What to note about a wine to remember it (and order it again without being a sommelier)

Why a photo of the label is not enough

Almost everyone does the same thing: a photo of the bottle, then on with the evening. Months later the camera roll holds dozens of labels and no answers. Which one did we like so much? Was it the birthday dinner or that bar? Did we have it with fish? What did it cost? The photo keeps the name; everything else is lost, and that is exactly what you need in order to decide.

The label is the starting point, not the memory. The memory is the label plus the context plus your opinion. And for your opinion to be useful a year from now, it has to include a decision: would you have it again?

The six details that are enough

Forget tasting sheets with twenty fields. This is what you will actually look for later:

1. The full name, the producer and the vintage. Two wines from the same producer can be nothing alike, and the vintage changes the result. A photo of the label covers this if it is sharp: straight on, no reflections, and the back label too if there is one.
2. Where and with what. The restaurant, the bar or “at home”, and the dish you had it with. A wine that went well with a stew may not work with a salad.
3. Who with and the occasion. This is not sentimentality: a celebration improves any wine. Knowing it helps you correct the score.
4. The rough price. On the list or in the shop. “Good” and “good for the money” are two different conclusions, and the second is the one you will check most often.
5. A score and the decision. From 1 to 10, always on the same scale, and a clear answer: would you have it again? The decision is worth more than the score.
6. One line in your own words. “Fresh, easy, for a terrace”, “too heavy for the fish”, “the waiter recommended it and was right”. It does not need to sound like a critic; it needs to sound like you.

How to describe a wine without tasting vocabulary

Tasting vocabulary exists so that two people can understand each other. You are writing for yourself, so any comparison that works for you is valid. Three simple questions get almost all the useful information out:

• Light or full-bodied? If you are not sure, think about whether you would want it at lunch in summer or at a winter dinner.
• Dry, fruity or sweet? That alone rules out half the list next time.
• What did it remind you of? Another wine you know, a fruit, a place. Your own comparisons are easier to remember than technical terms.

If you also feel like learning, pick up one new term each time, not ten. The journal works just as well with none.

Separate the wine from the evening

This is the rule that prevents the most mistakes. The same wine tastes different with good company, on an empty stomach or after a long week. That is why it pays to note the occasion and, when scoring, to ask two separate questions: did I like the wine? and did I like the evening? If you can only answer the second, the wine’s score should stay provisional.

The same goes for the place: a decent restaurant can pour an excellent house wine, and a great restaurant can serve you a wine you would not order again. Keep the two decisions apart: whether you would go back to the place, and whether you would order the wine again.

When and where to write it down

• On the spot, the photo. Sharp and straight on. If the label is hard to read, take one of the back label too.
• That night or the next day, the rest. Two lines are enough. The longer you wait, the more it turns into “it was nice”.
• Wherever you will look for it. A notebook is not with you when you read the list; phone notes cannot be filtered by “would have again”; a spreadsheet leaves the photos out. Whatever you choose has to be on your phone, with the photo and with a filter.

How a wine is saved in Ilnami

In Ilnami a wine is a drink inside a memory: the memory carries the place (or “at home”) and the real date, and each dish or drink has its photos, its score from 1 to 10, your notes and whether you would have it again. It follows the template above without you having to think about it.

• Take the label photo and, if you like, let the AI scan read the name, the producer and the vintage. You review and correct before saving; you can also type it later by hand.
• Add your own tags (“terrace”, “with friends”, “as a gift”) to find it later by what matters to you.
• Filter what you would have again when the list is in front of you, and see on your map where you had it.
• Private by default: no profiles and no public reviews, and you can export your data whenever you want.

If you discovered the wine as a group, how to organize your favorite restaurants and drinks with friends explains how to share only those memories with your circle. And if you want the full method for every visit, it is in how to keep a restaurant journal.

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