36 MONTHS & HUNDREDS OF GLASSES: WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT WINE SO FAR

First, a shameful confession: I'll drink anything...once.

Then, a declaration: anytime I buy a bottle of wine I already know I like, I insist on buying something new, too--a varietal, a producer, a region, a country--something I've never had before. That way I feel like all that drinking goes to a good cause, beyond transporting me to that happy, chill place good wine and the company of good friends inevitably creates. Seeking new experiences widens my knowledge and develops further my ability to describe what I like, and--always the bigger challenge--why I like it.

After about three years of exploring wine, I'm also beginning to see that one's taste preferences change over time. Just two years ago I was repulsed by lighter, mineral driven whites like Austrian Gruner Veltliner--and today I can't get enough. I mean, how could you not love the taste of chilled limestone in a glass? When I first started, I was all about the dry reds--especially Italian Chianti (Sangiovese) and Spanish Tempranillo, and while I still love quality Italian and Spanish reds (subdued red fruit, with tobacco and earth overtones) I drink a lot of white these days, too, Verdejo from Rueda, Pinot Gris from Oregon, and even sparkling whites like Spanish Cava and Italian Prosecco (although I still feel kind of self-conscious with the sparkling wine flute, particularly when everyone else in the bar seems to be drinking rum and coke, gin and tonic, or a pint of beer...but hey, you can look masculine and sip Cava from a flute, can't you? Dana thinks so, at any rate, and that's good enough for me).

Lately, I'm focusing on French reds, especially Cotes-du-Rhones (Grenache, Syrah), but also looking forward to tasting some French Chardonnays, sans oak. And lately I'm starting to enjoy the unique flavors and velvety mouth feel of Pinot Noir, thanks to Scott, having had a California Pinot recently that tasted like chocolate covered cherries to me.

After 36 months exploring wine, here's a quick rundown of the top ten things I've learned:

1. In the ten to twenty dollar range, there is frequently no correlation between the price on the bottle and the quality of the wine contained therein
2. You may think you like only red or white wine, but after a week of drinking both, you'll never think that way, again
3. The pretentiousness and air of superiority affected by some (by no means all) in the wine and restaurant industries is not to be feared, and in fact, should be mocked at every opportunity
4. I prefer Old World wines, which have a tendency toward more subtle fruit, earthiness, minerality, grassiness, and floral notes, as opposed to big, intense, fruit-forward New World wines
5. I also prefer dry wines to sweet, although I'm learning there's a wide spectrum from bone-dry to syrupy sweet, with plenty of variations in between--and when paired with the right food, a wine you might ordinarily dislike can take on a whole new character
6. I really hate a sweet nose on a red wine that's plastic in character, calling to mind cheap candy or artificial syrup
7. Swirling wine clockwise in your glass and smelling it may look silly, but it really does open up the aroma, telling you something about what you're about to drink
8. White wine is often served much too cold (it's not supposed to be the equivalent of an ice-cold beer), and red wine much too warm (not intended, generally, to be consumed at room temperature). In the absence of a wine fridge, take a chilled white out of your kitchen fridge 15-20 minutes before drinking, and place a red in your fridge for 15-20 minutes before consumption
9. Reds from Portugal, whites from Spain and sparkling Italian Prosecco (as opposed to Champagne) are great values right now, when one considers the high quality available at really reasonable prices
10. Despite the long history (2,000 years), rich traditions, and enormous complexity of making, bottling and distributing wine around the world--and what might be called the scientific, historical, and literary aspects of enjoying wine--one should never lose sight of the three central reasons I believe people have always consumed wine (and continue to do so today):

• They enjoy the taste
• Sharing it with others brings them closer to family and friends
• They find pleasure in the unique way wine altars their mood or consciousness
  

If you encounter a wine that does not please you on these most elemental levels, then no matter what an expert says, it's not a 90 point wine for you. And when it comes to putting something in your mouth and ingesting it...well, it seems to me that's an awfully personal thing. It's your opinion that matters most.