Don’t expect to find an amazing wine at every tasting.

“This was the first tasting that I didn’t buy anything.” I got that last week from a relatively new taster to our area. “That’s okay.” I replied. I continued; “It is still fun, and you learned more wine stuff. Don’t feel like you have to buy a bottle at every tasting, unless you want to.” That is a pretty profound statement to a relatively new taster who is a wine lover. This led me to suggest a few wine tasting rules:

• First rule: Go to every tasting to have a good time.
• Second rule: TRY EVERYTHING!
• Third rule: Think about what you tasted, for wines you like and didn’t like. If you liked that wine, figure out why you liked it, both the mouth feel and taste. Wine has both. Got some dark cherries but left your mouth feeling dry? Remember to taste AND feel.
• Fourth rule: Don’t be a wine snob (see my previous post on wine snobs).
• Fifth rule: Don’t feel like you have to buy a bottle. Some wines were okay but nothing really stood out? That’s okay.
• Final rule: Have a good time! This is not a repeat of rule 1. If you are going through the tasting and are not having a good time, don’t force it! Just head home and come out to the next tasting.

Tonight’s crowd favorite by a slim majority was MERF Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. It was good, okay, decent, not bad. Some folks bought, others didn’t. Nothing really stood out to a lot of tasters, but it was a good time with fun people. That’s the secret to good wine, start with good people.