Resolve to Learn Something About Wine This Year
What a fun resolution! You can’t expect to become an expert about wine in one year; but you can learn something new. Try a varietal that you have never tried before—Viognier, Nebbiolo, Carmenère, etc. Explore the wines of a particular country or region—Spain, South Africa, Germany, Argentina, etc. Visit an area winery and learn about how grapes are grown or wine is made—Equus Run, Talon Winery, Jean Farris Winery, Elk Creek, etc. Make a vacation visit to a wine region outside of Kentucky—Napa Valley CA, Willamette Valley OR, Hunter Valley Australia, etc. Purchase an issue or subscribe to a wine magazine—Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, etc. Buy a wine reference book—The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson, Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion: The Encyclopedia of Wines, Vineyards, & Winemakers (or Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009: 32nd Edition), Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine, etc.
Obviously, learning about wine requires tasting wine. So, go to wine tastings, attend a wine class, or pick up something other than your usual at your favorite wine shop. Explore food and wine pairings at home and/or in restaurants. Start an informal tasting group where interested friends and acquaintances gather at each other’s homes and everyone brings a wine around a theme—a particular varietal, country, vintage year, wine region, price point, etc. But most of all, have fun!
In wine, truth and health!