On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:35:14 -0400, Ben Snyder >
wrote:

>Hello all
>
>Since I've asked a couple questions recently, I thought it would be a
>good idea to introduce myself.

A rare example of social grace which is increasingly hard to come by
these days. Welcome aboard.
>
>I'm a married guy (wife and four kids) in southern Vermont, USA. I've
>loved wine since I was old enough to drink it, though never really got
>too far into it. Started a very small collection, totaled about a case,
>about six years ago. At the time I liked Beaujolais-Villages, some
>light Cabs, and number one was Alsatian Gewurztraminer. After moving to
>VT and keeping only a few bottles from the collection, I found no one to
>enjoy wine with. Wife doesn't drink at all.

I'm a fan of Alsace Gewurz and Reisling as well. (Someone will jump up
shortly from the Euro contingent to point out that Alsatian is a
dog--what we in the colonies usually refer to as a German Shepherd.)

Does you wife not drink because of distaste for alcohol or because she
doesn't like wine? If the former, then that's fine. If the latter, she
might be eased into enjoyment as you explore the world of wine. Get
into the habit of wine with meals and always offer her a small portion
of the current bottle. She may find something she enjoys. Meanwhile,
you maintain that rare social grace.
>
>Several months ago, my brother-in-law watched Sideways. He was so
>inspired by it that he came to visit, and declared we will now be wine
>aficionados. OK, no problem here. Since then, every week I have hosted
>a wine tasting/family meal for both of our families. Which is
>excellent, I love to cook, and of course wine :-)
>
>The good part of this is obvious - someone to enjoy wine with. Hardest
>part was getting brother-in-law off of the Pinot kick. Tasting pinots
>side by side every week gets a little tedious. Sideways, I love you and
>hate you... But thankfully now we have branched out into different
>wines. When I purchase a bottle of white, it's usually not embraced
>with open arms, though it does get tasted and enjoyed. The rose I have
>for today is really going to cause a stir...

Sideways did a lot for the wine community--some of it good and some
bad. Merlot, for example, can now be purchased for less but must be
consummed from a brown paper bag to keep the varietal name
undiscovered. Pinot Noir, OTOH, has continued to soar in price for
quality wine.
>
>I happen to prefer reds as long as they are not too tannic, pretty much
>equal preference between a French style and California style. For
>whites, I still enjoy the rose and lychee nose of a good Gewurz, and
>Sauvignon Blanc on occasion. Only had one Chard which I enjoyed, but it
>was really, really good. I'm learning more about French wines, but
>Italian wines are still a mystery to me. And mostly I stick to the
>mid-grade wines, with the rare foray into the upper-mid grade offerings.

I've found that a good way to discover new wines is to find a
restaurant that you enjoy which has a good, affordable wine list. You
pay more obviously than buying directly from the wine store, but you
benefit from having a knowledgeable source doing the research and
filtering the list down to quality offerings. I particularly
benefitted from an Italian upscale chain (Biaggi's) which had a
"reserve" wine list with some excellent examples of Barolo,
Barberesco, Chianti Classico and Super-Tuscans. I used to joke that
dinner at Biaggi always cost me several hundred dollars because I
would inevitably return home to order a case of something I'd tried at
dinner.
>
>After I get some more experience with coherent tasting notes, I'll be
>posting them.
>
So many wines, so little time. Prosit.

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com