New "Rules" for wine tasting

After working wine festivals for a number of years, Boo Walker, sales and marketing guru at Hedges Family Estate in Red Mountain Washington, started to notice repetitive behaviors by wine festival attendants.

“After an event in California, I decided to post a couple on our Facebook page, and I asked if anyone else had any,” he said. “I received over 100 different comments and whittled down my favorites. Although the "rules" may be slightly harsh, the intent is not to further alienate consumers from wine, or to make wine less approachable. Those in the industry want people to know that wine is just like any other art form, music, painting etc. If you like it, it is good.” What is art without an audience?”

Here are the “Rules”:

* Don’t tether your wine glass to your neck
* Don’t say, “Give me the biggest thing you have.” This isn’t NASCAR.
* Let “smooth” take the day off from your vocabulary… the whole day
* Don’t say you hate merlot. We all saw “Sideways” Guess what: Miles didn’t want to drink merlot because it reminded him of his ex-wife.*Don’t ask how the wine scored… ever.
*If you are going to wear one of the little food trays with a cutout for your glass, you better be damn sure you are cool enough to wear it. (Note: no one is that cool.)
*Over-buffed late 30s guy: Don’t try to impress your date by contradicting me. You’re going to fail.
*Don’t talk about your sulfite allergy. There is a good chance you have no idea what you’re talking about
*Don’t talk about the legs after you swirl the glass. Here’s a tip: the legs don’t matter.
* If you proclaim that you don’t like white or rose, we will make fun of you when you walk away.