By Lettie Teague
A forum where hundreds of thousands of wine lovers connect seemed like a good place to go looking for interesting conversations, and I found quite a few in my recent Reddit deep dive.
Founded in 2005, Reddit has never been more popular. It remains a place where real people can share their opinions and wisdom -- with close oversight by moderators to ensure civil discourse. Indeed, the wine lovers I found on the r/wine "subreddit" (the name for a user-led community on Reddit) are not only civil but often quite knowledgeable. Some have a wonderfully snarky sense of humor as well.
Potent Perspectives
Two hugely popular California wines, Caymus Cabernet and the Bordeaux-style red Opus One, are the targets of a fair amount of snark in r/wine. They show up in many posts, including a popular one titled "What's your most controversial wine opinion?" A Redditor called Adventurous-Rub7636 declared, "Opus One is HIGHLY overrated." The 625 other opinions shared in response to that post included "Natural winemaking is a great way to hide how bad a winemaker you are" and "Burgundy smells better than it tastes."
My favorite opinion of all was from Redditor lordhighsteward, who said, "Tasting notes are 100% subjective." He even offered examples from his own wife, including that Rioja smells like a pirate. The comment had 132 "upvotes," of which mine was the 132nd. (Upvoting affects whether and how prominently a comment is displayed.) While Reddit users clearly aren't afraid to share their opinions, controversial or otherwise, nothing is allowed to get too far out of hand.
Moderators might boot off, either permanently or temporarily, Redditors who ignore the rules of engagement ( see "Reddiquette"). Members of the r/wine subreddit (327,000 weekly visitors as of this writing) cannot link to personal websites, sell wine or post photos of bottles without tasting notes. I endorse that last rule extra-heartily: A photo of a bottle with no caption is mere bragging. Service to fellow wine lovers is clearly key in r/wine -- a refreshing change from platforms like Instagram, where bottle-shot braggarts abound.
Solid Advice
The array of wine-related intel on r/wine ranges from the serious to the silly, and I enjoyed reading both. And there is no shortage of oenophiles eager to assist the less knowledgeable. Redditor absolutebruhmomento posted a photograph of Kenwood Merlot with the caption "New to wine. I'm [sic] I crazy or is this $10 wine incredible?" A request for help selecting other good cheap wines drew a torrent of advice.
One person recommended Bohigas Cava, Broadbent Vinho Verde and Gentil, a white blend from the Alsace producer Hugel, while another chimed in with Uco Valley Malbecs. Yet another Redditor counseled, "Anything from the Perrin family...and La Vielle [sic] Ferme range are solid for the price."
Highly specific wine questions elicit plenty of highly specific advice. Quite a few Redditors jumped on a request for help finding a Napa Valley wine tasting with "real library vintages" to impress a group of people, adding that "price is not an issue." One suggested visiting Corison, Diamond Creek and Spring Mountain -- all Napa wineries I, too, would recommend -- and another praised a tasting at Clos du Val.
Redditor Don'tLookBack_88 said that unlike in Burgundy or Jura, where connections matter more, in Napa, money can get you "almost whatever experience you want."
Expensive wine experiences and pricey wines show up quite regularly in r/wine, and some of the most common questions I found related to a wine's worth or readiness to drink. Gift wines are another popular topic. Redditor mark_solomon asked for advice on an appropriate replacement for a wine he "accidentally" consumed -- his brother-in-law's August Briggs Pinot Noir.
Fellow Redditors chimed in with helpful suggestions of "better" Pinot Noirs like a Nuits-Saint-Georges or a bottling by Domaine Drouhin. "Because you're saying I'm sorry, replacing it with something a tad nicer is probably the move," wrote Resident_Aide_9381, who suggested Cristom Mt. Jefferson Pinot Noir (from Oregon), noting that it's "a bit pricier but not ostentatiously so."
A Supportive Community
LimeImmediate6115 confessed, "I see pictures and descriptions of many of the wines in this subreddit and I truly feel I don't belong here." Happily, fellow wine Redditors offered encouragement and helpful suggestions to get educated, from podcasts to websites and other wine subreddits.
Redditor Ákos Cristescu even offered his personal email. Hungarian-born Cristescu, the rare Redditor who posts under his real name, works at Sheen Falls Lodge, a luxury hotel in Kenmare, Ireland. He also co-moderates the subreddit r/Sommelier, which currently has 1,700 users, mostly fellow wine professionals, who discuss wine service and education.
On r/Sommelier I found interesting discussions on wine keys (aka waiter's corkscrews). One Reddit somm called the Chateau Laguiole model the "Rolls-Royce of wine keys," which I was happy to see, as I have two Laguiole corkscrews at home (though sadly not the Rolls-Royce model).
Others praised the Code38 -- with one calling it the "cult-y" choice for professionals "that have been in the industry for a long time and take wine extremely seriously."
I learned so much exploring the Reddit wine communities. I definitely plan to post more myself. (My moniker is the name of a favorite French wine.) And I will certainly never drink Rioja again without thinking of pirates.
Email Lettie at wine@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2026 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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