I was idly thinking of a blog specifically about writing about wine. But this presented a few problems, 1. I don’t just like drinking wine and 2. there is no dearth of wine blogs. So I thought about writing about adventures that come up when drinking, except I’m a rather sedate drinker (usually) and prefer to watch other people make asses of themselves (usually).
And then I thought about all the things I would like to tell the world: voice acting, theatre, linguistics & communication, philosophy, belief, and drinking. And somehow, I figured, I’d have to make room for the experiences that make these topics matter to me.
So there you are. This isn’t a column about a particular subject, but about many subjects. They’re all filtered through my head, so there’s a tremendous amount of overlap. I hope it makes sense in the end. If not, well, may I offer you a drink?
flor san roman 
Hello! I thought of you the other day when I was at a winery enjoying – yes, actually enjoying – a red wine. The person leading me through the tasting seemed to take it as a personal challenge to find a red that I liked. He found three. 🙂
Cool! What kind (varietal, in wine speak)?
The first is a blend that they do not disclose, but the key point for me is that it is un-oaked. The second is a late-harvest cabernet sauvignon with a bit of tempranillo thrown in. It is very sweet, and while it has oak, it is quite subtle. The third was a port made from the late-harvest. All were very good, and without that pesky oaky sharpness that I despise. It was at Ponte Family Estates in Temecula – I heartily recommend a visit if you’re in the area, which is worth visiting for the wineries in any case.
Ha! I find it hilarious that you considered writing a blog about something you don’t actually like doing. I actually encourage you to write about wine. There was a report I heard on NPR recently (I think it was NPR) about a study that basically said most people are full of shit when they claim to be able to tell taste and smell various flavors and scents in wine. In fact, very few people are genetically programmed to have this skill.
How odd, I love drinking wine. And talking about it, investigating it, sharing it, collecting, cellaring, traveling to try new/different wines… I wrote “I don’t just like drinking wine” because there’s so much more to wine whenever I get around to writing about it. I don’t know. Maybe I’m full of shit when I detect a variety of flavors and scents and enjoy different mouth feels to wines that should otherwise be quite similar…. *shrug* I truly enjoy it and I think I truly can tastes and smell differences.
I’m not trained though. I’m basically just a fan who won’t shut up about it when I’m on a kick. I just haven’t had a chance to taste any wines in a while. There’s a “wine” tag on the left of the screen which you can follow to entries devoted to the subject. I just don’t focus solely on wine in those entries.
Ha! Unless it is vinegar it all tastes pretty much the same to me:)