It's just grape juice...

Wine, what's the big deal?

I spent $45 to go to a wine tasting in December and I loved it. What do I remember about the wine? Nothing much really. I just signed up for another $45 wine tasting event which begs the question....

Why bother?

Do I really need to spend so much money to discover that the wine I'm drinking tastes like mown grass, honeydew melon or kerosene? My little voice whispers in my ear, "Ian, don't be a moron." My reply is simply 'it's not about the wine'. I couldn't care less what flavours are in a wine, I only care whether:

a) I like it,

or

b) I don't like it.

For my palate, it's that simple. Imagine if we took milk drinking as seriously as wine tasting.

"Oh, that Holstein March 2009 was awful...tasted like alfalfa, binder twine and John Deere's underwear. Just horrid. I'd recommend the Jersey March 2009...a delightful nose of timothy and blackberries."

Blackberries? In my milk?

Kerosene? In my wine? Yes, I bought a bottle of 2001 Reisling in New Zealand simply because the tasting notes described it as follows (and this is a direct quote):

"Carefully cellared for five years before the release, the wine has developed interesting kerosene and beeswax characters, with mineral, citrus and floral notes. Finishes dry."

I couldn't taste the kerosene in my Reisling which left me bitterly disappointed, yet relieved. And what if I had tasted kerosene, or propane, or lighter fluid? Then what?

I was pretty stoked that the Reisling finished dry...cool trick. If only I could make Melba toast finish wet. Sometimes my hot chocolate finishes dry...usually because I didn't stir it enough. Just a happy accident, not unlike the discovery of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!). I digress.

So why am I spending $45 to taste more wines? Well, I like the social aspect of it. I like the people. I don't care too much for the wines, it's just grape juice (more or less....haha!). I'd happily spend $45 to go to a milk tasting event but no one offers such a thing. This is a real shame because (I swear) that I tasted beeswax in my milk the other day and I'd like to compare notes. By the way, it was Northumberland, 1%, early March 2009.