One of the things people most often say to me when I do live events is, “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about wine.” That’s seldom true, by the way – they’re just conscious of how much they don’t know – and as I usually point out, people never feel the need to say they don’t know much about cheese, about which there is an equal amount to master.

My answer is not to focus on what you don’t know, but to bear in mind two or three nuggets of information about a wine that are particularly interesting or easy to remember. That might be where it comes from, who made it, who owns the winery, something historical about the wine, even some unexpectedly delicious food match. (Muscadet and sushi: who knew?)

Drink Domaine de Triennes Sainte Fleur Viognier 2014 with chicken korma

Obviously, there’s a lot more to say about complex wines than about a cheap and cheerful Chilean merlot, but even then you shouldn’t be overawed by them. Take three wines I picked out at a recent tasting with Northern Irish wine merchant James Nicholson, for example. The two things to remember about the Reserve Salwey Weissburgunder Rs 2013 (£14.95; 12.5% abv) are: a) that weissburgunder is another name for pinot blanc; and b) that it comes from a warm region called Baden in the south of Germany and is therefore higher in alcohol and drier than many German whites. (Think of it more like a chablis.)

You don’t really need to remember that the luscious Cauhapé Quest Jurançon Sec 2014 (£12.99; 13.5% abv) is made from gros and petit manseng, but it is useful to know that it comes from the south-west of France and that it’s dry, whereas bottles labelled just jurançon are sweet. (You might like to know how to pronounce Cauhapé, too: ko-oh-pay.)

Of the vivid Jesus Romero Rubus Quercus 2014 (£13.95; 14.5% abv), you might be able to remember that it’s made from garnacha (the Spanish for grenache) and syrah, and that it comes from Teruel, a mountainous wine region north of Valencia.

And the sexy Domaine de Triennes Sainte Fleur Viognier 2014 (£15 at the Vinorium; 13.5% abv) I fell for the other day is principally notable for coming from a Provence estate owned by two Burgundian superstars, Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti and Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac, and for being a terrific match for chicken korma. (Incidentally, if you are looking for a beginners’ book on wine, you won’t do better than Jancis Robinson’s new The 24-Hour Wine Expert, £4.99; she has also released a very accessible online wine course, Mastering Wine.)

So, just remember: two things.

• matchingfoodandwine.com