Reading a wine list
Where the good value hides, and what the order of the list is telling you.
Coming soon
Lesson of the week
Why Riesling smells like a gas station (in a good way)
7 min · Level 1 · Coming soon
Free wine school · 21+
Read the list.
Order with
a straight face.
Grapeling teaches wine the way sommeliers learn it, one short lesson at a time. No snobbery, no sales pitch.
See the first lessonsThe list arrives.
140 wines. No pressure.
The server is waiting.
Wine List
An example list · marked up by Grapeling
White & sparkling
- Champagne Brut NV$118
- Chablis 2022$84
- Mosel Riesling Kabinett 2022$58Best valueHalf the price of the Chablis, twice the fun.
- Sancerre 2023$92
Red
- Côtes du Rhône 2021$46Safest for your tasteYou like juicy reds. This is juicy.
- Rioja Crianza 2019$62
- Etna Rosso 2021$64The brave pickVolcano wine. Ask for it like you knew.
- Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020$240SkipYou are paying for the font.
This is what the wine list scanner will do: snap the list, get three picks and one line on why. Coming soon.
Level 1 · Free
The first lessons
Riesling, decoded
The grape sommeliers argue about most and order for themselves.
Coming soon
How to taste
Look, swirl, smell, sip. Then the part nobody explains: what to write down.
Coming soon
Every bottle has a map
Why the same grape tastes different two valleys apart.
Coming soon
When to open it
Drinking windows, and why most wine is ready the day you buy it.
Coming soonA peek at lesson 2 · Grapes
Riesling
Germany, Alsace, Austria, and anywhere cool enough to keep it sharp
- Body
- Acidity
- Sweetness, bone dry to sweet
- Alcohol, often on the low side
High acid, often low alcohol, and the good ones keep for decades. Every lesson ends with a tasting task, and every tasting task has a version without alcohol.
The tools
For the table, the shelf and your own taste.
Cellar
Every bottle you own, what it is worth to you, and when it is at its best. Grapeling tells you which ones to open this year.
Too earlyIn its primePast peak
Tasting journal
Fixed scales instead of a blank page. Every note you log sharpens your taste profile.
Wine list scanner
Best value, safest for your taste, and the brave pick. It says "not sure" when it is not sure.
The course
From "what is Riesling" to the level sommeliers study for, in short lessons. No exams, no titles, no promises we cannot keep.
Meet your guide
"I have been around for a few hundred harvests. I still spit."
Grapeling hosts the lessons and the YouTube series: dry, a little opinionated, never snobbish. New episodes every week once the channel opens.
In the works
Articles
Plain answers to the questions people actually search
Each one links to a lesson, lists its sources, and has a "report an error" button.
Gear and books
Glasses, decanters, a few good books
We may earn a small commission on gear and books. Never on wine.
On YouTube
A weekly episode with a story and one tasting task
Every episode ends with a free cheat sheet here.