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Posted by: mvsopen on 2005-12-28, 23:37:23
A few years ago, I asked this exact question. The answer? You're the best guide to what you like! Go wine tasting as often as possible, at different locations, and try wines you wouldn't normally drink, just to build up your basis of comparison. State fairs, for example, often have wine merchants and lectures where you can learn all about a particular variety, and then tast-compare 6 or 7 different wines from various regions. This way, you quickly learn what you like, with minimal investment. And please, take a notebook with you as you taste, so you can rapidly jot down notes about the wines as you try them. To me, nothing is more frustrating than saying "Was it the '83 or the '85 Merlot from this place that we really liked? " I'm lucky, I live just 4 hours from the Sonoma/ Napa Valley area of California. You can spend a weekend there and sample dozens of wines, from countless wineries, in a very short while. Several of my friends spend a week there on vacation, making it a point to purchase exactly 52 bottles of wine, making careful notes about each one. They drink only one bottle per week (Darn, not enough!) and use their notebooks to record what to buy (and not to buy) next time, updating as they taste each bottle. For instance, my wife and I love the Wilson Winery (Sonoma, Dry Creek) for their late-harvest Zin (And they ship out of state...) . It is almost a desert wine, with a very high sugar content. But others turn their nose up at it, saying that the plum aroma masks the real taste. To each their own! Happy Drinking! |
