Let’s talk about why Drinking wine should be fun and not so serious!

Let’s talk about drinking wine. Spoiler alert: It’s not just formal wine tasting. No, I am not suggesting being so casual as to do wine shots, unless the wine is that bad.  As a wine professional, I’m not allowed to suggest that regardless, so ignore that.

You probably want to drink wine without overthinking it.

I’m counting on your wanting to know enough about wine so that you can choose what you like more often.

You also do not want to make expensive mistakes. If, however, you believe that the more expensive the wine, the better it is, I am personally disappointed in you. You can do better! Let’s look at it as a teachable moment.

Wine can pair with anything.
Not just cheese.

With drinking wine, you want to know about basic grape types. The reason I say basic, is that there are over 10,000 grape types over the world. I actually did not know how many until I just googled it. What I did know off the top of my head is that there are about 355 in Italy alone. You probably want to know about the basic differences in types of wines around the world.

You may want to know why some wines are insanely expensive, and some really great tasting wines are not expensive at all. There are a number of reasons.

Check this out! More recent post is about The Top 4 things you should know about the cost of your wine. Read it HERE. Yep, click on the blue HERE!

This is an example of a really expensive wine.

Yes, this is Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Is it worth the high price? It depends who you are asking. This was a tease. Incredibly exciting being there regardless.

If you read the About section on this site, thank you, and I apologize for repeating some of the information I wrote in there. It just explains so much on how I view wine.

For me, drinking wine comes down to:

Do I like it ? (YUM!)

Or do I not ? (YUCk!)

There are variations on this last one:

MEH

And so bad I am making a face.

I should add a level above yum. Let’s call it: I really really need this wine in my life. That makes it 2 positives and 2 negatives with a meh in the middle.

If I like it, how much do I want to pay for it? What’s it worth to me? When a wine professional says a wine is a good value and the wine is quite expensive, I roll my eyes. Good value is subjective. So is taste.

I recently read an article that asked whether the wine I was drinking was any good.

It actually said you may really enjoy a wine, but it may not be a good wine. WHO CARES?

What does a “good wine” even mean?

A better question is Did the wine serve its purpose? Do you want an easy drinking wine to go with your dinner, or your appetizers, or even your popcorn? You are not going to care if it is a well structured wine with intensity and complexity and expressiveness.

You may just appreciate that you really enjoyed it.

Let’s say you are looking for something a little more than an easy drinking wine. If you like what you are drinking, isn’t that the only thing that should matter?

I am sorry I can’t remember the name of my first instructor.  He would have us taste wine and then ask if we liked it. If we said yes, he would ask if we liked it at a certain dollar amount. And then keep raising the amount until we yelled: hell, no! Or until he told us the actual price. I loved tasting this way! Most wine tasting classes do not work this way.

With formal wine tasting, it is way more than yuck or yum. In fact, whether you like it or not is irrelevant. The issue is whether it is a good representation of the grape type and where it is grown. In my experience, price points are rarely discussed.

There are less formal wine tastings. They are the equivalent to trying to figure out what you like drinking. I am all for that.

I like comparing wines and finding great wines that punch above their price point. Buy a couple of similar wines. Find wine drinking buddies to join you. Decide which one you prefer. Go a step further and cover each with a bag. Mark each one with a number or similar. Pour each one in a different glass. Make sure you know which is in which glass. I use stickers. Then decide what each person’s favorite is. Often the most expensive wine is not the winner. There is a lot that goes into price. I love being surprised by an inexpensive wine.

Now would be a good time to sign up for weekly fun wine ideas. Get a free wine guide too!

No matter how much I have learned, I always come back to the basics of:

yuck or yum,

and what is it worth to me?

On a more mature level, it is: Do I like it or do I not? What is it worth to me?

For the person who loves to drink wine, this keeps it simple. And enjoyable. Wine should be an added pleasure to a meal, a relaxing time, or a party. At the very least, I don’t want the pressure of a homework assignment.

THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! RELAXED AND FUN!