Learn Wine, One Glass at a Time
Somm Scribe is a practical wine education blog designed to help you taste with confidence. From understanding wine labels and regions to learning how flavor, oak, and structure work together, each guide is built to make wine more approachable — one glass at a time.
How to Compare Wines Side by Side: And Learn Faster From Each Glass
One of the reasons wine can feel confusing is that we usually experience it in isolation. You open a bottle, pour a glass, decide whether you like it, and move on. A few days or weeks later, you try another wine and hope you remember how the last one tasted. That’s a tough way to learn. Wine becomes much easier to understand when you taste it in comparison. Side-by-side tasting removes a lot of the guesswork and helps your palate notice differences that are easy to miss when you’re only drinking one wine at a time. You don’t need a formal tasting, special glassware, or expert vocabulary. You just need two wines and a little curiosity.
Why Some Wines Taste Fruity: Even When They Aren’t Sweet
One of the biggest surprises for new wine drinkers is discovering that a wine can taste fruity without actually being sweet. You’ll smell strawberries in a completely dry rosé, ripe peach in a crisp Albariño, or blackberry jam in a Cabernet that has zero sugar in it. So what’s going on? Why do dry wines smell and taste like fruit? The short answer: fruitiness isn’t sweetness. The long answer is what we’ll explore here.
Old World vs New World Wine: What’s the Real Difference?
If you’ve ever heard someone describe a wine as Old World or New World and wondered what that actually means, you’re not alone. These terms get thrown around all the time, but beginners rarely get a clear explanation. This guide breaks the concept down giving you everything you need to feel confident when comparing wines from Europe to wines from places like the U.S., Australia, South America, and beyond.
Wine Body Explained: Light, Medium & Full-Bodied Wines
When people talk about the “body” of a wine, they’re describing something surprisingly simple: how heavy or full the wine feels in your mouth. It’s the easiest wine concept to feel — and one of the hardest for beginners to describe. This guide walks you through what body really means, what affects it, and how to recognize it immediately when you taste.
How to Tell If a Wine Is High Quality: Without Being a Snob
People love to talk about “good wine,” but the truth is… most folks don’t actually know what that means. Does expensive wine always equal high quality? (No.) Can a $12 bottle taste fantastic? (Absolutely.) And do you need formal training to know the difference? Not even close. This guide will walk you through the essentials in a simple, friendly way so you can judge quality confidently, without sounding like you’re auditioning for a sommelier exam.
How to Read a Wine Label: Without Feeling Lost
Wine labels can feel confusing; foreign words, abbreviations, vineyards, regions, alcohol percentages, vintage years… and none of them tell you, in plain English, what the wine actually tastes like. Good news: once you know the key parts of a label, you can instantly understand style, quality, and what to expect in your glass. This guide breaks down the essentials so you can choose wine with confidence.
Pinot Noir vs Merlot: What’s the Difference?
Pinot Noir and Merlot are two of the most widely enjoyed red wines in the world — smooth, approachable, and full of fruit flavor. But they’re also very different in style, structure, and personality. If you’ve ever wondered which one you prefer (or why), this guide breaks down the key differences in an easy, side-by-side format.
What Is a Tasting Note?
When you’re learning about wine, you’ll eventually hear people talk about “tasting notes.” Sometimes they sound poetic, sometimes technical, and sometimes a little over the top — but the idea behind them is actually simple.
Chardonnay: Flavor, Styles & How to Taste It
Chardonnay is one of the most versatile and widely loved white wines in the world. It can be crisp and citrusy, rich and buttery, mineral-driven, tropical, or somewhere in between. If you're exploring Chardonnay or trying to understand what makes it so unique, this guide breaks down the flavors, styles, and tasting cues that help you get the most out of every glass.
Cabernet Sauvignon for Beginners: Flavor, Pairings & How to Taste It
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most popular red wines — bold, structured, and packed with flavor. If you’re new to wine or just dipping your toes into bigger reds, Cabernet is the perfect place to start. This beginner’s guide breaks down what Cabernet tastes like, how to identify its aromas, what foods it pairs best with, and how to taste it properly.