How to Choose Wine (Without Overthinking It)

How to Choose Wine (Without Overthinking It)

A simple guide to picking wine you’ll actually enjoy. 

Choosing wine doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating. But when you’re standing in a supermarket or wine shop, faced with row after row of bottles, it can suddenly feel overwhelming.

It’s often enough to make you stick to the same familiar bottle every time – hello, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. But if you never branch out, you’re unlikely to find anything new you love.

The good news? You don’t need to be a wine expert to find wines you’ll enjoy. You just need to have a sense of what you like to drink, the situation you’re drinking in, and how much you want to spend.

What do you actually want to drink?

It’s the question every indecisive person dreads. “I don’t mind, you choose,” they say. I’m guilty of saying this too – mostly because, a lot of the time, I genuinely don’t mind. Sometimes, you really don’t mind that much. Or, you trust the person you’re with to pick something you’ll enjoy. But sometimes, you do want to choose – you just don’t know where to start.

So, let’s make it simple. Start by asking yourself: what do I like? Think about the wines you normally drink and enjoy. Do you like something light and fresh? Something smooth and easy to drink? Or something richer and more full-bodied?

If you usually drink a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you probably enjoy wines that are crisp, fresh, and zesty. That’s your starting point. From there, you can branch out into similar styles, rather than trying something completely different and risking disappointment.

My tip: make small swaps at first. If you usually drink French Merlot, try a Californian Merlot (like Dark Horse) or a Chilean Merlot. Low risk, potential high reward.

Think in situ: when and where are you drinking the wine? 

If you’re drinking on your own, or just having something casual, you’ll probably want something light, easy, and refreshing – something you don’t have to think about too much. Light reds, dry rosé, and balanced white wines tend to work well here.

If you’re drinking with food, it helps to choose something with a bit more structure. You want a wine that sits alongside what you’re eating, rather than disappearing or overpowering it.

As a general rule, lighter dishes (salads, seafood) work well with fresher, more acidic wines, while richer food (red meat, heavier sauces) tends to suit fuller-bodied styles.

If you’re choosing for a group, it’s usually safest to go for something balanced and crowd-pleasing. Wines that sit somewhere in the middle tend to work better than anything too bold or too delicate. Unless your friends are really into wine, this probably isn’t the moment for anything too earthy or experimental. They can be great, but they’re not always an easy sell.

Even the weather plays a part. In colder months, you might find yourself reaching for something fuller and more warming; in warmer weather, something lighter or even slightly chilled tends to feel more appealing.

What’s your budget? £10 winners, or blow-the-budget bottles?

And now for the reality. Of course, I’d love to be drinking fancy Champagne every time I open a bottle of sparkling wine. But my budget? It’s not quite keeping up with that.

Most of the time, I won’t spend more than about £15 on a bottle at the supermarket – unless it’s something special, like a really good bottle of sparkling wine, or a treat like a Châteauneuf-du-Pape(though I tend to reach for its more approachable sibling, Côtes du Rhône).

At the lower end, around £6–£10, you’ll find plenty of bargains, but they can be a bit inconsistent. I’ve rounded up some of my go-to bottles in my guide to wines under £10 if you want a few reliable starting points.

If you’ve got a bit more to spend, the £10–£15 range is where things start to feel more consistent – and often more interesting. This is where you’ll usually find a bit more reliability, both in quality and in style. I’ve put together a guide to wines under £15 if you want to explore that bracket in more detail.

Supermarkets are great for convenience, but I’ve found some of the most interesting bottles tend to come from independent wine shops, where the range is often more considered. You’ll notice that once you go above £10, you’re not just paying for the wine itself, but also for things like quality control, more careful winemaking, and often, a bit more character in the glass.

That said, don’t feel like you have to spend more to drink well. Some of my favourite wines sit comfortably in that £10–£15 range – and occasionally, you’ll still find something brilliant for less.

The point is to enjoy it

At the end of the day, wine isn’t something you need to master – it’s something you get to enjoy. There’s no pressure to get it right every time. I know what wine I like, and I still make the occasional wrong purchase. It happens.

The key is this: by thinking about what you like, the situation you’re drinking in, and your budget, you’re already most of the way to choosing a great bottle you’ll actually enjoy. And that’s really the point. You don’t need to know everything about wine. Just start with what you like.

A good place to start

If you’re not sure where to begin, start here.