Suggest me a Wine

What this tool does

You are standing in front of a wall of wine, or holding a list as long as your arm, and you have no idea what to get. There are hundreds of bottles and they all blur together. This tool gives you a place to start. It suggests a wine at random from a list of types and grape varieties, so instead of a blank wall you have a single direction to follow.

Press the button for a suggestion. Press it again for another. Ask for a few at once if you would rather choose from a short list. One thing to know up front: it names a type, like a Malbec or a Riesling, rather than a specific bottle or brand, so you take the type to the shelf or the staff and pick from there.

How to use it

1. Number / Quantity. How many wines to pull at once, from 1 to 100.
2. Generate. Pulls a fresh wine type, or a fresh set if you asked for several.
3. Starts with, Contains, Ends with. Optional filters that narrow the types before it picks. Leave them blank to draw from everything.
4. Copy. Sends the pick, or your shortlist, to the clipboard as plain text.

A wine is on screen the moment the page loads, so there is always something to react to.

How it works

The list of wine types is fixed, and each press pulls one at random, with no repeats inside a single set when you ask for several.

The filters let you aim. Contains keeps any wine with your text in it, so typing cabernet brings up Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while typing a word you know narrows it the same way. Starts with keys off the first letter and ends with off the last.

What is on the list

It is a tidy list of around forty-five wine types and grape varieties, laid out across the whole range. The whites include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio, the reds run from Pinot Noir and Merlot to bolder Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, and there is a sweet and fortified end with Port, Sauternes, Tokaji, and Ice Wine.

A few entries are regions rather than grapes, like Chianti, Rioja, and Barolo, which is how a lot of wine is actually sold and asked for. Remember that each pick is a style to look for, not a particular label, so the job after a pull is to find a bottle of that type you like.

Why the wine aisle stops you cold

The frozen feeling in the wine aisle is one of the cleanest examples of too much choice there is. When the options run into the hundreds, most of us cannot compare them in any real way, so we stall, grab whatever is familiar, or pick by the label and hope. Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper showed the effect in a 2000 study where shoppers offered two dozen jams were far less likely to buy one than those offered six, and a wall of wine is that experiment scaled up.

Barry Schwartz called the broader pattern the paradox of choice, that more options tend to leave us less happy with what we pick, second-guessing the bottles we walked past. Naming a type cuts the wall down to one shelf. You stop choosing between hundreds of bottles and start choosing between a handful of the same style, which is a question you can actually answer.

From a type to a bottle, and what to pour it with

Once you have a type, the rest is easy. Take the name to the shop and ask for a bottle of it in your price range, since staff can point you to a good one in seconds when you walk up knowing you want, say, a Malbec. Pairing follows a few simple habits rather than strict rules: lighter whites suit fish and chicken, fuller reds suit red meat and rich dishes, and sweet wines belong with dessert or strong cheese. Serving matters too, so chill whites and sparkling wines well, and serve reds a touch cooler than a warm room. Past that, the best wine is the one you enjoy, so trust your own taste over anyone's scorecard.

Questions people ask

Is it free, and does it save anything?

Free, no sign-up, nothing stored. The picks happen in your browser, so copy one to hold on to it.

Can I get a few at once?

Yes. Set the quantity to the number you want, up to 100, and press Generate for that many different wine types in one pull.

Does it suggest a specific wine or brand?

No, it suggests a type or grape variety, like Pinot Noir or Riesling. Take that to a shop or a wine list and choose a bottle of that style in your budget.

Can I get just reds, or just whites?

There is no colour switch, but the Contains box helps if you know a name, and another press is quick. You can also pull a few at once and pick the red or white from the set.

References

1. Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, "When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000, the study behind choice overload. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11138768/
2. Barry Schwartz, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less", his talk on how more options can lower satisfaction. https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice