The Importance of Company

from Wine-A-Day Calendar – 2005

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“Ask any pro how he or she learned so much about wine, and the answer will probably be by tasting a lot. When it comes to acquiring wine knowledge, there’s no substitute for tasting extensively. It’s the thousand-tennis-balls theory: The more balls you hit, the more you improve your swing; the more wines you taste, the more wines you’ll know. But there is a little proviso in here that wine pros often forget to mention. To learn about wine quickly and effectively (and to have the most fun in the process), it helps to have company. That’s because a partner will detect flavors in a wine that you didn’t; a partner will like wines you don’t; and so on. A partner, in other words, causes you to expand your thinking and, as a result, your knowledge. A group works well, too. In fact, as wine education goes, group wine tastings are not only a blast, but the cost of learning is shared if everyone pitches in for the wines. Moral of the story: Round up some like-minded friends and watch your wine knowledge expand exponentially.”

This is how I learned about wine! When I first started doing Wine Tastings, a bunch of us got together on a weekly basis and took a Wine Spectator Class online. We’d read the lesson during the week and take turns getting the wines to sample during our meeting. It was so much fun!

But you don’t have to pay for a Wine Spectator Class to do this. You can host your own in-home Wine Tasting. I provide the wine and glasses. You provide the cheese, crackers, dark chocolate and friends. It’s just one way to learn about the Importance of Company.

Name one way you’ve found tasting wine in groups helpful!