This year I learned yet again just how little I know about wine. It’s been over 20 years now since I seriously got interested in this hobby. Yet I feel like I barely know more now than I did back then. There are still so many grapes I don’t know, much less the different clones or impacts of different rootstock. Soils fascinate me but knowing how my own soil can change significantly in only 20 feet I don’t understand how people can talk of the soil of a vineyard that is 10 acres in size. I still don’t understand if cool nights are a good thing and if so what exactly is cool enough. But mostly I learned that not knowing isn’t necessarily bad while observing my wife make her first Chardonnay from purchased fruit. She did (or didn’t do) things that I would never do and yet she made a wonderful wine that is honestly better than I probably would have made from the same fruit. So I learned that I need to continue to ask why and why again until I get it and if the answer doesn’t make sense then maybe the only reason is that it’s always been that way which doesn’t make it right, just old.
Never assume you completely know your “palate”.
A few things really jump out at me this year:
- I learned how great Riesling is at expressing its terrior;
- I learned to not pay attention to good v. bad vintages, but to understand their differences and how they appeal to my tastes (i.e. “off” vintage BDX);
- I learned about Steve Edmunds; and
- I became better at distinguishing styles.
Happy new year!
Botrytis does not impart any smell or taste to the wine, but rather it is the chemical process that takes place during the rotting and shriveling of the grapes that creates what we sticky-lovers often refer to as that hallmark botrytis aroma. I thought that was pretty nifty.
Learned that this is a great forum that welcomes people and encourages newcomers
Learned that the WS forum is run by a few people who hate outsiders coming into their world and will not be shy about keeping their forum strictly for a few people and will abuse anyone not in the inner circle
Truer words were never spoken!
I’ve learned:
I like Bordeaux and Bordeaux blends.
I need to better balance my cellar with more varieties.
Despite the previous statement, I could drink Chablis every day.
There are many friendly, knowledgeable and generous people on this board.
- I can purchase less - bought 100 fewer bottles than in 2013
- But…average bottle cost increased $10
- Fewer mailing lists and will continue to cull in 2015
- I don’t have to buy everything off a mailing list - be more selective
- Much fewer cabs, more pinot noir
- Chablis rocks!
- Bedrock and Rhys
- Shafer HSS really is all that and a bag of potato chips
- Zalto burg glasses…nothing better
my biggest lesson: the more i learn about wine, the less i know.
and that makes me love learning, tasting and talking about wine that much more.
+1. WB is one of the most open, civil forums I’ve encountered online. And a really high signal to noise ratio (or, at the least, the noise is minor enough that it’s easy to get past).
Yeah, I feel that way about my wine sometimes, too
It’s been a great year in so many respects…a couple of lessons for me:
- the diversity of expressions of Riesling has been a real eye opener, Germany now the fastest growing component of my cellar.
- the power of “seeing”, had the joy of visiting burgundy for the first time. Standing the in the vineyards was such an amazing experience, one that I’ll never forget.
- first chances tasting a number of Selosse wines, completely changed my view on Champagne.
- a good reminder on the generosity of wine people, nothing better than sharing great bottles with even better friends.
The importance of a diverse age-worthy cellar.
Don’t chase the market in your purchases. Look the other way for values.
Enjoy what is in your glass, good or bad. Your learning.
Don’t get over analytical. You will miss the pleasure
The need to buy more mature/drink now wines! More appreciation for WB’s. Best wishes to everyone!
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To keep an open mind because my palate is ever changing and evolving. If you had told this sweet wine fanatic in 2013 that I would become a dry sherry and sparkling wine fanatic I would have laughed in your face. Who knows what I will take a liking to next?
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Friends who love wine are worth cultivating.
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Always be nice and complementary to servers, somms and chefs. Share hour wine with them. Bring your favorites a complimentary bottle of wine.
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I want to see the sweet wine making regions of the world. Spain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Hungary, Portugal, Italy and Madeira.
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There is absolutely zero chance I will meet a single and dateable young woman via wine. Every single one I met this year was involved with somebody else already.
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It is my sacred duty to convert every person I meet into a sweet wine drinker.
Amen. The only constant of a wine evolution is that your palate will change, several times.
That I am still on the SQN waiting list.
More about Pinot Noir - had more Pinot in 2014 than in my entire wine drinking career as a whole.
That I love Zalto stemware.
That I know nothing about Champagne other than I love it.
Slippery slopes, here!
- I learned more about Burgundy, Spanish wines and Italian wines by going to tastings. And I plan to continue to go to tastings.
- That I really like Champagne. And I know very little about it.
- That I enjoy half-bottles. Probably a function of me getting older.
- There are really good wines from Sicily. And good wine values.
- And, that this Board continues to amaze me with the collective knowledge and passion that the members have.
Happy New Years, everyone!
Thanks,
Ed