Wine has a justifiable reputation for being intimidating: there’s a lot to know. All that knowledge can seem big and scary, and leave us feeling insecure. It might sound funny, but the first, most essential step to becoming confident with wine is to embrace that vulnerability, and prepare for a lifetime of learning. The sooner you can get comfortable with the magnitude of what there is to know—and content that you, in fact, do not need to master wine to relish it—the more you will enjoy your overall experience. You do not need to memorize all the communes in Bordeaux or which grapes are grown in Romania in order to properly swoon over a great bottle; thankfully, the pleasure of wine is not reserved for experts. While I am here to help you develop a sense of intimacy and comfort with wine, I’ll also be the first to tell you that getting too technical can suck the romance right out of your glass. As you begin your education, I urge you to celebrate wine’s complexity and intrigue, and also to savor the trip. If you fall in love, you will be challenged, as much as you like, for the rest of your wine drinking days.
Here are just some of the ways in which this moving target will keep you curious, once she’s captured your heart.
Wine is truly fascinating. I’m not just talking about being intrigued by what’s in the glass, but also the way in which it opens doors to learning about so many other things. A single bottle can inspire us to pick up a history book, learn about another culture, contemplate a scientific principle, enthuse over maps, or venture off to a new place. And the best part . . . you drink it!
Wine is one of the only things I can think of that combines intellect with pure, unadulterated sensory hedonism. Reading alone will never make you winewise; no book can duplicate the ultrasexy texture of pinot noir or the purely animalistic aroma of South Africa’s signature grape, pinotage. To truly absorb wine, you have to absorb it, which is pretty much the best homework ever.
Real wine comes from a farm, not a factory. Although some wine companies churn out cases of widget wine so formulated and fixed up in a chemistry lab that it becomes as predictable and tasty as plastic, true wine—artisan wine—is highly affected by the annual cycle of the vineyard, and by the care that is taken in growing the sweet little baby grapes that deliver it. This dynamic beverage, once bottled, still breathes and evolves. It remains extremely sensitive to time, temperature, travel, and context (like what mood you’re in when you experience it, who you’re with, or what you’re eating).
Did You Know? Danish researchers at the Institute of Preventive Medicine say that wine drinkers have a higher IQ than beer and spirits drinkers or abstainers.
Buy a dozen bottles of a stellar cabernet and taste one every year for twelve years. You’ll surely notice it keeps changing on you. Like anything with a soul, wine is hard to capture. It is never the same twice, but that’s part of its elusive charm.
You may have already discovered . . . wine has a spiritual side; if you let it, it has a way of brightening your awareness. One of the things that first attracted me to wine was that when I drank it, I noticed that I felt more connected to the earth and to the people I shared it with. In a world where people are increasingly detached—despite, and perhaps because of, a tsunami of technology—wine demands you sit still. It helps you tune out distraction and be more present in the moment. It effortlessly initiates meaningful conversation and carves pathways that link you to the person across the table, even if you start out as strangers.
I’m a beer advocate, and I love a handcrafted cocktail, too, but neither seems to have the contemplative trigger that wine does.
Of course, not all wines will change your life and not all of your wine experiences will be thoughtful. But, often, drinking good wine reminds you to be a more mindful human and can make everyday life more vivid.
Wine is big, deep, and mysterious. It’s going to take a long time, and a lot of drinking, for you to feel like you really know wine. And, typically, as soon as you think you’ve got it, it surprises you with a fascinating twist. Just keep repeating this mantra: Learning about wine is sexy, not scary.