The Ask:
Develop a Side Hustle
Develop a Side Hustle
You pick up a bottle of wine and the description reads “a light-bodied white wine full of mineral sea shell flavors and lively scents of lime zest.” You feel like you’re at a fancy Nappa Valley winery surrounded by wine professionals speaking a made-up language. Only, this isn’t some indie wine movie or comedic sitcom episode... this is a Kroger, on a Thursday evening, and you just want a wine for your chicken dinner. So, you pick the wine with the coolest label, not the cheapest, but under $20, and hope for the best. On your way home, you decide that this is the last time a bottle of wine confuses you more than the New York Times Connections game and vow to finally learn more about wine. But where do you even begin?
To the internet’s advice, you might buy a wine journal (much like this one) and begin to fill it out.
However, you’re left wondering what tannin is, what makes a wet liquid dry, and feeling a little wrong for assessing something’s body and weight. These journals are useful but assume you already know the basics. They can also be designed as a “one size fits all” method, not allowing you to develop your personal muscle memory.
When working in wine, I noticed a large gap in foundational wine education and found myself constantly looking for a ‘go-to tool’ to help make wine easier to understand. Wine is a never-ending subject filled with a long history and rich tradition. This is all very cool but also overwhelming. You shouldn’t have to be interested in the long history of wine to be able to pick one out on a Tuesday at your local grocery store.
However, you’re left wondering what tannin is, what makes a wet liquid dry, and feeling a little wrong for assessing something’s body and weight. These journals are useful but assume you already know the basics. They can also be designed as a “one size fits all” method, not allowing you to develop your personal muscle memory.
When working in wine, I noticed a large gap in foundational wine education and found myself constantly looking for a ‘go-to tool’ to help make wine easier to understand. Wine is a never-ending subject filled with a long history and rich tradition. This is all very cool but also overwhelming. You shouldn’t have to be interested in the long history of wine to be able to pick one out on a Tuesday at your local grocery store.