I love wine, always have.  But dabbled in it, mostly.  Then COVID–I was working from home, and many of the things that occupied my time pre-COVID went away for a while.  I devoted more time and energy to wine.  I built a small wine storage unit in my basement (#2 Post on that topic).  I began to read more about wine.  Plus, the drinking–was doing a lot more of that!  So even though things have sort of returned to normal, my interest and passion for wine has grown.  I’m a data geek, too, and my approach to wine reflects that.  Given how much energy (and time…and money!) I am devoting to wine, and the fact that most of my family and friends don’t have the same passion for it, I decided to do this blog as a way of sharing what I’m learning and seeing in the world of wine, and hopefully networking with others with the same passion.  The ultimate goal of this blog to share my way into wine with others, connect with other wine lovers, and all come out the better for it.

Salient wine facts about me:

In terms of my taste in wine, I’m a bit plebeian.  I enjoy fruit forward, well-balanced wines, with “clean” taste profiles.  Funky, dank, barnyard, etc. are not qualities I seek out.  In reds, I gravitate to zinfandels, Rhone blends (even some from the Rhone!), and pinot noirs.  In whites, my tastes are broader, but I gravitate to French  chardonnays, dry rieslings, and chenin blancs. But I’m curious, always up for trying a new wine.

I currently hold about 110 bottles of wine.  Half or more of that wine will be held for two years or more.  The other part of that wine cycles through my household much more quickly.  On my current trajectory, I probably will need to expand my long-term storage, or begin to drink wines before I want to.  Logistics and storage capacity are catching up to me (more on that in #2 Post). Having in-home, long-term wine storage has completely changed how I approach my wine buys, and I’m getting SO much more enjoyment from wine as a result. 

My household consumes about 100 bottles a year.  About half of that, my wife and I actually drink ourselves at home.  The other half is either gifted or shared with friends.  Most of the wine I buy is $20 or less, and I have developed my own compass for those value buys.  I do frequently splurge $50 or more to get a really special, or even great, bottle.  Navigating those splurge buys, I rely to some degree on wine expert reviews and scores.  I’m not alone in that.  Posts #3, #4 and #5 are be devoted to the scoring systems I rely on–a close analysis of them has completely changed my thinking on the value of scores, and the best ways to use them.

I do my wine buying using a combination of three sources.  I live adjacent to two of the best grape-growing and wine-making regions in the world:  the Lodi and the Sierra Foothills AVA’s. Clarksburg, too.  So, I visit wineries and buy at source occasionally. I also live near one of the most storied wine retailers in California: the vendor at Corti Brothers grocery store.   I buy from there, and decreasingly from the big box wine retailers.  Finally, I buy from on-line wine vendors.  Post #6 will be a deeper dive into the on-line vendors I pay attention to.