So believe it or not loyal readers there are apparently, on average, about 150 of you a day who come visit this modest wine blog of mine.  Not a huge number by online standards but a nice number considering my first month or two I was getting about 3-5 daily views.

Anyway, I bring YOU up as I am curious and want to hear from YOU!  Seriously, I really do.

Having fully immersed myself in the wine business I have a lot of daily interaction with people within the trade.  And there are some common themes in terms of wine buying habits, while others are not that common.

First and foremost there is a NEW magic number in wine.  Or range to be more exact.  The new range is $14-$18 (back in the good old pre-recession days it was $20-25) to be.  Apparently that is what consumers are (for the most part) prepared to spend on a bottle of wine these days.  Sure there are those that spend more or less money.  And of course we might still splurge for a special occasion.  But in general, this is what the greatest percentage of people are spending.

But I’m curious.  Are you checking out wines from new regions?  Are you trying new varietals?  How about blends?  Are you for them or against them?  Are there wines from countries that you favor?  Are there wines from countries you simply won’t touch?

We all know by now that I am all about Israeli wines.  And you can probably infer that I am also pretty down with trying new things.  Don’t get me wrong, Cab is still king in my book and I’ll go for a good Cabernet (or Bordeaux style blend) with my favorite bloody rare steak any day.  But for things other than red meat I’m pretty open minded.  I want to try a nice Sangiovese…from Israel.  Or a cool red blend with…pinotage.  Seriously!

How about you?  What do you spend?  What varietal do you look for?  Do you ask the salespeople for help or do you choose a wine yourself?  Do you prefer certain countries or regions?  If you do, is it because those regions have good reputations for wine production or because you are a proud supporter of a certain country (said the Zionist)?  Do you buy all your wines at your local wine shop or do you travel to the discount place?  How about online?  Do you buy wine off the web?

PLEASE leave a comment and let me know.  I’m super curious.  If you are shy, you can contact me directly (gary@winetastingguy.com) instead of leaving a comment for all of cyberspace to read.  I promise, I will not Spam you (at least not any time soon – KIDDING).  But it would be real informative and help me out.  If only 20% of you comment that should be about 25-30 comments.  I can’t wait to hear what you think…

I’ll start.  When I’m not buying Israeli wine I’m mostly trying wines from France or Italy.  I used to buy online but I get deals at retailers I work with so I buy mostly from them these days.  I prefer not to spend more than $20, but I have a wine buying addiction (that I am working on) so if something sounds/looks really good I may splurge.  I have been curious about Cab Franc these days and have been into Chinon.  In general I’m up for checking out new varietals.  I’m trying to better familiarize myself with highly reputed wines such as Burgundy & Brunello (hello wine tasting group & industry tastings).  Given the weather I prefer red to white.  Finally, nothing is better than enjoying a nice glass of wine with someone special.  Now if I can only figure out a way for the special young woman in my life to have a sip of wine with dinner and not pass out from it 10 minutes later.

I look forward to hearing from YOU!!!

Happy introducing yourself to the wine tasting guy…

WTG