The following comment was submitted by Paul de (J. P.) Bary, author of The Persistent Observer’s Guide to Wine: How to Enjoy the Best and Skip the Rest. Paul was a college classmate of Steve’s.
Kudos for your focus on what matters most – taste!
I love Steve’s simple rules*. Most people have an intuition about them, but are misled by all the hype.
Learning to know what you like is all about feeling comfortable with your own sense of taste. You can connect that with the hype once you get comfortable with your own instincts.
Most people get confused about Rule #2, thinking that you have to memorize labels. With all the wines in the world, that’s obviously a daunting proposition…and there’s no guarantee that any specific wine will be available when you want it or that it will be the best choice under the circumstances.
What’s easier to remember is the grape variety (or blend of grapes), the region and the style of the wines you drink and how they fit with the food or occasion.
These are the types of things that are easy to bring home from a visit to a winery and your tips make that experience easier and more rewarding.
Keep up the good work!
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* 1. Know what you like. 2. Remember what it’s called.