Life is too short to drink bad wine
“Life is too short to drink bad wine,” said Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (worth looking up if you don't know who he is), and I tend to agree with him.
Don’t waste your precious, limited time on this planet drinking the plain old ordinary stuff. Drink something good. Drink something with meaning.
Yes, some wines are pricey (especially if you’ve got shallow pockets), but there are ways around that. And many of the most interesting wines in the world are actually surprisingly affordable. There are real bargains out there — even for the most cash-strapped, penny-pinching student of wine.
This site is about bucket list wine: the great wines of the world that every wine lover should try at least once.
10 Bucket List Wines Every Wine Lover Should Try
If you're new to the idea of bucket list wine, here are ten classic wines that many wine lovers believe everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. These wines represent some of the most famous regions and styles in the world.
- Prestige Cuvee Champagne
- A really good Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir)
- Barolo
- Rioja Gran Reserva
- Sauternes
- Vintage Port
- Madeira
- Chablis
- Mosel Riesling
- Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
These wines are just a starting point. The world of wine is vast, and discovering your own personal bucket list wines is part of the fun.
Len Evans and the Theory of Consumption
The late great connoisseur of wine, Len Evans AO OBE, famously proposed his Theory of Consumption.
The theory suggests that each of us has a limited number of bottles of wine we can drink in our lifetime — and that number will always be far smaller than the number of truly great bottles of wine that exist in the world.
The logical conclusion?
Don’t save the good stuff.
Drink the best wine you can afford whenever the opportunity arises. There simply isn’t enough time in life to drink all the good wine that exists. Saving it for later is often futile.
Evans would cringe when wealthy friends drank cheap, ordinary wine because the occasion “wasn’t special enough”. His view was simple:
Why not make the occasion special by opening the good bottle?
Why you shouldn’t save your best bottles
Early in my wine career I was advised never to bring out one of your “best” bottles that you’ve been saving for years. More often than not you’ll end up disappointed.
The wine might be corked. It might be oxidised. It might be over-developed. Or it might simply not live up to the expectations you’ve built up around it.
And suddenly the special occasion you saved it for feels a little flat.
The better strategy is simple:
Open the special bottle on an ordinary night.
If the wine turns out to be magical, you’ve just turned an ordinary evening into one you’ll remember. And if the wine is corked or disappointing after ten years of cellaring, there’s no great loss.
A world of great wines to discover
Before you grab another bottle of vin ordinaire, stop for a moment and explore some of the best wines in the world recommended on this site.
You might discover a whole new world of wine.
Explore the Bucket List
Start exploring the wines of the world by category:
Each section highlights classic styles, iconic bottles, and wines that belong on every serious wine drinker’s bucket list.