My wife…more white…but drinks red…

My mother…white….almost never red…

I’ll need a larger sample size to comment further…

My father himself was a big red wine drinker, but seldom drank white wines. I like white wines, but rarely drink red wines.

Am I alone in this observation, or do others notice the same thing?

Even when my girlfriend (now wife) pursuaded me to go to Napa Valley with her…I tasted a lot of wine, but hated the taste…

Bleh…

Then about 3 years ago, for some reason I had a glass of wine…and all of sudden it was , “hmmm..this isn’t so bad”..

Now, I am hooked…

I’ll drink any Cabernet Sauvington from Northern CA…as long as it isn’t too expensive :-) I am still not too into whites yet…but it’s a process…

When I like a wine…I will drink it again…I don’t bother to take advice from people on wines..every advice I got has been bad…

I think it’s an acquired taste..and “good wine” is all relative…

Nothing beats a great filet mingon accompained with a good bottle of red wine…YUMMY!!!!

Local (independent) wine stores are the best for getting advice on helping to pick a wine depending on your tastes and budget. Most of the staff at local stores have been more deaf friendly, being more likely to help accomodate and communicate.

And I highly recommend a leisurely Sunday afternoon at one of the many wineries in VA and MD. They offer low cost or free wine tasting and have great picnic areas to enjoy an afternoon in a beautiful setting–while drinking delicious wine too. :)

The first wine I found myself enjoying was a Riesling. From there I have expanded my tastes. I’ve found that many of the wines I really love ARE expensive. If we are clueless about which bottle then we use the Wine Spectator points if a store has them displayed. Anything over 90 is usually amazing.

One of my very favorites is a Tuscan wine called Brunello di Montalcino. The older the better. :) If you see a bottle for less than $50 - try it! It can be an expensive past time… that’s for sure.

A note about wine at restaurants and wine by the glass. Wine by the glass is usually not very good. You probably know that wine doesn’t keep - not even overnight… and a lot of restaurants don’t want to open a new bottle just for 1 glass! If you’re going to bother with wine at a restaurant, get a whole bottle. Especially in VA where there is a corking law, you can take your leftovers home (sometimes for a small fee).

The other thing about wine in a restaurant is the price markup - this is usually 50% or more than the wine shop or grocery store!

I’m enjoying this blog about food and wine… http://tableauvivante.livejournal.com/

We’ve also found that the wine.com wine club subscription is a good way to broaden your tastes. I don’t think they can ship to MD though.

I prefer locally made beverages for I find them to be consistent in quality and flavor. It might be because they are only days old when I purchase them, and they’re not exposed to drastic fluctuations in temperatures and conditions while being shipped over long distances.

I am fortunate to live in San Francisco where great wines and beer lie within mere reach.

But if you ask, what I am really partial to is mead, which is basically honey wine - made from honey, water and yeast which has fermented into this alcoholic beverage that those of us who know refer to as a “gift from the gods.”

Okay, so maybe it’s an acquired taste, but I sure do like it!

You can learn more about mead here:

http://deafpagan.com/2007/04/30/got-mead/

Just a note: Averille Lake Petite Sirah. Really good. Available at the wine store on Connecticut just south of R street.