What wine should you choose if you know nothing about wine?

How many times have you wanted to bring a bottle of wine to a lunch, dinner, or meeting and not known which one to choose?

You find yourself facing a shelf full of options: white wines, reds, rosés, sparkling wines, bottles with eye-catching designs and others with a more classic look. And the more you look, the harder it seems to decide.

Then the key question arises: What wine should you choose if you know nothing about wine? The answer is simpler than you think.

The good news is that you don't need to be an expert to choose a good bottle. You just need to consider a few basics, such as the occasion, the people you'll be sharing it with, and your own personal preferences.

In this article we help you choose a wine without complications.

According to the pairing:

If you know nothing about wine, you can rely on pairings and choose according to the type of dishes that will be served at your gathering. Here are some pairings that work well:

These are general combinations that work, but here's a slightly more detailed pairing chart:

Source: Lacrima Terrae (2025).

If I want a wine that everyone (or almost everyone) will like:

You can choose to pick a "wild card" wine that goes with all dishes.

These “wild cards” are the sparkling wines and the generous which pair very well with all dishes. Sparkling wines or frizzante wines also fit into this category.

We recommend our foam FlorestelA safe bet, refreshing and low in alcohol. Or our Tachin, which is a sparkling wine.

We can also step outside the norm a bit and opt for a semi-sweet fortified wine, a choice that is sure to surprise more than one person.

For example, our Pajarete Take offIt's the star of all our tastings. All our customers arrive saying they don't like sweet wine, until they try Pajarete and are completely delighted.

We invite you to try it too 🙂

If I want to surprise:

If you like stepping out of your comfort zoneLeaving aside white and red wine for a moment, we suggest you surprise them with a fortified wine or a naturally sweet wine, which are sweet but with less alcohol and a less "cloying" sensation.

Our BIBIR It's definitely a choice that always wins over all diners. Because it pairs well with both sweet and savory dishes.

It is a naturally sweet wine, made from sun-dried Moscatel Morisco grapes, with about 13% alcohol. (The same as a red wine, for example.)

These are unique wines that surprise with their aromas, notes, and distinctive flavor. We suggest bringing them to a meal, and we guarantee you won't be disappointed.

BIBIR + Pairing

In summary:

There are many varieties of grapes, types of wine, ways of making it, and so much information can be confusing when you're faced with the question of... What wine should I choose if I know nothing about wine? With these recommendations, we assure you it will be less complicated.

But always keep in mind that, if you're looking for an option that everyone will like, it's best to go for simpler, younger wines, with little aging and made with grapes with mild profiles.

Now you can bring wine to the table without any nerves!

Cheers always with Quitapenas!

If you want to learn more about wine, we look forward to seeing you at our Guided tours + tastingwhich you can reserve here.

Various Questions

How can I tell if a wine has acidity?

Ask yourself this question: Does wine make you salivate?

What other varieties of white grapes are there besides Verdejo grapes?

Some varieties of white grapes are: Albariño, Godello, Chardonnay, Riesling, Moscatel, Suavignon Blanc, among others.

What does "with the presence of tannins" refer to?

This applies to red wines. A helpful clue is to identify if the wine dries out your mouth, by noticing that dryness and bitterness when you swallow.