What have you learnt on your wine journey?

[ykwon]

Well, that eliminates using a pungo or coravin on wax sealed wines

[alan_weinberg]

there are numerous threads on various ways of removing wax seals. I go outside on the grass (so I have no mess to clean) and bang the wax with the handle end of a butter knife. It fractures off and I can easily open the bottle.

[K_John_Joseph]

Wine is a consumable. Drink the wine how you like it and it will be “optimized” to your palate. Don’t decant if you don’t want to. Or do if you prefer decanted wines. Drink champagne out of whatever damn glass pleases you the most. Don’t hold bottles for special occasions; Wednesday is often special enough. Perfect pairings are never necessary. Tastes change, but don’t forget why you fell in love with wine…it will help you respect other folks’ tastes even if they’re different than yours. Champagne goes well with everything, but mostly with smiles. It’s okay to drink wine young. It’s just different, but not necessarily less enjoyable. Brett is a fault, especially with age.

I love sharing wine with good people. I love the memories that come with it, the stories, the laughter. It’s a conduit to many wonderful things in a way unlike any other drink I’ve ever had.

[Michael_Martin]

@alan weinberg

there are numerous threads on various ways of removing wax seals. I go outside on the grass (so I have no mess to clean) and bang the wax with the handle end of a butter knife. It fractures off and I can easily open the bottle.

You CAN do that or you can just…

[Steve_Brickley]

@Michael Martin

@alan weinberg

there are numerous threads on various ways of removing wax seals. I go outside on the grass (so I have no mess to clean) and bang the wax with the handle end of a butter knife. It fractures off and I can easily open the bottle.

You CAN do that or you can just…

I run hot water from my dispenser over the top and the wax comes right off with a knife. If I am bringing it out, I do this before I leave.

[lleichtman]

Read, study, visit, drink. Nothing brings you closer to the wines then stepping in the vineyards. The smell of a wine production facility tells you that you are in the right place. There is never enough storage, money or enough time to drink all of the wines you’d like to try.

[Andrew_Hamilton]

@brodie thomson

@Andrew Hamilton

@Michael Martin

Wax seals are easy to remove despite what people say.

Please share your wisdom here Michael, I have yet to learn how to easily remove wax seals. Every time I have to face one I feel like an 8 year old who’s been given his first pocket knife and wooden block to whittle.

So my approach, is to leave the wax seal alone, screw the cork screw thru the wax into the cork and pull it all out in one go. Never had an issue. I do not try and remove the wax seals, I try and remove the cork… YMMV but it seems to work for me ok.

Brodie

Thanks Brodie and Michael, I’ll give that a crack next time I’m facing a waxed bottle.

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Yep, drill straight in with the corkscrew Andrew.

[Scott_E1]

I have learnt that it is ridiculous to debate the pros and/or cons of wines with others on forums such as these. So incredibly silly when your taste buds are so different than the next guy or gal. Why do you think all that ocean of wine sells out (almost) every year?

I realized (early on) that I will never be able to purchase the DRC-level wines, but I think there are many wines in this category that are mostly hype/trophies anyway and that often times, price will not equate to quality. I have to ignore Bdx and Burg due to price, but I have been very happy with wines from CA and WA (but Napa may be headed the way of Bdx as far as price goes).

I was a red-only drinker from the start, but I now enjoy a fine champer, chard, gewurtz and sauv blanc from time to time. I am much more willing to try something new these days.

[alan_weinberg]

@Jeremy Holmes

Yep, drill straight in with the corkscrew Andrew.

I have done that but often get bits of wax in the wine so I prefer the whack it rather than drill it technique.

[Craig_G]

@Markus S

Half of what people tell you is hogwash; the other half, you need to pay close attention and listen to.

I used to think that but then I realized it was the other way around.

[Ian_Sutton]

Really appreciate all the thoughts folks. I said at the start I’d ask the Mods if they’d shift this to Wine101 when it died down, so I’ll ask one of them to do that.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Scott E.

I have to ignore Bdx and Burg due to price, but I have been very happy with wines from CA and WA (but Napa may be headed the way of Bdx as far as price goes).

In what universe is California Cabernet cheaper than Bordeaux?

[Corey_N]

It never was about the wine; it’s about the people you share it with.

[Rajiv_Ayyangar]

1. The subjectivity of wine is greatly overstated.
When I first got into wine, I felt like my experience of tasting a wine was so fleeting, slippery, and personal. As I’ve learned more and honed my deductive tasting ability, I’ve found I can see wines more clearly.

At the highest levels (e.g. MS/MW), people agree more than they disagree. There’s usually a consensus on quality, because trained tasters have similar perceptions, even if their preferences may differ, which brings me to my next point:

2. Quality is not the same as preference.
The notion of objective quality is best understood within a stylistic context, and may require some palate-empathy if you happened to dislike that style. I’m not the biggest fan of Aussie Shiraz, but I can recognize a good one when I taste it, and I’ve gained more empathy over the years for people who like that style.

3. The level of rigor in wine “facts” is extremely low
Notions like “transparency”, “terroir”, “the dumb phase”, “shut down”, and “minerality” are interesting to think about, but invariably we throw them around like solid facts instead of the tenuous claims they are.

4. Wine doesn’t go with Indian food.
It just doesn’t.

5. Clarity of perception leads to more memorable and impactful experiences.
This, in a nutshell, is the reason I blind taste. Aside from the intellectual challenge of bringing theory to bear during deduction, I’ve found that as my tasting becomes clearer and more objective, my experience of tasting wines I love is more detailed. My tasting notes become less fantasy and more discovery and observation.

[Berry_Crawford]

I learned I disagree with everything Rajiv wrote about wine in this thread.

I also think most grape varietals can make world class wines when matched with the right winemaker and growing conditions.

Almost all wine growing regions with good drainage, moderate heat and cool evenings can make world class wines.

Regions like Burgundy and Napa are famous mostly for historical reasons. They make great wines there, but hundreds of other spots on earth could make wine just as good. Most of them probably have few or no vineyards at this point.

New oak generally makes a wine worse.

Eventually the best Pinot Noirs in California will come from the Sierra Foothills and they will rival Burgundy. I know that sounds retarded but if you live long enough, remember this post.

[Bill_S]

Lession 1) Drink what you like not what everyone says you should like. Critics scores are a good starting place but remember some wineries don’t submit their wines to the critics so that unscored $20 cab may drink like its 95 pt neighbor.

Lesson 2) ALWAYS return tainted bottles! and if you have a good relationship with your LWR even those bottles you just don’t like. I personally tell all my customers to return it if they don’t care for it (most of the time they don’t lol).

Lesson 3) Every day is a special occasion. Holding on to that special bottle just because it is expensive is a losing proposition. You may not be around to enjoy it tomorrow God forbid so drink up.

Lesson 4) Learn all you can and listen to everyone talking about wine. You may not agree but any information is better than none.

Lesson 5) Wine is best when enjoyed with like minded people. Join a tasting group or start one yourself.

Lesson 6) Price isn’t everything but… the more you pay the better it should be, the trick is finding those wines that drink above their price tag. I’ve had $10 bottles that drank like $30 and $60 bottles I wouldn’t have paid $20 for but the only way to know is to try them.

Lesson 7) Yes aging makes a HUGE difference. My most memorable bottles was a 20 yr old Ch Haut Brion that made the other $100 bottles we had open taste like grape juice, that one shut up the entire room !

[Craig_G]

@Bill S.

Lession 1) Drink what you like not what everyone says you should like.

This is just crazy talk.

[Steve_Slatcher]

Wine is fermented grape juice, its enjoyment is totally subjective, and it’s fun and often tastes nice.

On top of that you can layer symbolism, culture and aesthetic systems if you are into that sort of thing. But just don’t let that stuff take over and fool you into thinking wine is special or mystical, or that its quality is objective. Don’t let it get in the way of the important stuff.

[Bob_Kot]

It never ends, which is the most endearing aspect.

Always learning, experiencing and keeping myself open to new and old wines, wine makers and the people that engage with wines makes for a never ending revelation.

Cheers!