With Passover having arrived and large family (and extended family) meals (and seders) taking place I seem to have become somewhat of a clergy. As the wine is poured it is inevitable that someone around the table will announce the presence of The Wine Tasting Guy. At which point open confession begins. The two most common confessions being either “I know nothing about wine” or “I’m embarrassed but I only like sweet wine”. I both love and hate hearing these common confessions. I love them as they provide an indication that the confessor has an appreciation for wine, albeit one that has yet to be flushed out. But I hate such confessions as they indicate an insecurity on the part of the confessor, something that likely resulted from an encounter with a dreaded “wine snob”.
I have preached many times before in this space that people need to trust their palates. YES, trying new wines MAY lead to a palate that can/will evolve beyond the sweet stuff. And YES, speaking (and drinking) with people who are more knowledgeable may lead to a better understanding of wine. BUT…
Wine is food, or at least a lot like it in many ways. We get used to foods that are introduced to us as kids. We either maintain an open mind and introduce ourselves to new foods and flavors or we don’t. And we don’t seek out approval from others to decide for us whether or not we LIKE a food. We try it and we either like it or not.
Wine is (or at least should be) the same way. Try a wine & decide whether or not you like it. That is all there is to it. Forget the label, the price tag, the critic’s rating, or any nonsense some Wine Tasting Guy told you. Nobody can tell you what will suit your palate.
I must confess that I do enjoy speaking about wine with those to whom it is of interest. And I do not mind the aforementioned wine confessions. I suppose this whole post has been about removing the pretension from wine so that more people would feel comfortable trying wine (or new wines) without having to worry about someone looking down their noses at them.
Happy open minded wine tasting!!
WTG
