What Wine Matches Your Personality? I Tried It With My Friends
Updated: Oct 5
Getting four friends together for dinner shouldn't be this difficult, but somehow it took us months to find one night when everyone's schedule actually worked. So when we finally made it happen, we decided to make the most of it with a progressive dinner around Chicago. I've known these friends for years, which means I know their personalities, their style, and what makes each of them different. And somewhere along the way, I started thinking about them the way I think about wine. If each one of my friends were a wine, what would they be? Well, we had the whole night ahead of us, plenty of wine to drink, and I already had a few ideas.
If Your Personality Were a Wine, What Would It Be?
Think About How You Enter a Room
Before we get into my friends, think about yourself for a second.
Are you the person who walks into a room and immediately gets everyone's attention? Maybe you're a little more refined and understated. Maybe you're easygoing at first, but there's a lot more structure underneath once someone gets to know you.
Wine can be like that too.
Some wines are immediately expressive. Others take a little time before they show you what they're about. You can have something elegant and polished, something powerful and structured, or a wine that's bright, energetic, and impossible to ignore.
So I decided to have some fun with it.
I'm calling this my personalized palate assessment. Forget complicated scoring systems. I know these people, I know wine, and I wanted to see what happened when I put the two together.
Amber Is Absolutely a Rosé Champagne
Polished, Refined, and a Champagne Girl
First up was Amber.
Amber is definitely the polished one. She's feminine, refined, she appreciates beautiful things, and she loves the finer things in life. If you've spent enough time around someone, sometimes their wine almost chooses itself.
Amber was easy.
She's a rosé Champagne.
For her, we poured Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial Champagne. The wine has an expressive red-fruit character with wild strawberry, raspberry, and cherry, along with floral notes of rose and a subtle touch of pepper.
It fit.
Sometimes the Personality Match Is Immediate
This is where matching wine to personality gets interesting. I'm not saying Amber reminds me of a list of tasting notes. That's not really the point.
It's about the feeling the wine gives you.
Rosé Champagne has a certain presence when it arrives at the table. There's elegance to it, but there's also personality. It's beautiful in the glass, celebratory without needing a celebration, and it knows how to get your attention.
That's Amber.
We enjoyed it with our appetizers as the night got started, and I couldn't have picked a better wine for her.
And now you've got to ask yourself: would your friends describe you as the Champagne in the group?
Mike Needed Something With Power
A Big Personality With Something Behind It
Then there's Mike Robb.
Mike has a huge personality and an even bigger heart. He's hilarious, fun, incredibly approachable, and the kind of person you enjoy having around.
But his power is in his purpose.
That's important, because I didn't want to choose a wine for Mike based only on being big or bold. I needed something that welcomed you in first and then started showing you what was underneath.
For Mike, I went with Obsidian Cabernet Sauvignon.
Obsidian Wine Co. works with vineyards shaped by volcanic conditions, and the winery itself talks about aromatics, acidity, and structure as defining qualities of these wines.
That idea of structure was exactly what I wanted for Mike.
Approachable First, Then the Structure Shows Up
When you first taste the Cabernet, the fruit makes it inviting. Then the structure and tannin start showing themselves.
That's Mike.
Big personality. Approachable entrance. More structure underneath.
And I think that's a good way to approach this little personality exercise with your own friends too. Don't stop at the most obvious characteristic. Someone can be loud and still need an elegant wine. Someone quiet might have incredible intensity once you get to know them.
The fun part is figuring out what's underneath.
The Steak Made Mike's Wine Make Even More Sense
My First Japanese Wagyu Was a Pretty Good Introduction
Then came the food.
We paired Mike's Cabernet with Japanese Wagyu, which I was trying for the first time. I'm just going to say it: that might have been the best steak I've ever had.
That's a pretty strong statement, especially coming from someone who spends a lot of time eating at great restaurants, but this was really, really good.
For the full dinner at Bazaar Meat, we also had American Wagyu, Brussels sprouts, and plenty of other things making their way around the table. This was the kind of dinner where you want to try a little bit of everything.
And with that steak, the Obsidian Cabernet made perfect sense.
Cabernet and Steak Are a Classic for a Reason
There's a reason Cabernet Sauvignon and steak end up at the same table so often. The structure and tannin of Cabernet can work beautifully with rich beef, especially when you have a cut with plenty of fat and flavor.
If you want to understand why tannin matters in wine, food is one of the best ways to experience it. The interaction between tannin, fat, and protein can change how both the wine and the food feel in your mouth.
But I wasn't sitting at Bazaar Meat thinking about the science of it.
I was thinking, wow, this is a really good steak.
That's also something I talked about when I shared my experience pairing a Super Tuscan with duck ragù. Understanding structure and pairing can help you choose a bottle, but once everything is on the table, you should be able to stop analyzing and enjoy it.
Michelle Needed a Wine You Notice
Michelle Does Not Quietly Enter a Room
By the time we wrapped up at Bazaar Meat, we were ready for our next destination and our next personality match.
This one had to be different.
Michelle is stylish. She's confident. She's striking. She loves fashion.
When Michelle walks into a room, you notice.
So there was no way I was giving her a wine that sits quietly in the background waiting for you to figure it out. I needed something that makes an impression right away.
That's where Paul Prieur Sancerre came in.
Domaine Paul Prieur et Fils is based in Verdigny in Sancerre and has been a family estate for generations, with Sauvignon Blanc planted across several areas of the appellation.
Bright, Racy, Aromatic, Floral
That's how I think about this wine.
Bright. Racy. Aromatic. Floral.
This isn't a wine that needs 20 minutes to introduce itself. It walks into the room and you notice it. Sound familiar? That's Michelle. A stylish wine for a stylish woman.
And this is where I want you to think beyond the basic idea that someone's favorite wine automatically represents their personality. Michelle doesn't have to tell me Sancerre is her favorite wine for me to see the connection. I'm thinking about how the wine presents itself and comparing that with how I experience her personality.
If your personality has that same immediate energy, maybe you're close to Sancerre.
Three Friends, Three Completely Different Wines
By this point, we had rosé Champagne for Amber, Cabernet Sauvignon for Mike, and Sancerre for Michelle.
Three friends I care about. Three completely different personalities. Three completely different wines.
And none of those choices came down to which wine was “better.”
A bottle can be great because it has power and structure. Another can be great because it's elegant and polished. Something else can grab you immediately with freshness and aromatics.
The interesting part is figuring out the qualities that make someone who they are and then finding a wine that somehow speaks the same language.
One More Stop in Chicago
Dark, Polished, and Glamorous
We finished the night at Kitty O'Shea's Cosmopolitan Club, and visually, it was probably one of the most striking rooms we visited all night.
Dark, polished, glamorous.
After spending the evening moving around Chicago, eating some incredible food, drinking very different wines, and turning my friends into a personalized palate assessment, it was a pretty great place to finish.
More importantly, after months of trying to get four schedules to line up, we actually pulled off the progressive dinner.
I'd call that a success.
And if you want to see the whole thing in action, check out the original video from our progressive dinner here.
This whole thing started because I know my friends well enough to see certain qualities in them and immediately start making connections to wine. But what happens when you turn the question around? Think about how your friends would describe you, not necessarily how you would describe yourself. Are you polished and refined like Amber's rosé Champagne? Do you have Mike's approachable personality with more power and structure underneath? Maybe you're like Michelle, and people know you've arrived before you've even had a chance to sit down. Or maybe none of those sounds like you. There are thousands of wines out there. I'm pretty sure we can find one. And if you're curious about finding wines based on what you actually enjoy rather than simply choosing the most familiar label, that's a big part of what we do at Cuvée Concierge. Wine gets a lot more interesting once the bottle starts feeling personal. There's only one person from our progressive dinner I haven't matched yet. Me. What wine am I? I'll let you figure that one out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Really Match a Personality to a Wine?
Not scientifically, and that's not what I'm trying to do. This was a fun way of thinking about the characteristics we use to describe both people and wine. Wines can feel bold, elegant, approachable, expressive, structured, delicate, energetic, or reserved. Once you know someone well, making those connections gets pretty interesting.
What Wine Matches an Elegant Personality?
Champagne is a natural place to start. There's something polished and celebratory about it, and rosé Champagne can add another layer of personality with its color, fruit, and presence. If you're someone who appreciates beautiful things, refinement, and a little luxury, this could be your territory.
What Wine Matches a Bold Personality?
Cabernet Sauvignon can fit this personality really well. The fruit can make it inviting when you first taste it, while tannin and structure start revealing themselves as you spend more time with the wine. It's a good match for someone with a big personality who's easy to connect with but has plenty of substance underneath.
What Wine Matches a Confident Personality?
I'd look for something expressive that doesn't take long to get your attention. Sancerre can fit beautifully here, especially with its bright, racy, aromatic character. It's fresh and distinctive, with a personality that shows itself quickly. If you're stylish, confident, and tend to make an impression when you walk into a room, this might be the direction I'd take.
What Is a Progressive Dinner?
A progressive dinner spreads the evening across multiple stops rather than keeping the entire meal in one place. For us, it gave the night a sense of movement and made a long overdue dinner with friends a lot more fun.
How Can I Figure Out What Wine Matches My Personality?
Start with a few words your friends would genuinely use to describe you. Then think about wines with similar qualities. Bold and structured might take you toward Cabernet Sauvignon. Bright and expressive could point somewhere completely different. Don't worry about getting a “correct” answer. The fun is in making the connection.
What Wine Matches William's Personality?
Nice try.
I'm keeping that one to myself for now.
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