Many people like wine, me included. However, I am not a wine expert by any means. But rest assured wine lovers because there are many ways for you to become wine experts in a very short amount of time. Here is a list of some of the ways to become a wine expert quickly:
1. Buy a small notebook in order to keep track of the wine bottles that you uncork. May I suggest the small black oil clothed covered notebooks by Moleskine, which are favored by Matisse and Celine make excellent wine journals.
2. Take the time to compare and contrast two Chardonnays and decide for yourself if oak and Chardonnay really go together.
3. Draft a 2007 wine budget: Think about how much money that you wish to spend on wine then put the money into three categories of wine: everyday day bottles of wines, special occasion bottles of wine and bottles of wine that will be placed in a wine refrigerator for a long period of time. Then hold a calculator in one hand and a glass of the fruity 2005 Gulihem Durand Syrah from France which is only twelve dollars a bottle. This is proof positive that living cheaply doesn’t mean drinking poorly.
4. It may be interesting to check out an Internet wine tasting forum such as West Coast Wine Network where you can compare your wine tasting notes with other oenophiles.
5. Take a trip to a local winery because there is bound to be one nearby since every state has wineries. Wineries have become more popular since the movie Sideways. Flat Creek Estates just outside of Austin, Texas has a great tasting room where you can taste some very robust wines.
6. Be adventurous by putting your wine knowledge to the test by taking a quiz on wineeducation.com. There are three levels to the quiz: basic, wine lovers, and wine professionals.
7. Try cooking a hearty Italian dish such as osso buco because it’s perfect on a cold and frosty Sunday evening The Lamb Osso Buco with Tapenade from top chef Suzanne Goin is very well suited to any well bodied Tuscan red wine.
8. Try new wine and cheese combinations by buying three cheeses, goat Parmesan, and Brie and three white wines in order to see how well white wine works with cheese; with the goat cheese try the zingy 2005 Patient Cottat Sancerre for $25 and with the Parmesan try the fruity Roederer Estate NV Brut sparkling wine for $24 and with the Brie sample the generous Elk Cove Pinot Gris for $18.
9. Buy a poster featuring the world’s most famous wine art: Wine labels of Chateau Mouton Rothschild are designed by the likes of Dali and Picasso at shopcreator.com
10. Pair a variety of red and white wines with chocolate. Red wines and Belgium chocolates are delicious.
Reference:
- food and wine magazine, Feburary 2007
