting to get the cheapest version but a difference of even a euro or two really does matter.the best wine of new zealand APPEARANCE: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder? best sweet wine to order at a restaurantThis is pretty interesting and I never really thought about it before but let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute, we really do judge a book by its cover sometimes. dry white wine light

I know I normally would pick up a bottle with the label looking most ‘authentic‘ whatever that means (usually including an old farmhouse). While that can be no guarantee, what you can be assured of is that if a bottle has a cheap laminated bright label –  probably the wine ain’t so good! No fluorescent-color and cheap graphics needs to be on a label. red wine glass phone caseHonestly why not just leave the bottle without a label and add a little tag, trust me people would love it!can you buy wine on a sunday READING THE LABEL: Something I probably personally haven’t done enough but should be pretty obvious – um you have to actually read the label to see what your drinking.  order wine online to canadaLook for words like “frizzante”, “vivace” o “fermo” to see if it’s a fizzy wine, or flat so you don’t end up at home with a glass full of foam (unless you like it!). best red wine with baked ham

A good lambrusco can be a world of difference than a bad one, I actually used to detest it until I finally was converted. Another item to check is what grapes were used since some bottles can be a little sneaky in their wording. Take a look at where the bottle was sourced – you want the wineries to make everything in-house so make sure it say’s “imbottigliato all’origine”. best online store for wine in indiaJust another guarantee against ‘clever’ manufacturers.best wine funds BEST TIP: This makes total sense but was yet another thing I never thought about.  top 100 french wineAvoid the first bottle on the shelf. best white wine for lemon chicken

Most of the bottles sold at supermarkets are medium-to-low priced so the most expensive bottles tend to stay on the shelves for sometimes months. This can mean that the ‘display’ or ‘first’ bottle has been exposed to the blinding light in the supermarket for some time and it really can change the quality of the wine, so just reach in the back and get one of the cooler non-exposed versions. best wine for tasting menuThe last thing you want to do is pick up a bottle at Coop and have it taste funky; best wine of the month club nycespecially if like me, spending more than 5 euros on a bottle is kind of a big deal!best italian wine 2016 Some other things to keep in mindbest travel wine bags