The general plan is to have 3-4 Learning Wines per month. While we certainly tend to drink more bottles than that per month, I cannot neglect the great CA wines in my collection! This does mean that it should take several years to get through the world of wines, based on my list thus far (which is not all-inclusive!). I’ll choose a country (and region/appellation, etc., if applicable) and choose a few types of wine that I want to try. I‘ll consult my running list that has been assembled as I read. As I don’t drink alone (well, usually not!), Myles will help me on this quest.

Over the course of time, I hope to refine my tasting abilities and hopefully that will become evident as my wine education progresses. (I’ve printed, and laminated(!), a wine aroma and wine tasting wheel). We’ll decide on a score for the wine (as we have begun doing for all wines in our collection), however it will be less of a review and more a notation of whether or not I want to buy more of it. I’ll post about each bottle, including a photo, with my tasting notes and also include tasting notes from the winery, wine shop or elsewhere on the internet. I’ll likely post occasionally about the other wines I drink, especially when I have something simply wonderful, as well as other quips and wine-related thoughts.

My wine source is likely to primarily be K&L Wines in Redwood City for several reasons, first being their incredible selection, second the proximity of their store to my house and third, their user friendly website. I’ve spent quite a lot of time on their website already (as I love to online shop!), and it’s super simple to pick a country, region and varietal and see precisely what’s in stock in RWC at that very moment. Plus they have descriptions of the wines and show the scores the wines have received (if applicable) from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, etc. This will avoid my standing, helpless, in their narrow rows of wine bottles every month overwhelmed and unable to make decisions. I may also purchase wines at Beltramo’s in Menlo Park, and occasionally at Whole Foods, BevMo and even Trader Joe’s (because I just know there have to be some good wines on their shelves besides my Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs!).

I plan to spend between $10 and $40 per bottle, and hope that most of my selections will be under $25. While I’m certainly comfortable and willing to spend more on a great bottle of wine, its one thing to spend $$ on a wine I was able to try in a tasting room or is from a favorite winery and another to do it on a bottle I’ve never had, from a region I’ve no experience with, with a label in a language I may not even speak!

I think I will begin in France (because, well, shouldn’t I?), but will bounce around the globe to keep things interesting and also to let the weather play a factor in my choices. Myles and I will likely be drinking each wine with and/or after dinner, and our food choices vary according to the temperature. Plus, it just wouldn’t be as fun to be sampling red Bordeaux in August or vintage Porto during the Indian summer we get in California each October.

And of course, I’m still the nerd I am, so I will keep reading in order to continue my education with the written word.