I think I am way past the stage of reading loads of literature, and playing with an experimental palate. At this point in my life, the content that I mostly consume is this website and the advisory of my close friends from this website. The great thing about participating on this website for a long period of time, is that you develop friendships that evolve off-line. That is where deep learning really takes place, in my humble opinion, as there are so many incredible experts on so many different subjects on this very website.
At this point, I only subscribe to the Robert Parker website, and only because William Kelley has taken the helm, I stopped subscribing more than 20 years ago, and only recently joined up. And I really like what I am seeing. William writes excellent vintage reviews and regional reviews, peppered with really excellent tasting notes, and occasionally does in-depth reviews of wines from certain vintages, or whatever he finds in his cellar that is of interest.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention Jeff Leveās website, the international wine cellar. Jeff clearly puts a lot of work and effort into maintaining this website and keeping it very updated, with very current vintage and wine reviews. He also has very detailed write-ups on many of the great estates in Bordeaux. Some are a bit generic, but others have a lot of historical detail that really add a lot of flavor and color to the website.
The obvious answers have already been mentioned here several times:
Pull wine corks.
Drink the contents.
But travel can be an incomparable answer. For decades, most of my travel was professionally wine related. Even when it was not, I would try to assuage the annoyance of family and friends by going to wine regions with other attractions. In France, time divided between vineyards and Paris.
Admittedly, that doesnāt always work. I have no regrets about trips to Hawaii, Scotland and Tierra del Fuego.
Yup. At the end of the day, all we have are our palates.
Personally, I like drinking wine blind (obviously not on all occasions), for multiple reasons. It keeps my opinions honest and, to an extent, it keeps my wallet honest - easier to drop allocations when the wines are bad blind. But it also means I donāt have to rationalize the price of the wine Iām drinking, which I find to be a nice antidote to all the discussions about prices.
Reading, watching, talking, tasting, experimenting. When I was first getting into wine I learned a lot from Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinsonās books. As a lover of maps I got a particularly large amount from the World Atlas of Wine. Tasting at wine merchants was huge for me as a student back in England where there was a lot of wine regularly available to taste for free. The old Wine Library TV site and forum were also a big part of my wine discovery journey in my late teens and early twenties.
Before I got into the industry but after Iād sort of cut my teeth on the fundamentals, I mostly learned by hosting tastings. I would host themed tastings for friends and would have to learn enough to talk sensibly about the theme and answer friendsā questions, which was a big motivation.
Since getting into the wine industry, the main way in which Iāve learned has been from my wonderful colleagues - an extended and joyful form of show and tell. And on the technical side of things I regularly read the American Journal of Viticulture and Enology, the Waterhouse et al Understanding Wine Chemistry is a forever reference, and I get to do my own experiments!
Really good information, some I knew, some I will have to check out. I second the AttorneySomm recommendation. His content has changed my buying behavior around Bordeaux in particular, opening my eyes to relative value wines from there.
Same here. I had all but written off left bank Bordeaux, but his videos really turned that around for me. Enjoyed several amazing QPR first and second wines in the last 6 months as a result.
Care to share a favorite or two that youāve enjoyed on the younger side? So far, of his recommendations, Iāve purchased far more than Iāve opened.
On the Right Bank, I really enjoyed the 2019 Chateau Laroque. I bought several bottles, so I sacrificed one. It didnāt disappoint.
Iād fully agree on the value of wine travel - Iāve found no single better way to understand wines or wine regions than by being in them even for a few days. And it is knowledge that stays with you much longer; my understanding of the geography and terroir after traveling to a place like the Barossa will last a lifetime compared to reading about it in a book. Not that we can all travel nonstop of course, but it does mean I prioritize those regions I want to learn more about.
And yes, trips to Ireland and India were not wine related, but still are some of my favorites. Fingers crossed for the same with a weekend trip to Detroit for fun coming up in a couple weekends!
I like to read magazine articles on a wine region and its wines, then try some. If I enjoy some of the wines and want to learn more, I typically buy books on the region and then consume those. Then I try to buy a case or so of singles from various producers and vintages to see what I like best or least about the wines, whether I prefer modern or traditional producers, big or rustic, etc. All the while I read threads on here and see what folks have to say. Itās all very fun.
Obviously not popular here as a way to learn about wine, but I have embarked on the certification route and have passed WSET Level 1 a couple of weeks back. I also enrolled in Cornellās āWines of the Worldā certificate currently working on French wine. It is very different, in that you need to complete your own research with much latitude and write projects in order to earn the certificate, which I was not expecting, however, I kind of enjoy writing college level papers again, lol!
Future plans to continue certification with the various certification entities, as I prefer structured learning about the multiple aspects of wine and I donāt just want to know about what wines I like, as I have learned it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Working makes wine travel challenging, however, I think that is the best way to really understand a wine region, so it is on the bucket list for sure! Also, already I have become more comfortable with the old world concept of ājust knowingā what is in the bottle based on a few key words, even though that doesnāt speak to the individual producer, which really makes it fun to peruse the wine aisles and wine lists again!
Grand Puy Ducasse and Chateau Corbin were both great, and under the radar for me. Johnās <$40 and <$50 videos for Bordeaux both seem to really offer up some gems (still need to keep locating all of them to try!)
