Here are some wine resolutions that I motivated to make a reality this year:
- Drink Quality Wine
I have realized more than ever that it is not worth wasting time drinking wine (or anything for that matter) that is not of good quality. A simple calculus of the estimated number of days I might live, and the estimated number of times I might drink, and the number of kinds of wines and vintages out there that I would like to explore, leaves me with a rather somber realization of how short I will fall. Not to mention the possibility that my mortality could be a reality far sooner than estimated.
Really – no point drinking wine I know is not good quality.
- Explore
My goal is to drink at least one wine that I did not know for every two familiar wines that I consume. All my coursework and training really opened up my eyes to entire wine worlds that I knew so little about. Yet, it is easy to settle into the cozy and familiar realms rather than stray into those ‘alien’ sections in the wine store or order that unfamiliar varietal off the wine list. Part of this reluctance, reasonably enough, has to do with the fact that you just do not want to ruin a moment with picking a potentially bad wine.
However, there are plenty of opportunities where I can step out of my comfort zone and truly explore. I do this often but not enough. The joys of discovering and learning about a new wine are a thrill. I equate it to being social and striking up a conversation with someone you do not know. True, it takes energy, and the person might be unfriendly, dismissive, or plain boring. But often enough, you will have met someone very interesting and at the very least have had a great conversation.
- Take more notes
As boring and kill-joy an activity it may seem (and is) often, there is no greater learning than actually writing down notes on a wine. It makes you reflect and in doing so makes you learn. It is also to look back on old notes of various wines, especially those more familiar to you and see what you thought. It is also fun for me to note my own growth and maturity in the way I took notes.
Here’s wishing you a year filled in peace and full of meaningful wine encounters!
You can follow me on twitter at @SFEnophile.
Comments