Beer, Bubbles, or Bourbon? The Wine Selector Guide You Didn’t Know You Needed (Until Now)

Feeling overwhelmed by complicated wine lists and want nothing more than your own personal wine selector? Defaulting to cocktails, beers, or seltzers because wine just never seems “right” for your palate? If wine shopping feels as tricky as assembling furniture without instructions, this episode of Everyday Sommelier is for you. Host Kristi Mayfield breaks down the confusion and helps you bridge the gap from your favorite familiar drinks—be that IPAs, margaritas, or citrusy seltzers—right into your perfect glass of wine.

Forget the pressure of loving bold Cabernets or oaky Chardonnays. Instead, leverage the flavors you already love. Kristi dives deep into translating your go-to drinks (from sparkling seltzers to craft beers and classic cocktails) into approachable wines you’ll actually enjoy. Discover the best wine recommendations for seltzer lovers, beer aficionados, and cocktail enthusiasts and learn why your taste preferences matter more than tradition.

Kristi also shares how to avoid rookie wine mistakes, the power of shopping for wine by flavor and texture (not just by label), and why wine in cans might be the best low-risk way to start your journey. Skip wine snobbery and say yes to finding a wine that finally fits your taste.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:
• How to map your favorite cocktails, beers, or seltzers to wines you’re guaranteed to love
• The key mistakes beginners make with wine—and how to avoid them
• Easy pro tips for shopping confidently at any wine store
• Why enjoying wine is about your preferences, not following rules or “developing a taste”

TIMESTAMPS & KEY MESSAGE TITLES

00:00 – Why Picking the Right Wine Feels Overwhelming (and What You Can Do About It)
04:46 – Seltzer Lover? Here Are the Wines That Match Those Flavors
09:27 – Beer Fan? These Wines Speak Your Flavor Language
13:00 – Love Cocktails? Find Wines That Mirror Your Favorite Drinks
18:18 – Canned Wine Revolution: The Low-Risk Way to Expand Your Palate
19:58 – Ditch Wine Snobbery & Start With What You Love

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Transcript

Kristi Mayfield (00:00)

Are you guilty? Do you default to what's familiar? Your go-to cocktail, a beer, a sparkling seltzer, whenever you find yourself staring blankly at a wine list, a wine aisle, thinking, why is this just so hard? I want to like wine, but nothing I've tried hits right. But what if the problem isn't you? It's the wine you've been trying.

Wine is not a one size fits all drink. It's so diverse, massively diverse, and the right match often depends on what you're already enjoying. You've been there. You wanted to give up on wine way too early because you start with a wine you simply didn't like. Maybe it was something too bold or it was too dry or even too sweet or just too different from what you were used to.

Well, you are in luck. Today we're going to change all of that and you're going to walk away with a whole new way to explore wines by simply leveraging the drinks you already love and enjoy. So stay tuned.

In episode 29 with Guillaume Maugeais we went inside the barrel and Guillaume shared a really interesting tidbit about American wine history, the origin of the cocktail culture, which gave rise to big packed with a punch red wines and uber uber rich and creamy overly oaky buttery chardonnays. And these styles were driven by the cocktail.

cocktails that Americans craved during the late 70s through the early 90s. Now the surprising part to me is that today's cocktail culture really isn't that different and driving trends. However, it leaves many listeners, including you possibly, confused as to how to translate your favorite everyday beverage into a wine you'll love and enjoy. And it's totally understandable.

But the good news is that is exactly what I'm going to break down for you in this episode. The struggle is real. Wine can feel intimidating in social settings, whether that's looking at a wine list at a dinner or at a party where everyone's sipping wine and you don't know which one to order, networking events, corporate gifting, taking a hostess gift even. It is

overwhelming and when you go shop for a wine whether it's at a local grocery store or your local wine shop the hundreds of bottles on the shelves with all of those pretty yet confusing labels makes it even worse and the emotional toll it takes on you it can leave you feeling uncultured even embarrassed you're not alone in thinking

that it is simply easier to grab a beer, grab a pack of seltzers, or order a gin and tonic. Any drink that doesn't require massive meltdown of your brain matter. And because wine is so complex, there aren't any cliff note instructions.

It's really more like reading an Ikea installation manual

As a result, you're likely to make one of these common mistakes. You're going to start with a wine that's too dry or too tannic or too complex. a big, bold Napa Valley Cabernet or an oaky Chardonnay. You might believe that wine has to be dry or serious to be worth drinking, especially if it's expensive

or you may be thinking you have to acquire a taste for it and you don't. Most importantly, if you're not realizing wine like any other beverage can mirror your current favorite tastes and flavor profiles, you can miss the boat. Now, are you ready to stop feeling

alienated. Why do other people love wine and I don't? Confused. There are so many options. I don't know where to begin. Or defeated. Maybe wine just isn't for you. let's reframe your wine journey. Not as a leap into the unknown, but as a natural progression and natural step.

from what you already love. Now in order to do this, we're gonna hit on a few of the most popular drinks and I'm going to share with you how you can take your favorites of those and translate them directly into an amazing wine choice. Let's start off with seltzers. I mean, they're everywhere. And because with all the different styles and all the different flavors, you're bound to find the perfect wine.

for exactly the type of seltzer you prefer. Are you one who loves citrusy, lemon, lime, grapefruit, yuzu, all of those different options? If that's you, you love drinks that are sharp and zippy and mouthwatering. Here's a few wines that are going to fit exactly into your style. Sauvignon Blanc, especially from New Zealand with its grapefruit and lime and fresh greeny grassiness or Albariño

particularly from Spain. It's got that lemon, lime, zest and green tropical melons. And it is highly mineral, which is going to give you that lovely salinity and very closely match the feeling of that seltzer when you take a sip. If you happen to be a berry lover, you like the strawberries, the raspberries, the blackberries, you're going to love more fruit.

forward wines. Here's a few to try. Rosé. mean, rosé is red berries, watermelon, and strawberry all packed in a bowl with a dry finish. Most of them are not sweet with exception of white zinfandils. If you like red styles, lambrosco comes in both dry and sweet styles and it is bubbly. It is bursting with berries and better yet because you like your seltzers chilled.

you can chill your Lambrusco. Gamay is another really light red wine that's also super chillable. It's got a lot of cherries and strawberries. So berry loving seltzer people, those are for you. Now let's move on to tropicals. When we're talking about pineapples and mangoes and passion fruits, these are going to have a little bit more complexity. And I like to think of them a little bit more like a tropical potpourri in a bowl.

wines like Torrentes which is from Argentina, Gewurztraminer, often from Alsace but there are some amazing ones coming out of Washington State. These are all tropical and perfumed and exotic. They've got some spice. Or go for a natural wine like a Pet Nat. These are funky. They've got some fizzy bubbles and a lot of times they have the exact same tropical undertones as the seltzers you love.

Now if you're more into kind of those greeny, vegetal cucumbers or mints or herbal type of seltzers, there are wines that are aligned for this type too. Vermentino out of Italy has citrus peels and kind of edgy herbal notes to it. Gruner Veltliner, one of my personal favorites from Austria. It's got zesty peppers and some greeny vegetables and citrusy lime. It's a delight. And another favorite.

Picpoul de Penne from France. This has zesty lemons, but a ton of herbal notes All of these are going to fit right in with those cucumber mint or herbal seltzers. And finally, let's talk about those spices, whether it's ginger or chili or blood orange. If you like these punchy flavors that are a little off the beaten path, go with a Riesling, high acidity and a lot of Petroly spice.

Chenin Blanc, whether it's from Loire Valley in France or South Africa, is going to be super versatile but it also has that zesty spicy undertone. Or go completely off and do orange wines. These are white wines that have been fermented on the skins just like a red wine and that leaves them really savory and having these interesting textures of citrus peels and often sometimes like a little bit of Earl Grey tea.

Super cool, super fun, and those are for the little bit off the beaten path seltzer lovers. So bottom line, if you like seltzers, look for wines that have that natural fizziness like the Pet Nats and the Lambruscos, even a Vino Verde from Portugal. Look for bright acidity, low alcohol, and look for ones that are going to mimic the style and flavors of the seltzers you so love and enjoy. These are going to be perfectly aligned without overwhelming your palate.

Now let's move on to beer. Beer drinkers have some of the most developed palates out there when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Whether you love a crisp lager, a juicy IPA, or a super uber rich stout, there is a wine that is going to speak your flavor language. So because there are a ton of different styles of beer, just like there are tons of different styles of wine,

I'm just going to hit on the top three in this episode, but don't worry. If you go to the show notes, I have a link to my blog on this topic and I'm going to explore a lot more styles of beer for you to find the perfect alignment for the one you love. So let's talk about light lagers or pilsners or Kolsch first. If you like your beer clean and refreshing, super crushable,

sometimes too easy to drink too quickly. An easy sipper on that hot summer day. Here are three wines you're going to love. Prosecco. It is crisp and bubbly and those citrus flavors match that refreshing feel you've looked for in your lagers or piltiners. I've already talked about Gruner, Veltliner and Picpoul Either one of these is going to match perfectly with that style of beer if that's what you choose.

Moving on to hoppy IPAs, whether that's a West Coast IPA or double IPA, I don't even know all the different terms used for IPAs, but you love bold flavors. So you think about grapefruit peels and kind of piney, woodsy or tropical fruit with a little bit of a bitter edge on the back end. Here are the wines for you. A dry Riesling, whether that's Germany or Washington state, these have such

high mouthwatering acidity. They have zesty citrus peel and then that minerality that's going to play exactly like that hoppiness in your IPA. Two other wines, Chenin Blanc, we've already mentioned that but that's got the citrus, the herbs, the apple notes and it's got a lot of texture that's going to feel the same in your mouth as that hoppy IPA.

Back to Vermontino from Italy, again, savory bitterness. It's going to resonate with you and mirror that IPA's bitterness. So those are the three perfect wines for you hoppy IPA lovers. Now, if you move on to those big porters and stouts and the dark ales, you're likely a lover of coffees or chocolates, roasted barley, and those super velvety textures that coat your entire mouth.

when it comes to wine, you're going to look for things like an aged Rioja, which is a Tempranillo. So aged in barrels, which is going to give it those dried fruit flavors, that tobacco, the vanilla, leathery undertones, mirroring those flavors in ports, stouts, and dark ales. Amarone del Valpolicella. Amarones

have jammy, dried fruit flavors. These are basically a wine that is the equivalent of an Imperial stout. And Nero di Avila. These are dense. They're dark fruit. They have earthiness and savory notes to them.

All three of these options are going to be well aligned with your love of those bigger bolder beers. So here's your pro tip. Focus on flavors but also focus on texture and balance. If you like bitterness, find wines with bitterness. If you like acidity in your beer, look for high acid wines. If you prefer something maltier,

go for those aged reds or even textural whites. refer to the show notes and go check out the rest of the selections in my blog.

now it's time for those complex cocktails. Cocktail lovers are flavor explorers. You like bold aromatics, layered ingredients, structure, and the good news is that there are wines that are going to mirror your exact preference or cocktail profile. But these are a lot easier. Pop the cork or unscrew the top. They have fewer ingredients, but they are going to deliver

every single bit of the complexity. I live in Texas. Margaritas are everywhere. They are citrusy. They are salty. They are tangy. So if you love zesty, refreshing cocktails that have that acidity, that have that citrusy punch, go back to three wines I've already mentioned. Vermintino from Italy.

Picpul from France or Albariño from Spain. These are all going to give you those zesty citrusy notes or citrus peel notes. They're going to have some savoriness to them, a little bit of herbaceousness and they are perfect for taco night or ceviche. They work because these wines bring both the acidity and that salinity that we all know and love.

from that salty rim on our margarita glass. Plus, there's no tequila hangover in the morning. If you're more of a brown water fan and you like bourbons and ryes, let's talk about old fashioned, which is bourbon and bitters and orange peel. These are rich, complex and intense cocktails. You're drawn toward that complexity and

little bit of sweetness and a little bit of oakiness. So here are my three recommendations. Go with a Zinfandel from California. These are rich black fruits, baking spices. You take a sip and they warm you from the first taste. Barolo out of Italy. These are Nebbiolo based wines. They're structured. They have tannins that will sneak up

and shock your palate. They have dried cherry notes and leather and all kinds of earthiness so you get the exact flavor profiles you get in that old fashion. And finally going back to Spain with that tempranillo, the subtle hints of oak, dried fruits, tobacco and being super structured and complex will pair exactly with your flavor profiles that you're looking for out of that old fashion. Now why it works is because all of those

elements that I talked about in the wines echo and mirror the depth and the warmth of that bourbon or whichever brown water you're using for your cocktail. And those natural oak influences and the balanced tannins are going to mirror the oak barrel influences you get on those brown waters as well. Now what if you like something a little funkier, a little more spicy like a Moscow mule with its ginger

lime and spices and the little tingly effervescence or fizziness. also they have a little bit of sweetness on the back end you're going to love an off dry Riesling. Go to Germany, go to Washington State, you've got lime and green apple, all of that acidity we've talked about with Riesling, but you want in this case to get an off dry Riesling, not a super dry Riesling.

Gewurztraminer, out of Alsace we also spoke about that, but later harvest Gewurztraminer have a little bit of residual sugar. They've got that exotic spiciness, the lychee floral notes, and these pair beautifully with anything with ginger. And your pet nats that we've talked about, they can be wild and spicy and funky and floral and

all kinds of things and that's going to mirror those flavors that you know and love out of your Moscow Mule style cocktails. These wines mirror the acidity, the sweetness, and they mimic that ginger limey contrast that makes us all love that Moscow Mule. If you like other modern cocktails, here's a few bonus pairings. So lavender and herbal gins, like a French 75, one of my personal favorites.

an aviation or just a gin and tonic, try a dry rosé. Try those Gruner Veltliner from Austria. Try a Sancerre or a Sauvignon Blanc. If you're into peach Bellinis Aperol spritzes, those fizzy fizzy drinks, that have definite fruit undertones, go with a Prosecco, a Moscato d'Asti or some kind of or a Fresante Lambrusco in a rosé style.

They're fruity, fizzy, and better yet, they're all super low in alcohol.

Moving from those light and fruity to the dark and broody espresso martinis or coffee old fashions go with a port, a fortified wine like a Madeira or a Sagrentino. These are wines that have all of those roasted nuts and chocolates and dried fruit elements So we've covered spritzes, we've covered beers, we've covered cocktails and

What I want you to walk away with is that these pairings that I've suggested are not just random. They are absolutely 100 % rooted in the same flavor and mouthfeel principles in your favorite cocktails, your favorite beers, and your favorite seltzers. And so by translating your drink preferences, into a wine, you're definitely not starting with scratch. You are simply swapping a can or

a pour or a mixer for a corkscrew or a twist-off.

if you really want to go one step deeper, cocktails, beers, seltzers are all frequently sold in cans in that ready to drink market. Now, the cool part is wine in cans is on the rise. This is one of the most popular packaging choices that is taking the wine industry by storm. First of all, they're super sustainable.

because of the smaller size. They're aligned with a lot of your moderation goals. And if that's your focus, they are a nice transition as well as making wine selection if in a can, a super low risk financial option versus buying the whole bottle. If you don't really love it, you've only spent the money on a can and you don't have an entire bottle that's going to sit on your counter or in your refrigerator going to waste. Now personally,

If you are going to drink wines from a can, I still recommend pouring them out into a glass. But hey, if you are on the beach or you're at the pool or you're at an outdoor concert, go ahead and pop that tab and sip away right from the can. So in closing, here are three key points I want you to remember. Wine isn't about what you should like. It's about finding flavors that resonate with you based upon the drinks you already know and love.

Number two, you are not a bad wine taster. You simply haven't found the right wine or you've been given the wrong wine according to your desired flavor palette. And number three, start where you are. Match your wines to the drinks you love and keep expanding from there.

Wine is a journey. It's not a test and you don't need any type of wine certification to enjoy it. You just need a starting point. So the next time you reach for your go-to drink, consider what wine might match that flavor vibe and go with that instead. You might simply be surprised at how much you actually do like wine. Now, if you've enjoyed this show, share this episode with a friend. Click pause.

open your favorite podcast platform, click the three dots and the copy link for this episode. Pop on over to your text messages and send the link to your three favorite friends or in this case, friends who want to love wine, but simply haven't found the wines they love yet. I put a simple note in there. Thought you'd get some great tips out of this episode. Enjoy. Now, trust me, they're going to thank you for sharing it.

with them. And if you want to continue to transform your wine experiences, head on over to my website, wine-wise.com, w-i-z-e.com, and join my insider list where I'm going to send you infrequent emails once a week to share tips, event updates, and new releases to what's happening within WineWise and Everyday Sommelier. And just for signing up, you will immediately receive

my WineWise Tasting Guide. Now there's some really cool and amazing things coming down that pipeline and if you're on my insider list you won't miss a single one. So in the next episode we are going to dive deeper into a really interesting topic how the use of AI is influencing wine education as well as the overall wine industry. So until then grab your favorite glass

or can of wine and learn wine your way.