After the yearend holiday whirlwind, a mood of austerity settles over the month of January. It's a shame, since deep winter evenings are arguably the best time of year to pop the cork on rich, dark and warming red wines. Yet there is a way to savor special wines even in tight-budget times. Start a wine-tasting group; increase the pleasure, but split the cost.
We have all occasionally struggled to make sense of wine reviews ("aromas of wet dog and ripe gooseberries"). Most of us have had baffling experiences with wine labels (decoding terms like "Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet"). Perhaps, too, we need to get out of a rut -- such as too much Chardonnay in our lives. A tasting group inspires solutions to these conundrums.
Tasting groups make us more adventuresome wine consumers, who face wine lists and shop shelves with gusto, not trepidation. Only one rule exists: Wine is a beverage meant to bring delight. If a tasting group becomes intimidating, then the partaking of wine loses its essence.