Uptown Food and Wine: Intro to Wine Sports
By Ron James

Uptown probably has more wine bars than most places its size in America. The proliferation of such establishments, I suspect, reflects the people who live and work here. The folks in our communities really love life. And most folks who really love life, really love wine. Some like craft beer as well.

Still, there are many residents who have yet to join the ranks of wine lovers. Some may be put off by the perceived voodoo and pretentiousness surrounding the sport. Some are intimidated by French labels or can’t pronounce pinot noir. Well, don’t worry about all that stuff — almost any upright and genial adult has the potential to be a wine aficionado.

Wine is good for you. It’s been scientifically proven by the French that wine geeks live longer, have smarter children and are less prone to athletic injury ( I made most of that up). It’s not that hard to be one of us, it just takes a keen determination to enjoy life to the fullest and a lot of practice tasting wine.

Ready to sign up? Great, but first, there are a few things you should know before you start sipping. Here’s the first in a series of observations, tips and thoughts that may help make your journey a de-vine one.

Be comfortable liking the wines that taste good to you.

You are the expert when it comes to wines you enjoy, and that’s the way it should be. Everyone’s palate is different and evolving. A wine that tastes good to you is a good wine regardless of whether the wine smarty next to you gags on it and spits it on the floor. Now, if that wine-smarty offers you an over-the-top New Zealand sauvignon blanc that exudes aromas of cat pee or pushes an ’82 Chateau Petrus with undertones of barnyard, then you can just gag and spit it on the floor. (I still haven’t acquired a taste for barnyard.)

If you take my advice and practice (in moderation of course) by trying and learning about new wines, you will find that your tastes will evolve. It’s called educating your palate. A wine that makes you gag today may well become a favorite next year and vice versa. You and your palate have moved on. It’s like when you were a kid and hated asparagus or Brussels sprouts. As you grew up and became more experienced with foods, you began to love asparagus. Although Brussels sprouts still suck.

As you taste and learn about new wines, you will discover the distinctive flavors and characteristics of different varietals (kinds of grapes). And you’ll find that the characteristics of wine made from the same varietals may differ from country to country, vineyard to vineyard and winemaker to winemaker. You’ll experience wines that have complex layers of flavors and even textures. And you’ll find that wines are alive and change with age — for better or worse.

So how do you get started?

There are a number of ways to educate your palate, and the great thing is that they’re all fun! For the most part wine tasting isn’t a solo sport. However, there are times when a fine glass of wine and a bit of reflective time with yourself can be quite satisfying. That said, a great deal of enjoyment in educating your palate is doing so with family, friends or perhaps strangers who want to be friends.

Start your education by reading about wine just as you’re doing right now — the fact that you made it this far is a good sign. The Internet is a good place to start: there are more wine blogs and sites on the Internet than anyone can imagine. A Google search for wine information produces 116,000,000 results. There are many online wine affinity groups that provide a network of like-minded folk and a wealth of information. For a good start go to the Web site of syndicated wine columnist Robert Whitley, who lives in Bankers Hill. He has a ton of wine reviews and columns, as well as several links to other great wine sites: www.whitleyonwine.com.

Reading is great, but nothing beats the real thing. So head down to one of those wine bars we talked about. Find one that makes you feel comfortable. Tell the server or bartender that you’re kind of new to the game and want to learn about wines. If they are pros, they’ll take the time to help you get started. Ask them for wines that are true examples of the varietals or blends and pick their brain about the characteristics. If they don’t show an inclination to help, that wine bar will probably be out of business soon, so move on to a wine bar that’s more professional and accommodating.

Many wine bars offer flights of wine. Flights are usually small glasses of four to eight wines grouped for one reason or another. They could be wines of the same year, brand, varietal, color or family. Wine-tasting notes are usually provided for each wine. This gives you opportunity to compare the characteristics of several wines side-by-side. Try tasting each wine before reading the tasting notes, to see if you can discern flavors, textures and how your palate reacts to them. Then read the notes to see if you agree with them, and try each wine again to try to find the characteristics mentioned in the tasting notes.

Many wine bars, wine sellers and restaurants frequently have wine education and tasting events. This is not only a wonderful way to learn about wines but away to make new wine enthusiast friends as well. Most of these establishments have mailing and e-mail lists that will keep you up-to-date about upcoming events.

Perhaps one of the most fun ways to learn about wines is to go to wine and food events featuring dozens, if not thousands, of wines to taste. One of the best is the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, Nov. 18-22. There are obvious hazards to these kinds of events, so spitting and dumping is encouraged. Wear a hat and have plenty of sunscreen. Have a designated driver. And perhaps most important, do not bid on silent auctions after you’ve been educating your palate for four hours.

These tips should get you started and once you do, you’ll realize there’s a lot more to learn. That’s the great thing about being a wine lover — it’s a fascinating, life-long learning process — and you get the benefits of a nice buzz now and then. So remember, don’t ever worry or feel embarrassed about the wines you like. Your opinion of the wine is as valid as anyone’s — including wine-smarties. If that wine snob next to you smirks and rolls his eyes next time you order your favorite, tell him to stick his ’82 Chateau Petrus where the sun don’t shine. It’s OK to do that — love life, love wine.