We are Live!

When I first started attending wine events I happened to mention it to a few friends. When I did, I usually received a positive reaction, along with requests for wine recommendations.

They also tend to ask me what the experience is like. Most people unaffiliated with the food and beverage industry have never attended a wine event. Promotional wine samples at liquor stores is often their only reference point.

So I bring a guest whenever it is permitted because wine is best experienced hands-on. It’s a good way for wine drinkers to learn the basics. Should they refer to a wine by the varietal or grape from which it is produced, or its country or region of origin? Well, even that basic question has no easy answer. Some countries refer to a wine by its grape composition, while others derive the name of a wine from the region where it is produced. Friends have told me that they sometimes feel self-conscious asking these types of questions at a wine store. “I am supposed to know these things before I go there right?” they would ask. Wine tastings are good places to find out what you like, as well as what you don’t. You may find that a type of wine you previously disliked has suddenly turned into one of your favorites, simply because you had had only substandard versions of this kind of wine in the past.

But many of these events are understandably reserved for wine professionals and affiliates. Media gets the word out. Distributors get the wines into the stores. Store sell them to consumers. But it is the consumer who ultimately buys the wines and together reveal what the public truly wants. So I created this blog to give wine drinkers my take on my wine experiences as I have them. After all, reading about a wine event is the next best thing to attending one. So I write about some of the wines I discover at tastings, during meetings with vineyard owners and distributors, and while dining at restaurants, and highlight:

Who made it.

What it’s made of.

Where it’s from and

How to enjoy them (although, in the end, that part is totally up to you).

Thanks and happy reading.