Advice From Some Noses In the Know

"Don't be afraid of nontraditional wine-growing regions."

"Think about countries such as Uruguay or Mexico. The first thing people think about when they hear 'wine' is France, then maybe Italy and maybe, maybe the United States or Spain. But when you're first getting into wines you're buying a lot and trying a lot, and if people look into regions they're not used to, they can find better values and good wines."

-- Todd Thrasher, sommelier, Restaurant Eve

"Go to a wine shop on Saturday."

"The open tastings are a good opportunity to speak with someone who does wine for a living. Take notes and listen when he describes the wine -- concentration, fruit flavor, tannin, acidity level, etc. -- with a glass in hand and find the flavor he's talking about."

-- Vincent Feraud, sommelier, Maestro

"Smell everything; taste with discretion."

"You never know what aromas you might discover lurking in your wine glass, good and bad; but you can't recognize them -- or understand what a wine writer might mean by 'wet dog' or 'moldy basement' -- unless you're paying attention outside the glass. Before long, you'll be sniffing a peach blossom and thinking, 'Hmmm, Viognier.' "

-- Dave McIntyre, WineLine columnist

"Become an expert one wine at a time."

"When you find a Riesling you love, taste another Riesling, and then another, until you've nailed what it is you love about Riesling. Only then is it time to move on to that hot New Zealand sauvignon blanc you heard about."

-- Washington Post wine critic Ben Giliberti

"Read a little, taste a lot."

-- Mark Slater, sommelier, Citronelle