The general plan is to have 3-4 Learning Wines per month. While we certainly tend to drink more bottles than that per month, I cannot neglect the great CA wines in my collection! This does mean that it should take several years to get through the world of wines, based on my list thus far (which is not all-inclusive!). I’ll choose a country (and region/appellation, etc., if applicable) and choose a few types of wine that I want to try. I‘ll consult my running list that has been assembled as I read. As I don’t drink alone (well, usually not!), Myles will help me on this quest.
Over the course of time, I hope to refine my tasting abilities and hopefully that will become evident as my wine education progresses. (I’ve printed, and laminated(!), a wine aroma and wine tasting wheel). We’ll decide on a score for the wine (as we have begun doing for all wines in our collection), however it will be less of a review and more a notation of whether or not I want to buy more of it. I’ll post about each bottle, including a photo, with my tasting notes and also include tasting notes from the winery, wine shop or elsewhere on the internet. I’ll likely post occasionally about the other wines I drink, especially when I have something simply wonderful, as well as other quips and wine-related thoughts.
My wine source is likely to primarily be K&L Wines in Redwood City for several reasons, first being their incredible selection, second the proximity of their store to my house and third, their user friendly website. I’ve spent quite a lot of time on their website already (as I love to online shop!), and it’s super simple to pick a country, region and varietal and see precisely what’s in stock in RWC at that very moment. Plus they have descriptions of the wines and show the scores the wines have received (if applicable) from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, etc. This will avoid my standing, helpless, in their narrow rows of wine bottles every month overwhelmed and unable to make decisions. I may also purchase wines at Beltramo’s in Menlo Park, and occasionally at Whole Foods, BevMo and even Trader Joe’s (because I just know there have to be some good wines on their shelves besides my Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs!).
I plan to spend between $10 and $40 per bottle, and hope that most of my selections will be under $25. While I’m certainly comfortable and willing to spend more on a great bottle of wine, its one thing to spend $$ on a wine I was able to try in a tasting room or is from a favorite winery and another to do it on a bottle I’ve never had, from a region I’ve no experience with, with a label in a language I may not even speak!
I think I will begin in France (because, well, shouldn’t I?), but will bounce around the globe to keep things interesting and also to let the weather play a factor in my choices. Myles and I will likely be drinking each wine with and/or after dinner, and our food choices vary according to the temperature. Plus, it just wouldn’t be as fun to be sampling red Bordeaux in August or vintage Porto during the Indian summer we get in California each October.
And of course, I’m still the nerd I am, so I will keep reading in order to continue my education with the written word.
What I Knew When I Started
This is going to be long, but it’s my very first post, so that’s ok.
My informal wine education began when I was 22, immediately following college. Myles and I lived in Phoenix, Arizona and went to almost weekly wine tastings at a wine shop called Red Kangaroo Wines. As you might have guessed, they sold Australian wine. Thus, much of the red wine consumed at home was Australian (often from Trader Joe’s) and I nearly always had bottles of Chateau St. Michelle Riesling on hand, for drinking and cooking, which I got for $7-$8 a bottle at Costco.
Not long after our first son was born we moved to California, and I joined a wine club through the local mother’s club. While none of us were particularly serious or well-informed, I did learn how to properly taste wine and finally started tasting things from places other than Australia, especially California. I also became smitten with New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, and some local reds (especially the zinfandel) from Woodside Vineyards.
In late 2008 I bought my first case of wine through the Stanford Wine Program (a split of 6 bottles of Napa Merlot, which was from Livingston-Moffet and 6 bottles of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, which was from Thomas Fogarty). I also received futures I’d purchased in 2007 at Woodside Vineyards. This necessitated our first long-term wine storage solution, a used 12 bottle wine refrigerator. By this time I’d also taken a two night European Wine class through the local Parks and Rec department, where I was introduced to Port.
Finally, in April 2009 we made our first trek up to “wine country”, spending a day hitting wineries in Napa up and down Highway 29. We came home with more than a case of wine and two wine club memberships, to Merryvale and the Napa “gem” we happened to discover: Elizabeth Spencer. It suddenly became acceptable to spend upwards of $50 on a bottle of wine. Upon our return, I ordered a 28 bottle wine fridge to accommodate our growing collection.
In late summer 2009, my first wine club having lost my interest, I joined a new club coordinated by a wine educator friend that included several people far more experienced in wine tasting and collecting than myself. Our monthly meetings expose me to new wine regions (Italy, Spain, etc.) and new methods of tasting. Myles and I were still enjoying the wines we purchased in Napa and were receiving in our club shipments. We had stopped buying wine in stores.
Learning in November 2009 that I was pregnant with our second son, I continued to taste, but spit, wine, attend wine club, and learn about wine in general. In May 2010, nearly 8 months pregnant, we spent a lovely long weekend in both Sonoma and Napa for a wedding, visiting our favorite wineries and discovering some new ones. We again brought home massive amounts of wine (this time, two cases) and a new club membership to Prager Port Works. (Wine fridge #3 joined the family shortly thereafter, holding 16 bottles).
So this brings us to when I decided to get serious about my wine education. As soon as I got home from this May trip, I found myself thinking about wine on a constant basis. I even dreamed about it. Every night. First, I created an inventory spreadsheet of what we currently owned. We had about 60 bottles and all, read ALL, of it was from California. While I’m sure I could be perfectly happy to sip our fabulous local fruits for the remainder of my life, I couldn’t help but think that I had to be missing out on something by not drinking wines from elsewhere in the world. Being a bit of a nerdy book learner, and unable to dive right into drinking new wines, I began by ordering a slew of wine books from Amazon and started to read. (See my reading/resource list). Along the way I’ve been making a list of everything I want to try from around the world. I decided I needed to keep track of my learnings, thus this blog was born.
So, here’s what I know going in... I LOVE wine. Besides water, I hardly drink anything else. I like ALL wines. That’s right, I’m not privy to white or red, like many people are (or claim to be). Depending on my mood, the weather, the food, I enjoy reds, whites, roses, desserts wines, dry, off-dry, fortified, sparkling... I also know that my two areas of most concentration, Australia and California, have prevented me from trying as wide a breadth of varietals and styles as I’d like. As I continue to love wine, I want to know wine. And so, I will now taste the wines of the world.
My informal wine education began when I was 22, immediately following college. Myles and I lived in Phoenix, Arizona and went to almost weekly wine tastings at a wine shop called Red Kangaroo Wines. As you might have guessed, they sold Australian wine. Thus, much of the red wine consumed at home was Australian (often from Trader Joe’s) and I nearly always had bottles of Chateau St. Michelle Riesling on hand, for drinking and cooking, which I got for $7-$8 a bottle at Costco.
Not long after our first son was born we moved to California, and I joined a wine club through the local mother’s club. While none of us were particularly serious or well-informed, I did learn how to properly taste wine and finally started tasting things from places other than Australia, especially California. I also became smitten with New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, and some local reds (especially the zinfandel) from Woodside Vineyards.
In late 2008 I bought my first case of wine through the Stanford Wine Program (a split of 6 bottles of Napa Merlot, which was from Livingston-Moffet and 6 bottles of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, which was from Thomas Fogarty). I also received futures I’d purchased in 2007 at Woodside Vineyards. This necessitated our first long-term wine storage solution, a used 12 bottle wine refrigerator. By this time I’d also taken a two night European Wine class through the local Parks and Rec department, where I was introduced to Port.
Finally, in April 2009 we made our first trek up to “wine country”, spending a day hitting wineries in Napa up and down Highway 29. We came home with more than a case of wine and two wine club memberships, to Merryvale and the Napa “gem” we happened to discover: Elizabeth Spencer. It suddenly became acceptable to spend upwards of $50 on a bottle of wine. Upon our return, I ordered a 28 bottle wine fridge to accommodate our growing collection.
In late summer 2009, my first wine club having lost my interest, I joined a new club coordinated by a wine educator friend that included several people far more experienced in wine tasting and collecting than myself. Our monthly meetings expose me to new wine regions (Italy, Spain, etc.) and new methods of tasting. Myles and I were still enjoying the wines we purchased in Napa and were receiving in our club shipments. We had stopped buying wine in stores.
Learning in November 2009 that I was pregnant with our second son, I continued to taste, but spit, wine, attend wine club, and learn about wine in general. In May 2010, nearly 8 months pregnant, we spent a lovely long weekend in both Sonoma and Napa for a wedding, visiting our favorite wineries and discovering some new ones. We again brought home massive amounts of wine (this time, two cases) and a new club membership to Prager Port Works. (Wine fridge #3 joined the family shortly thereafter, holding 16 bottles).
So this brings us to when I decided to get serious about my wine education. As soon as I got home from this May trip, I found myself thinking about wine on a constant basis. I even dreamed about it. Every night. First, I created an inventory spreadsheet of what we currently owned. We had about 60 bottles and all, read ALL, of it was from California. While I’m sure I could be perfectly happy to sip our fabulous local fruits for the remainder of my life, I couldn’t help but think that I had to be missing out on something by not drinking wines from elsewhere in the world. Being a bit of a nerdy book learner, and unable to dive right into drinking new wines, I began by ordering a slew of wine books from Amazon and started to read. (See my reading/resource list). Along the way I’ve been making a list of everything I want to try from around the world. I decided I needed to keep track of my learnings, thus this blog was born.
So, here’s what I know going in... I LOVE wine. Besides water, I hardly drink anything else. I like ALL wines. That’s right, I’m not privy to white or red, like many people are (or claim to be). Depending on my mood, the weather, the food, I enjoy reds, whites, roses, desserts wines, dry, off-dry, fortified, sparkling... I also know that my two areas of most concentration, Australia and California, have prevented me from trying as wide a breadth of varietals and styles as I’d like. As I continue to love wine, I want to know wine. And so, I will now taste the wines of the world.
About this blog
It’s my wine education. I’m drinking my way around the world. Join me, glass-in-hand, by starting here:
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