Drinking wine is an acquired taste and for me, when I first started going to tastings or ordering a glass at a restaurant it was a little intimidating. I didn’t know what I liked, I probably couldn’t even pronounce Syrah. Thankfully, most of the staff at tasting rooms are more than helpful because they want you to find what you like! In fact, I received some really great advice at a tasting room that I still think about months later.
So, here it is. The best bit of knowledge I have ever received about drinking wine: “If you like the wine, it’s good wine.”
If you think the $200 bottle of wine tastes like crap, it’s crappy wine. If you prefer the $18 bottle, drink it.
This advice is well suited for the craft of fermenting grapes, but it can also be related to almost anything in life. Sometimes we feel like things should be enjoyable and so we pretend to like them even when we don’t. Adversely, sometimes we aren’t brave enough to admit we like something that isn’t universally liked. Next time I enjoy something, you bet I’m going to do my best to like it whether or not it comes highly recommended.
(Pictured: my hand, holding a beautiful glass of cheap wine in a setting that makes the wine look just as good as it is.)
Essential Sustenance for Contemporary Aliveness 