Go wide and shallow before you delve deeper and narrower.Try different styles of wines and grapes.Find a trusted source such as Fiona or Brian Elliot of MidWeek Wines website to help you on the way.Make some notes and be confident that you can be self taught.
What a corker (sorry - couldn't resist!) of a post. Resonates so much. By no means am I expert, which for some very peculiar and mind boggling reason, some people expect me to be because I cook food for a living - therefore apparently I should know what to match to every single morsel - but I know what I like and don't like and am always happy to experiment. But, even being in the 'industry', I still get awfully 'wine crippled' sometimes when going to an establishment and I open the wine list and there is page after page of wines / varieties I've never heard of. Even more exasberating when the rest of the table are utterly bamboozled and say "you choose...you are the Chef after all"! Arrghhhh...
Will be sharing this wonderful post for you as it just hits the nail on the head! (Must join one of your wine tasting sessions too very soon!)
I've always reckoned that is connected to the fact that wine can be an investment and traded like stocks and shares. It has "vintages" to avoid etc etc. In other words its commodities market dimensions have somehow been allowed to invade private life and sheer drinking pleasure. (This hasn't happened with fish or cheese, so you're allowed just to enjoy those and not be bothered whether a particular fish has been mould-ripened or not.) Enjoy first; find out more later if you become hooked (like a fish, I guess...)
Go wide and shallow before you delve deeper and narrower.Try different styles of wines and grapes.Find a trusted source such as Fiona or Brian Elliot of MidWeek Wines website to help you on the way.Make some notes and be confident that you can be self taught.
Thoroughly sound advice, Paul!
What a corker (sorry - couldn't resist!) of a post. Resonates so much. By no means am I expert, which for some very peculiar and mind boggling reason, some people expect me to be because I cook food for a living - therefore apparently I should know what to match to every single morsel - but I know what I like and don't like and am always happy to experiment. But, even being in the 'industry', I still get awfully 'wine crippled' sometimes when going to an establishment and I open the wine list and there is page after page of wines / varieties I've never heard of. Even more exasberating when the rest of the table are utterly bamboozled and say "you choose...you are the Chef after all"! Arrghhhh...
Will be sharing this wonderful post for you as it just hits the nail on the head! (Must join one of your wine tasting sessions too very soon!)
Please do, Rory. And ‘wine crippled’ perfectly describes the phenomenon!
I think you nailed this. I look forward to Monday- hoping I can join in! A wonderful grape!
Do hope you can too, Kate. (And I agree!)
What time is tasting, next Monday?
6.30pm BST!
Am I afraid of wine? No, but I like to test any potential fear one bottle at a time.
Excellent policy!
I've always reckoned that is connected to the fact that wine can be an investment and traded like stocks and shares. It has "vintages" to avoid etc etc. In other words its commodities market dimensions have somehow been allowed to invade private life and sheer drinking pleasure. (This hasn't happened with fish or cheese, so you're allowed just to enjoy those and not be bothered whether a particular fish has been mould-ripened or not.) Enjoy first; find out more later if you become hooked (like a fish, I guess...)
Interesting perspective! You could well be right.