y these 2 websites are among my favorites

I don't order wine online, though I have friends who do. Instead, I prefer the challenge, the thrill of going into a (or any) wine store and walking through aisle after aisle looking for just the right bottle(s) of wine. I may have a specific idea about a particular wine or a particular country or region that I want to try or I may not. I like variety in my wine purchases. And as I teach a wine tasting class, I try to make sure I stay abreast of the changes in wines, vineyards, importers, etc. Well, NOT all changes. A change here or there keeps me busy enough. I have 2 websites that I use quite regularly and which are very helpful in my effort to stay current on wine.

Wine.com
I just recieved my email notice from Wine.com with links to wines that are rated 90+ from Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate/Robert Parker and Wine and Spirits. The best part is that it is a list of wines that cost less than $20.00 and many are in the $8-$12.00 range! There are 16 pages with 10 wines per page. Count them, I did; that's 160 bottles of wine for less than $20.00 each with a rating of 90+ or better. You can query the list for your review by price (low to high/high to low) or by winery A-Z/Z-a) or by ratings or by most popular.

I typically print these wine listing pages. Yes, all 16 of them. Then I spend several enjoyable hours reviewing the list. I highlight the wines I have tried and the ones I want to try. I use this list to plan my wine tasting classes, also. I have been known to take the printouts into the store with me as I wander the aisles in search of my latest wine discovery.

Naturally, there is a wine.com price if you want to order online. Wine.com is ranked #1 in online websales for 2006 and wins praises for its online presence routinely. There prices are not necessarily the same as you would pay at home, depending on your 'market area (urban/rural)' and your wine store's buying power, but they are not extremely different for the most part. Comparing prices is an activity for another time.

This website is also rich in many other resources with many pages of information on how-to understand wine and how to tast wine, It provide links to several well respected wine magazines. Wine Lover's also has extensive lists of wines by country and by 'grape'.

Any weaknesses, you ask? I guess the fact that it is as commercial as any other website with most of the space on the homepage filled with the business of 'selling' wine clubs, baskets, and other wine related paraphanalia. But that's business on the web, is it not? And while this website is rich in resources, the home page only gives you a glimpse of the resources buried within, so some searching is required and you have to know the question/language you want to ask. A 'newbie' wine taster can get overwhelmed and tired reading through the resources. I recommend that do your reading and studying in small segments.

Wine Lovers Page
Where do I begin to tell you about my absolute most favorite wine-related webpage resource? First, note the links on the left hand side of the home page; note their detail and organization. Again, another website rich in resources but the listings are clearer, with more options. This group has numerous contributing authors, has online video, and has recently begun to podcast!

This website also provides a list of wines (annually) that have been reviewed by Garr. This list is organized by several price points, including wines that cost LESS than $12.00 a bottle. While the list is not nearly as comprehensive as wine.com's, these wines have been tasted and reviewed by R. Garr. Finally, there is a vintage chart link that is most fascinating! These charts only cover 1980-1998, but click here for vintage listings, in a non table format, that includes an excellent vintage year, 2003.

I am particularly partial to the 30 second wine advisor e-letter (See e-letter option on left hand side of Wine Lover's home page). I have been receiving this email several times a week for, I think, the better part of 2 years, perhaps longer? Its the one email that I don't discontinue when I do a review of my overloaded mailbox. I find useful information in Garr's emails EVERY week. I save the emails and later go through to either discard or make notes or print the ones I want to follow up on. The information is presented quickly re: an overview of some aspect of wine and then a particular wine is reviewed.

Weakness(es) for this site? I know there must be a few, but I can't think of even one at this moment. Unless, we talk about the difficulty in keeping a website of this type and depth current?

Happy Wine Tasting to you,

debra:)

y write a wine blog?

I have decided to commit to writing a wine blog. I am not sure exactly how this blog will evolve over time, but find that I have many thoughts in my head that I want to put into writing. I teach wine tasting classes and, in a conversation with a friend who lives elsewhere (too far away to attend my class), the idea of putting some or all of the class and my wine tasting approach/beliefs online evolved.

Putting some of my thoughts, opinions and information about wine tasting as well as information about resources I like/use, or as the case maybe, don't like/don’t use seems like a good idea. That way, I don't have to keep forgetting what I know only to have to remember it as I prepare for the next class. At least that is the way my brain works these days. If I don't use it, I lose it. And my recall memory is pretty much shot!

Given these parameters, my wine tasting philosophy/teaching practices and personal wine preferences lean towards providing wine tasters with a simplified understanding of wine varietals (types of grapes), language, knowledge, and wine tasting styles across a variety of countries. This information will be most particularly geared towards those of us who buy wine on a budget.

I learn in 'layers' of knowledge adding new information each time I teach a class and each time I experiment with a new wine. The 'rules' about wine and wine types are changing: matching wine with food, to chill which wine or to not chill, wine that was once known for its dryness is now oaked and buttery, wine that was once thought to be from a particular grape type is now through DNA tracings identified as another grape, etc.! Even my wine preferences change as I age and as I expand my wine tasting activities.

I have a 'working' list of possible topics and activities. I will add the blogger poll feature to ask some fun questions. I want to keep a running inventory of and conversations about books and online resources that I find useful or not and to learn about your favorite resources.

An oenophile I am not; I do not claim to be an expert in wine, I do not have all the answers and can be easily stumped, but if I don't know the answer, I will quickly search for information and in the searching, increase my wine tasting knowledge skill. Nor am I connoisseur of 'great' wines. I am just a single woman, raising an adolescent female on a v-e-r-y stretched middle class budget who loves wine!

Teaching wine classes is one of the few activities that I do purely for me and it is one of the activities that gives me the most pleasure. I will tell you more about the other activity(s) when I know you better!

M-W definition for oenophile.
Main Entry: oe·no·phile Pronunciation:
'E-n&-"fI(-&)lFunction: nounEtymology: French [oe]nophile, from [oe]no-
(from Greek oinos wine) + -phile -phile -- more at WINE: a lover or connoisseur
of wine.

debra:)

the sensual nature of wine

I like wine and teach wine tasting classes. I am fascinated by the words used to describe wine. For example, when one is tasting wine, we can talk about 3 stages: attack, evolution and finish. Interesting words, don't you think, for describing the experience of having wine in one's mouth? Next, read the labels. They are extremely evocative, sensual, and even sexual.

Here are my contributions, phrases that one can use to describe the 'sensual' or other nature of wine:

• 'slides silkily down the throat',
• 'attacks with a vengeance',
• 'gently thrusts itself on your taste buds' ,
• 'finishes and leaves one longing for more' or 'leaves one begging for more',
• 'a long, deep, lingering finish',
• 'the deep red pools that triggers one's deepest emotions and desire',
• 'a texture, a structure, like the soft skin of the crepe myrtle that once touched does not release you".

Second, I was first introduced to wine haiku by Leigh Pomeroy. Leigh was the wine class teacher for Adult Community Ed in my town and I took several classes from him. He is an amazingly knowledgeable teacher and a wine expert in his own right. He has contributed articles to numerous local and regional magazines as well as to Robin Garr's Wine Lovers Website (see link in WebResources in this blog). In fact, it is his Adult Community Ed wine class that I now teach. I learned from the best! Click here for what I consider to be the quintessential wine haiku blog and then read my effort at wine haiku.

"wine slipped slowly down
anticipation, waiting,
speed not the finish"