Quick tips to cover my absolute lack of wine knowledge...?

She won't care that you know nothing about wine. Most people don't. Even people who love to drink wine know nothing about it. She will probably be more impressed that you took the time to read up on it just to impress her. Come clean with her and just enjoy yourself.

Without knowing where you live, I can't really give advice that is specific.

Personally I live in wine country with local grocery stores that have wine stewards. These people have no problem recommending wines for elegant dinners to just a sipping wine for a complete beginner. Not to mention they also have quite an extensive cheese section at these stores with their own specialists that cooperate with the wine stewards.

When I first moved out here, I knew nothing about wines. But after about two wine touring trips and a "class" at a wine store. I can talk and rate wines with the best. The wine class taught me not to sniff the cork, what the terms "finish", "dry", and such when relating to wines.

BUT back to you.

Do you have any wines that you prefer? Wineries? Do you prefer white over red? how was that Pinot Noir?? Would you drink it alone or with food next time? That is if you liked it?

Stuff like the questions i just asked are good bases to move forward and learn off of and have wine conversations about.

Next time you see her, tell her what you liked/disliked about the Pinot Noir and ask her what would be the next best wine...or ask for another recommendation in another red. Or even ask her what wine would go with steak, pasta, etc whatever you plan on cooking that night... Then it is to you to ask her to share it with you.

As you are new, I would expect you to save your money and not get expensive wines.

White wine: Chardonnay (particularly the ones with the word Reserve) A lot of them are over butter and over oak, this makes it hard to taste the fruit. Try a less expensive ones like Sauvignon Blanc and you will get more wine for your money.

Red Wines: Napa wines are the best, but they have gotten expensive! I love Pinot Noir, but it is a hard grape to make into wine. There is a lot of bad Pinot available for you to buy. I will suggest a Zinfandel's from Somoma Country (Dry Creek valley or Alexander valley). There are many ways to make Zinfandel so try different ones. It is a full body drink now grape. You can get a good bottle of Zinfandel for the same price as a below average of Cab or Merlot.

Let me give you an absolutely novel approach to your dilemmas.

Try being honest.

If you're serious about fostering a relationship, the last thing you want to do is come off as a phoney.

The next time you go in tell the associate that you know next to nothing about wines and really don't know what you're looking for. Allow her to do her job and helpl you learn about wines. It's entirely possible that she was hired because she had a certain level of expertise with wine. I know of grocery stores here on the East coast that have actually hired sommeliers for the very purpose of educating their customers about wine. Spouting off a few facts that you've learned on line, which may or may not be accurate, will make you come off looking like a fool.

The answer lies with a dependable wine sommelier. All you have to do is tell him your preferrence, for example , if you want red - you can say...... " I love the delicate balance of red matured Bordeax, what can you recommend?". That will surely impress a date, if delivered with confidence and style.

If you love pinot noir, as you confessed you do, you can say, " I would like a bottle of your best yet reasonably priced pinot noir from California, but I would like it to be traditional like the wines of Burgundy...... what would you suggest?.

If you need to order a champagne or a sparkling, just remember that only those from France can be called Champagne (and they are expensive). If you want a sparkling, call it by name from the country of origin, cava from Spain; Proseco from Italy... the mere fact that you can order a Cava is enough to show that you are a wine guy.

Good luck.

You could try going to a local winery and trying the wines there. You can ask a million and one questions, and they'll happily answer.

This will also give you a chance to brush up on wine knowledge. Once you understand the nuances to wine, you can be sort of a "wine snob" and shop with confidence, the next time you're in the store.

Two really good wines are a Frog's Leap Zinfandel. It's rather spicy and almost has a tang to it, any nice Salvanion Blanc, it is light and good for pastas. A woman would like you better if you tell her the truth that you like wines but don't really know anything about them. Not only will she be grateful that you told her the truth, you guys might be hanging out more so that she can teach you more about wines.

you could always ask her if she knows what is the best australian wine to purchase? or ask her advice on selecting a wine for a special dinner? or a picnic? let her do the selecting for you. you don't need to be an expert - she'll probably think you are showing off - which may put her off.

You just attracted to the girl.... you lucky b%^&*d..