What’s the best way to Up your Wine Game?

The easiest way to up your wine game is go to local wine tastings. Ask questions, pay attention to what you are actually tasting in your mouth, and talk to the other tasters. If you are finding that you still want more of that wine knowledge then I recommend going to the monthly tastings held by the local chapter of the American Wine Society.Now for those that just started to tune out because you saw “Society,” relax. It’s a club that drinks a lot of wine, eats good food, and then talks about that wine. Even though society sounds fancy, which was probably the point, there are no wine snobs here. No one is going to judge you because you “don’t know wine,” or if you taste something totally different than everyone else, which happens all the time. It’s a chance to hang out, try new wines and learn a little more about wine. Even if you don’t care to know why that wine tastes the way it does you can go to drink, eat, and then drink more. Just make sure you can get home safely.This month’s local chapter AWS meeting was a tasting of the Southern Rhône. The Rhône River Valley region produces some of the best wines in the world. While there are some outstanding white wines that come out of the Rhône the first to mind, and mouth, is red. The “big 3” red grape varietals here are Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, blended together. GSMs from here are often big, potent, yet with the capacity to have finesse with complex fruit. It’s why this is one of my favorite wine regions. If any of this sounds good you can find the Emerald Coast Chapter of the AWS on Facebook or email pamdavey@aol.com (the chapter president) for more information. It’s a good time!