The CoCo Wine Festival (formerly CSRA Wine Festival) will feature 100's of wines this October

Wine drinkers in the Augusta area have many choices when they decide they want some wine. Not only are we blessed with a handful of outstanding wine shops, but many restaurants in the area offer good selections by the glass and by the bottle.

The first thing I tell people who want to learn about wine is they need to go to wine tastings. You can’t learn about wine by reading about it; you have to taste it. The best place to taste is at a tasting where they open six to 12 bottles and let you figure out which wines are right for you.

There are tastings every week, all over the area, in Augusta, Columbia County, North Augusta and Aiken. To find them just see the calendar in Applause every week, or check this  website under the Master Tasting Calendar tab.

We also have some special events that offer a chance to taste many wines at a large social gathering. The best is the CSRA Wine Festival (which has changed its name to CoCo Annual Wine Festival because it is held in Columbia County). The fifth annual festival will be Oct. 2 at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

It is the largest indoor judging and tasting in Georgia, offering a chance to taste more than 200 wines. Judges pick what they think are the best wines, but every taster picks his or her own favorites while tasting food samples from some of the best chefs in the region.

Another winner is the Alzheimer’s Association’s “A Night to Remember,” a wine and food tasting benefit in April. This year’s event, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, grouped the wines by region, so you could sample several from France or from Australia or elsewhere and see how they paired with various food. There also is an auction, and you have a chance to pick up some nice wine as well as other items.

Historic Augusta offers “Perfectly Aged: Antiques and Wine” at St. Paul’s, Sept. 9 this year. You can taste wines and bid on some of them while also sampling food and bidding on antiques.

For more frequent tastings we have the Vineyard Wine Market, Wine World and Ninth Street Wine Market on a regular basis. Toast sponsors wine dinners with some of the top restaurants in town, as do the other shops.

Stonecrest has monthly Wine Dinners

The Vineyard offers about a half dozen different wines each Friday and Saturday afternoon. They also feature beer occasionally.

Wine World does tastings–usually three whites and three reds–on the first Friday and third Thursday of every month. Just about every month they also have themed tastings or special events with the Tasters Guild.

Ninth Street has in-shop tastings and educational seminars at Bee’s Knees and Malibu Jack’s.

The Snug does a monthly tasting to benefit a local charity. The donation, which goes to a group designated for that night, is $10. You get to sample about a dozen wines, taste some good appetizers and bid on silent auction items.

The Snug Features many charity benefit wine tastings

Wine is meant to be enjoyed with food, so a great way to taste wine is during dinner at an elegant restaurant. There are many great restaurant wine lists in our area, but my three favorites are Calvert’s, Stonecrest Southern Steakhouse and La Maison. In addition to their wonderful wine lists, they offer regular wine dinners or special tastings. It’s hard to beat sitting down at a fine restaurant, sipping multiple wines while eating great food and having fun with friends.

Other great places to drink wine are Oliv’a in Aiken, which also has a wine bar, Bistro 491, The Public House, Bonefish Grill, Casablanca and Takosushi.

One of my favorite places to taste wine is at home. You can do it, too. Just invite several friends over, ask each of them to bring a bottle of wine, and you have an instant tasting party. This is another good way to find wines you might not otherwise have tried.

So the next time you want to explore the world of wine in Augusta, just get on it. Pick a tasting or a restaurant and start popping those corks. You won’t regret it.

Wine World in North Augusta has monthly wine tastings and frequent tasting seminars

Vineyard Wine Market in Evans has tastings almost every weekend

Ninth Street Wine Market in Downtown Augusta has frequent inshop tastings

Where: Casa Blanca Café

936 Broad Street Downtown Augusta, 706.504.3431 ▪ Casablancatime.com

When: Open 5 days a week. Lunch Hours 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Tapas bar open Wednesday thru Thursday – 5pm-9pm, Fridays/Saturdays – until 10 pm

Events: Tapas Bar Wine Nights

Wine Down Wednesdays: Your 2nd Glass is Free! Plus, Complimentary Cheese Platter 5 – 9 p.m.

Three Flight Thursdays: Three Wines $6/2oz Pours 5 – 9 p.m.

Fridays/Saturdays Early Bird Special: ½ off 1st Tapa with Wine Purchase 5 – 7 p.m.