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Wine Made Easy: A Modern Approach

Full Bucket of white grapes for harvest

 

Wine Made Easy: A Modern Approach

Seen as an intricate world steeped in tradition, full of Old-world techniques, centuries-old vineyards, and complex tasting notes.

However, modern sommeliers, digital platforms, and fresh ways of thinking have made it easier than ever to enter the wine world without feeling overwhelmed.

learn wine with wine tasting at food and wine

If you’re interested in curating a personal wine collection, building a wine cave at home, or simply discovering new wines through innovative apps and wine clubs, here’s how to embrace wine with a fresh, accessible perspective.

Sommeliers and Influencers: Making Wine More Approachable

Wine education and the voices shaping it are more relatable than ever. New sommeliers and wine influencers focus on demystifying the world of wine.

They offer tips that cater to beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.

  • Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly is one of the most popular voices in wine education today. With a simple, visual approach to explaining regions, grape varieties, and food pairings, her platform helps novices feel comfortable exploring without the pressure of overwhelming jargon.
  • Explainer Girl on YouTube has created an accessible and fun channel to break down complex wine topics in digestible, entertaining videos. The content explores everything from tasting to understanding potential, making it easy for anyone to jump in.
  • Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein has been focusing on making wine education less elitist, offering courses online that cater to both the casual drinker and those looking to invest or enhance their knowledge. His approachable online classes and books offer a step-by-step guide to tasting, appreciating, and investing.

2. Wine Investment: Starting with the Basics

Many people shy away from investing in wine due to the misconception that it requires deep expertise. However, with the right resources and a little guidance, wine investment can be both fun and rewarding.

Wine Investment Apps

Several apps have made it easier for beginners to invest in wine without breaking the bank. These apps not only help you discover wines but also track the value of bottles as they mature.

  • Vinovest: Users can start a wine investment portfolio without needing specialized knowledge. Vinovest sources wines based on your preferences and lets you track your investment over time. It’s an easy way for newcomers to learn about wine investment while taking a hands-off approach.
  • WineBid: An auction platform where individuals bid on wines from across the world. WineBid’s marketplace includes wines that have the potential to appreciate in value, giving both casual drinkers and serious collectors an opportunity to buy and sell wines.

Choosing Wines for Investment

When starting a collection, focus on varietals or regions with strong reputations for aging, such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Napa Valley. Wines with great vintage years often hold value, and platforms like Vinovest help you make more informed decisions.

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Click for Free Download from Cult Wine for 2025

3. Building a Wine Cave at Home

A wine cave is a perfect way to store and display your wine collection while also enhancing your home’s aesthetic. Modern wine cellars don’t need to resemble something from an ancient French château. Many options now feature minimalist, contemporary designs.

Barrels in Wine Cave

Home Wine Cellar Ideas

If you’re starting from scratch, creating a wine cave or cellar doesn’t require a vast space or a huge budget. A climate-controlled wine fridge is a perfect solution for smaller spaces, while dedicated wine rooms can be custom-built if you have the space.

  • Cave Direct: This company offers a wide range of wine storage solutions, from racks to fully integrated home wine cellars. Their modern designs focus on ease of access and preservation, making your wine collection both beautiful and functional.
  • DIY Wine Cellars: If you’re handy, there are plenty of step-by-step guides and resources for building a small wine cellar at home. Platforms like HomeAdvisor or Pinterest offer hundreds of ideas for transforming basements, closets, or extra rooms into perfect wine storage spaces.

Video tutorials from platforms like YouTube also give DIYers the ability to watch and follow along with the process, ensuring a personalized touch to your wine storage.

4. Starting a Wine Club: Explore with Friends

A wine club is a great way to build your collection while enjoying the camaraderie of friends and fellow wine enthusiasts. The new wave of wine clubs focuses on discovery, tasting, and social experiences.

Virtual Tasting Clubs

If you’re looking to sample new wines without leaving home, curated experiences are available.

Many online platforms now offer wine subscription services, such as Winc or The Original Wine Club, which send you hand-selected wines based on your tastes. You can then join virtual tastings and discuss the wines with experts or fellow subscribers.

  • VinoShare offers virtual tasting experiences where users can gather online to enjoy the same bottle of wine and discuss it with a sommelier or expert. This is a great way to learn while enjoying the communal experience of tasting.
  • Virtual Pairings with Cooking: Take your experience to the next level by pairing with meals. Platforms like MasterClass offer online cooking classes that focus on wine pairings, led by renowned chefs and sommeliers. Cooking classes combined with tastings bring a fun and educational aspect to your tasting experience.

5. Learning Platforms: Expanding Your Knowledge from the Comfort of Home

The internet has made it easier than ever to educate yourself, whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to deepen your knowledge.

  • The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) offers internationally recognized wine courses, from beginner to advanced levels. Their online learning platform makes it easy to gain formal certification, which can boost your confidence as a collector or investor.
  • Wine Enthusiast Online Courses: Offering free and paid courses, Wine Enthusiast provides lessons on everything from tasting to starting your own collection. Their Wine 101 course is perfect for beginners.
  • YouTube Channels: Channels like The Swirl, Sip, Repeat and The Wine Show offer free, accessible videos on tasting, pairing, and selection, which will give you an engaging, low-pressure way to learn at your own pace.

Quotes from book on wine

Wine is for Everyone

With apps, influencers, sommeliers, and online platforms, the world of wine is accessible, enjoyable, and even profitable. Building your first collection, starting a wine club, or discovering the best wine to pair with your next meal. The key is to make wine an enjoyable experience to remember.

Like Art, Wine is very personal and subjective, and the most important thing is to trust your own taste. Don’t get caught up in the ancient traditions or complicated lingo—just sip, savor, and enjoy!

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Ben Salisbury

Ben Salisbury, Founder and President of Salisbury Creative Group is a consultant, coach, content creator, public speaker, thought leader, subject matter expert, and entrepreneur for the wine and spirits industry.

His expertise in sales and marketing strategy has accumulated over four decades of work with some of the largest adult beverage companies in the world, including Ste Michelle Wine Estates and Constellation Brands.

Ben’s approach is to disrupt the status quo of how wines and spirits are marketed and sold, to challenge outdated practices, and to provide innovative solutions to help wineries and distilleries sell more products.

Ben frequently speaks at industry conferences, creates original content on his blog and YouTube channel, and has contributed articles to Wine Business Monthly.

Visit his website here.

Manuel Urcelay

Manuel has over ten years of experience in international business, in which he has developed a strong expertise in sales, business development, marketing and business strategy across diverse industries and regions, including wine and food. He has advised more than 30 companies on joint business plans, marketing implementations and supply chain management strategies in Asia, USA and Latin America, generating consistent revenue growth for all parties involved.

Manuel has recently completed his MBA at Imperial College Business School, where he expanded his knowledge and skills in innovation, marketing, operations, strategy and leadership. Manuel has made invaluable contributions to Stewart Hill’s Business Strategy and Planning”.

Rick Anderson

Rick is our Edinburgh-based Digital Design consultant, working remotely on everything from branding and label design to web and motion graphics.

Visit his portfolio site here.

Veronica King

Veronica is a Social Media Strategist and Business Consultant based in London.

Andrea Midas

Born in London, based in Spain with over 20 years of experience in Marketing and CRM for business development.

Graduate from LSE London with Branding, Sustainability and research qualifications in UK and Spain.

Bilingual English and Spanish.

Patricia Harvey

Patricia is a former, credit controller and worked for 15 years for one of the UK’s leading financial handling insurance including freight.

She has always had a passion for wine and have been for the past 4 years worked with us learning the wine trade. Pat recently participated in our exhibition at USATT Chicago.

Her role at Stewart Hill is to handle and develop our logistics.

Lucilda Stewart

Managing Director & Founder

Lucilda is the managing director and founder of Stewart-Hill Wines.  She manages general day to day running of the business, as well as key relationships with both key personnel and a dedicated team of consultants.  Lucilda also travels to overseas destinations to meet with distributors, wholesalers and retailers.  She commends the evolution of her wine journey, to her dedicated team of professionals and strong family ties.  The accolades by the US Wine Ratings 2023, which led to silver awards for their Orchida Negra (Crianza), Malbec labels and a silver award for their Rose by London Wine Competition, demonstrates the integrity of their wines and Lucilda’s indomitable will to succeed.

Lucilda studied at the Inns of Court School of Law and graduated from UCL London University in 1992.   She is a former lawyer,  who created her own legal niche company, working as an intermediary in accordance with the Bar Council’s direct public access to barristers scheme.  Her interest in wine, began many years earlier from casual tastings, training culminated in a Department of International Trade visit to Rioja Spain where she commenced discussions with wineries and honing her skills in wine exporting.

In 2014, Lucilda developed her own private label wine brand, working and investing in award winning wineries in Argentina and Spain.  Her dedication over the last 10 years, has led to award-winning varietals for B2B exports.