Yes, wine should be taken seriously, for so many reasons. But I think a lot of people who take it seriously tend to forget to have fun with it too. I take it seriously but I make it a point to remind myself regularly to keep it fun. How do I keep it fun?
Well, I aim to learn something new about wine every day. I love researching things that might not have occurred to me previously, I enjoy trying new wines all the time from regions that often go forgotten, made of grapes that most Americans have never heard of, and I love attending tastings. But one of the most fun things I can think of is blind tasting. I do realize blind tasting is often done so that the person scoring the wine is not biased (or at least that’s what people claim), but I like doing it to keep my mind completely open, and to teach myself more about the characteristics of the grapes and terroirs.
Sure, it can be a humbling experience - sometimes a wine we hold in high regard comes up short, or sometimes our palates come up short and we have no idea what we’re tasting - but overall it’s lots of fun and a great way to keep it interesting. And it’s also a great way to get others to try wines they might not have considered. (All summer I suggested it to people to try, when their guests only drink white Zinfandel and they wanted to pour dry rose - I suggested covering the label or decanting.)
Want to try blind tasting at home? Brown bagging is the way to go. Open the bottle, remove the foil from the top, and try to cover as much of the bottle as possible with the brown paper bag (as oftentimes, the shape of the bottle gives away some clues). Pour away and watch the other person/people observe the color, viscosity, aromas, flavors, and textures of the wine. If it sounds like a challenge, it is. If it sounds like fun, it is!
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