Frequently Asked Questions

Who should read this blog? 
Anyone who wants to have fun with wine and food and is interested in the social experience...

1. Who should read this blog?

• Anyone who wants to have fun with wine and food and is interested in the total experience – including the social pleasures of visiting different wineries, wine tasting with friends, stopping along the way to try out some olive oil or cheese, and shopping for a great wine country souvenir to take home.

• Any spouse or partner of a ‘cork dork’ who is looking for a vacation destination they can both enjoy. While your better half is having a tete a tete with the winemaker, you might be deciding where to have lunch.

• Anyone interested in the wines of Paso Robles, Edna Valley, and San Luis Obispo County.  There are hundreds of wineries and tasting rooms to chose from, from Edna Valley Winery with its tours and great gift and specialty food shop …. To more sophisticated Domaine Alfred, with its art gallery and back labels you can personalize for great gifts.

2. Why don’t you provide detailed wine critiques?

First, there are already plenty of those, and quite frankly they bore the socks off of me! 

When wine snobs start rhapsodizing about “heady” and “iconic” wines that “dance on your nose and palate,” my eyes glaze over, even when I’m not drinking.

Second, evaluating wine is such a subjective experience.  While I do find wines I prefer over others, I can think of only a few I’ve tasted that no mortal being could actually like. Even my mother’s homemade “wild cherry bounce” was drinkable when she added enough brandy to it.

Basically, I’d prefer to state my biases up front, then describe the wine in general terms, so that readers can get an idea if a wine might be to their liking or not, regardless of my taste buds.

3. What are your wine biases your readers should be aware of?

I don’t like spicy wines because I don’t like spicy drinks of any kind. Chai tea and mulled cidar both gag me.  Goes back to my childhood when I got sick after drinking some spiced hot tea.  I think pepper belongs on eggs and cloves on a ham.

For example, I much prefer Syrahs grown in the warmer climates, since they don’t seem to get that peppery taste.

Weather has a big impact on what I enjoy, too. I’m just going to come out and say it: How hot or cold it is makes more of difference in what wine I want to drink than the food I’m eating it with. 

So in cold weather, I like reds and in hot weather mostly whites or roses.  An exception would be a nice buttery chardonnay on a cold night by the fire.  And I’ll drink pinot noir or champagne anytime.

Wines that pucker your puss don’t have much appeal for me, either.  I’d just as soon assault my mouth with a green quince as drink a young red with tannins that shrivel my tonsils. Fortunately, I live in a wine-growing region which produces softer tannins. The wines are ready to drink now, or they will age gracefully.

I do like a healthy level of acidity.  Bring on that kick!  I’ve even been known  to enjoy a nip of pickle juice every now and then.

So as you read my descriptions of wines themselves, use my daring personal revelations to help you judge my opinions in the context of your own preferences.