I started this website a long time ago as a blog. I was eager to learn, and to share (or inflict upon others) what I had learned. To the average person wine was something that could be confusing, and it would be easier to fall back on the lowest common denominator rather than taking the time to do a bit of research to find a better option.
The Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) courses showed me that wine could be studied, analysed and understood. By approaching each wine topic in a logical and structured setting, wine became demystified, and one learned to appreciate the beauty wine could offer.
So this was the answer! One didn’t have to be a poet or an artist to understand wine. It could be approached rationally, deconstructed, and put back together again to be enjoyed.
Time passed, and slowly my opinion changed. I understood that people wanted to be educated, but they didn’t like to be schooled. While I might have thrown my whole life into wine, to others it was a means of enjoyment with a meal with friends, a last-minute gifting decision, or just something to drown the memory of the week just past.
Everyone is different, and while not everyone is rational all of the time, they are being reasonable within the context of their own lives.
Finally, I accepted that people are emotional beings. Because to pick and choose between one style of wine or another means to have a preference. And having a preference, in most cases, simply boils down to “because it pleases me”.
And that’s perfectly fine. Tastes are as varied as faces, and it would be impolite to deny anyone theirs.
This doesn’t mean wine courses are not relevant. Once you understand your preferences, you need to have the knowledge to actually find the wine to suit your palate.
Sadly, this seems to be an area where many have trouble. When have we ever been taught to pay attention to our sense of taste and smell? As with wine, so with food – people often fall to the lowest common denominator. The global obesity epidemic is evidence of that.
This has slowly changed. People are paying more attention to what they are eating, where their food comes from and how it is grown. The greater the quality of the ingredients, the greater the enjoyment.
It is exactly the same with wine. If you know what you are drinking, where it comes from, and how it was produced, your enjoyment is similarly enhanced.
Good food, good wine, and finally, good company. A little less suffering in the world. Is there really much more to a happy life than that?
P.S. – If you would ever like to meet me in person check out my Calendar, you might just catch me at one of Sydney’s many tasting events!