There are a hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wine-related websites. Many are online retailers, some are blogs or educational sites, and others are the musings of self-styled experts such as Robert Parker, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. They do, in fact, know a lot, and their views and wine ratings hold a lot of sway in the world of wine.
But they are not the ultimate authority. You are.
Because it's your wallet or purse that will be pulled out to pay for it, and it's your eyes that will scan a 30 page restaurant wine list while the sommelier stands behind you, perhaps helpful, or perhaps rolling his eyes and clucking his tongue as the words "White Zinfandel" emerge from your mouth (Lord, I hope not!).
But most of all, it's your palate that the wine will cross.
I am trying to do something a little different here. I do know a bit about wine, but what I or anyone who studies wine really knows - and however many wines we've tasted - amounts to a drop of wine from a barrel. And one thing I learned from my friend Keith Wallace, founder and President of The Wine School of Philadelphia, is that anyone can memorize place names, varietals and vintages. But it's a lot more beneficial to understand and appreciate wine by educating your mind and your palate...and it's a lot more fun.
About Me
I am a small town Ohio native and a former Marine who once thought that Michelob was the ne plus ultra of beverages. As I traveled around the world in the Corps, and later as a student and a member of the diplomatic service, I found precious little American beer available. But wine was available, often mostly French, and sadly, very little American. So, that's what I drank.
And as I did, I often remembered "liberating" and tasting half-bottles of something called Chateau Margaux with my oldest pal Bill Dankworth. We first pulled them from straw-filled boxes secreted in a closet in our basement at 721 Broadway. It seems that my father had been approached by a little old man at his law office. This man must have been an extraordinary salesman, for he sold dad several cases of this stuff, and yet I never remember my parents drinking it...yet it disappeared. And thus began my first taste of, and interest in, wine.
I've learned some tricks, too. For example, stuck in the Sinai Peninsula "village" of Sharm el Sheik, my friend Hisham Kamal and I had exhausted our supply of warm Stella beer, and were down to one bottle of a harsh Egyptian red wine called Omar Khayyam. With no tool whatsoever to open it - we were camping and scuba diving - I watched Hisham bang the bottle, wrapped in a towel, methodically against a post. The sloshing of the wine inside slowly pushed out the cork. On a hot summer night it was a life-saver; however, I do not recommend this.
Years later I moved to San Francisco, and began spending one weekend a month in wine country. And since the dot-bomb exploded in 2001, taking my job with it, I have lived in New Jersey...and spent a lot of time and airfare traveling back to Napa and Sonoma, taking courses at the Rudd Wine School of the Culinary Institute, and wishing...
Click here to email with a question or comment about this site, about wine in general, or about how annoying your in-laws are.
Wine Tasting and Education
Email me about a Wine event. In New Jersey and the greater NYC area, I am available to welcome your guests and to explain and demonstrate:
But they are not the ultimate authority. You are.
Because it's your wallet or purse that will be pulled out to pay for it, and it's your eyes that will scan a 30 page restaurant wine list while the sommelier stands behind you, perhaps helpful, or perhaps rolling his eyes and clucking his tongue as the words "White Zinfandel" emerge from your mouth (Lord, I hope not!).
But most of all, it's your palate that the wine will cross.
I am trying to do something a little different here. I do know a bit about wine, but what I or anyone who studies wine really knows - and however many wines we've tasted - amounts to a drop of wine from a barrel. And one thing I learned from my friend Keith Wallace, founder and President of The Wine School of Philadelphia, is that anyone can memorize place names, varietals and vintages. But it's a lot more beneficial to understand and appreciate wine by educating your mind and your palate...and it's a lot more fun.
About Me
I am a small town Ohio native and a former Marine who once thought that Michelob was the ne plus ultra of beverages. As I traveled around the world in the Corps, and later as a student and a member of the diplomatic service, I found precious little American beer available. But wine was available, often mostly French, and sadly, very little American. So, that's what I drank.And as I did, I often remembered "liberating" and tasting half-bottles of something called Chateau Margaux with my oldest pal Bill Dankworth. We first pulled them from straw-filled boxes secreted in a closet in our basement at 721 Broadway. It seems that my father had been approached by a little old man at his law office. This man must have been an extraordinary salesman, for he sold dad several cases of this stuff, and yet I never remember my parents drinking it...yet it disappeared. And thus began my first taste of, and interest in, wine.
I've learned some tricks, too. For example, stuck in the Sinai Peninsula "village" of Sharm el Sheik, my friend Hisham Kamal and I had exhausted our supply of warm Stella beer, and were down to one bottle of a harsh Egyptian red wine called Omar Khayyam. With no tool whatsoever to open it - we were camping and scuba diving - I watched Hisham bang the bottle, wrapped in a towel, methodically against a post. The sloshing of the wine inside slowly pushed out the cork. On a hot summer night it was a life-saver; however, I do not recommend this.
Years later I moved to San Francisco, and began spending one weekend a month in wine country. And since the dot-bomb exploded in 2001, taking my job with it, I have lived in New Jersey...and spent a lot of time and airfare traveling back to Napa and Sonoma, taking courses at the Rudd Wine School of the Culinary Institute, and wishing...
Click here to email with a question or comment about this site, about wine in general, or about how annoying your in-laws are.
Wine Tasting and Education
Email me about a Wine event. In New Jersey and the greater NYC area, I am available to welcome your guests and to explain and demonstrate:
- How to select wines
- Wine and food pairing
- Basic wine tasting and appreciation
- How wine is made
- De-ciphering wine labels
- Ordering wine in a restaurant
- How not to get ripped off at a restaurant or retail store
- Getting the most from a visit to wine country
