In my circle, wine is not the first drink college students reach for. Seemingly most students who enjoy drinking do so not necessarily for a drink’s flavor profile, but to get buzzed as fast as possible. However, as students transition into employees, I’m seeing wine becoming a beverage of choice as it holds a different connotation than beer or liquor.

Wine is considered to be a fancier, upscale drink; to some, ordering wine can be confusing. With varying colors, vintages, locations of origin, balance, fullness and sweetness in each glass, ordering wine for beginners can be closer to a guessing game than an actual science. To break it down, I asked a host of vintners and vendors at the Taste of Santa Barbara for advice on how to help beginners find that perfect wine.

Step 1: DO YOUR HOMEWORK

“It doesn’t cost that much money to educate yourself. And the amount of time that you put into it is what you’re gonna get out of it.” - Chef Alex Bollinger of El Encanto

As the “tech savvy generation” we have a plethora of information at our fingertips, it really is just a matter of curiosity. The basics of wine is that there are four categories: white, red, rose and sparkling, but this knowledge will only get you so far. Some things that Chef Bollinger recommends we look at are “the laws of each different country, what kind of grapes can grow where, what percentage of a certain grape can be in certain varietals as well as how the naming system of wines works.” YouTube or other media that teaches about wine can help you understand that a location of origin and a name offer a lot of information about a wine’s sweetness, color and general profile.

Step 1.5: Memorize some general flavor profiles and see how location impacts flavor

Riley Wathenslack of Foxen Vineyard and Winery used the term terroir—a French term used to describe the soil, climate and impact a region has on wine grapes—when describing the flavor of wine, because the wine’s environment can change the flavor of it. Wathenslack also shared a couple rules of thumb when considering wines from Santa Barbara. “Sauvignon Blanc tends to have more kind of bright citrus notes,” she says “Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County can give you kind of nice bright red fruits like a lot of strawberry. Whereas from Western Santa Barbara County and Santa Rita hills, you get much more kind of dark plum, and like blackberry flavors.” Essentially, she is saying that while you can expect a certain taste from a wine, you can get differentiation because of where the wine was grown.

However, something that I learned this weekend is how unique a region Santa Barbara is when it comes to wine. “Santa Barbara both suffers and is also celebrated as being the most diverse wine region in the world. In a 30-mile corridor, we grow 72 different wine grapes,” said Wes Hagen of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association. “And it requires the people who visit us to really strive to experiment and taste all the different wines that we have because we have a style of wine for everyone. We are a cool-climate wine grape region that’s defined by these east-west transverse valleys that bring in the ocean breezes. So we have a perfect niche for every wine grape grown in Europe. So we’re kind of like Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, all the great wine regions of Europe, all combined in one little region.”

This is all to say that if you would like to try a certain country’s wine, after doing your research of course, but at a college price, looking for a wine grown in a specific part of Santa Barbara County that matches the climate of the respective region can be very helpful. However, just because you’ve done your research does not mean that you are an immediate expert. Trying the wines and finding your personal preferences is an even bigger challenge.

Step 2: DON’T BE SHY ABOUT ASKING FOR HELP

“Ask your friends, ask the sommelier or the wine store what they’re enjoying right now.” - Stacie Jacob, Taste of Santa Barbara Events Director

Something Hagen said helps younger people get into drinking wine is, “starting sweet and finishing dry.” New wine drinkers might not appreciate especially dry wine due to how abrasive the flavors might seem. Hagen suggests starting with sweeter wines, such as a white zinfandel, brachetto or riesling. In addition, many wines that are sold at Trader Joe’s or Target will have labels describing their sweetness.

Going to a brick and mortar wine store means that you will likely be helped by people who are very qualified to tell you about wine flavors. Armed with the knowledge of the three aforementioned “starter wines,” try looking for a bottle of something sweet. It’s helpful to describe what you’ve tried and liked, whether it’s sweet or dry, crisp and light, or high or low in alcohol content, big and full bodied or grown in a very specific region.

Consulting with your friends or fellow new wine drinkers is also a great way to take a step into adulthood. Finding a group of people with a similar interests and budget means casting a wider net for sharing new discoveries.

Step 3: DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE

“Finding wines that you like, means that you will grow into liking the more austere, structured acidic wines.” - Frank Ostini of Hitching Post Wines

You do not have to like every wine you drink, or even enjoy it on the first time. The first wine you buy should be basic, because a complex wine can be very hard to enjoy for beginners. However, always getting a wine that you enjoy can be difficult when you are starting out; so one way to enjoy a robust wine is with food.

Frank Ostini, a pioneer in the Santa Barbara wine industry for the past 40 years, noted that “enjoying wine is a learned hobby that can take a long time.” It is a medium that requires patience and experimentation, but the reward is worth the effort. He is excited about the next generation of wine drinkers, and eager to see how they shape the future of the industry.

“You might as well start young because one of the finest things is enjoying food and wine together. And that, of course, opens you up to having friends and people and enjoying life. Because that’s what it’s about,” said Ostini.

Wine can symbolize a coming of age, and eventually with age comes refined taste.”The more expensive wines get more complex,” Ostini says “The best wines I’ve ever had, you really don’t even have to put them in your mouth. You put small amounts in your mouth and you can taste them forever. And the smells are exotic. And that’s why they’re so expensive, because you can enjoy such small amounts of them.”

Once you graduate to the fine wine category, enjoying wine can become a communal activity. This experience gives you the opportunity to share one of life’s luxuries with someone else and watch as your tastes mature together. Liking expensive, dry wine might not be an immediate thing; but it can be very rewarding over time.

Step 4: ENJOY THE LEARNING CURVE

“Experiment and give yourself a chance to be wrong”- Wes Hagen of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association

This is where the fun part comes in. Drinking a reasonable amount of wine over an extended time period can expose you to so many different flavors. I’ve found this experimentation has taught me what I do and do not like to drink. “Give yourself a chance to be right,” Hagen said. “Get with a group of people that are also learning about wine. And once a month, everybody gets in a room together, everyone brings a wine according to a theme, white wines under 20 bucks, red wines under 20 bucks, etc. and everyone tastes it and makes their comments on it.”

As we transition into adulthood, enjoying wine should be done with community in mind. Developing and trusting our palates only comes from experience. As new techniques develop and old ones continue, it is up to us to decide what we prefer and what we don’t. We have a lifetime to learn about wine, but there is no better time than the present to get started.