The Box Rocks...or does it???

I haven't been doing this long enough for anyone to infer any particular sorts of patterns in the way I drink or analyze wine. But two things should be clear thus far anyway. 1.) I like the Que Syrah wine store here in Chicago and trust their opinions. 2.) The enthusiastic ratings of the California State Fair are very appealing to me, and have so far (one for one), they haven't steered me wrong. This entry has a little bit to do with both items one and two. I will attempt to answer the pressing question, "Is box wine any good?"

Okay, you can stop laughing now. Seriously, you're embarrassing yourself. Here's the deal. Don Hupp, manager of the aforementioned Que Syrah Fine Wines, mentioned in my interview with him, that wine packaging changes are one of the trends that we are starting to see occuring in the wine world. Que Syrah carries two box wines currently, but are very open to carrying more if producers commit to putting good wines in said boxes.

So I went to Whole Foods today with a pretty clear cut agenda: purchase a box wine (not carrying the name Franzia) and give it a shot. Not more than two steps into the wine department, I found a box wine, but oh just wait...Not just any box wine. A box wine carrying a 95 point score from...yep, you guessed it...the California State Fair! A $10 bottle of screwcap Viognier is one thing, but a $20 box of "Old Vine Zinfandel"...well that's just thrilling! Seriously, I need to find out more about how they score wines at the CSF. Maybe a representative would like to fly me out so I could write a piece on this very topic. I mean, I'm already an enthusiastic fan, so you might as well get some glowing press! I'll pack my bags and be out there quickly! Just say the word!

In the meantime, let's talk box wine. What's your memory of box wine? College? Wine, not necessarily for taste's sake, but to have something to swirl around in a glass while you eat spaghetti? My memory is of being at the Ravinia Festival for a Creedence Clearwater Re-visited concert, which consisted of the other guys from CCR besides John Fogerty and some stand-in guy for John Fogerty, and drinking boxed wine from a backpack. You take the bag out of the box and there's a neat-o tube system which is really helpful when you want to walk around and be able to refil your friend's wine glasses without having to mess around with bottles and corks and all that jazz. Mobile booze is a beautiful thing. Ravinia is a beautiful space up in the north suburbs of Chicago, where people come to relax, listen to music, and of course, drink wine. Sure, our version was a second (or third, probably) rate version of the more cultured picnic wine and cheese spreads most people bring to the fest, but hey, it was a second or third rate version of the real CCR, so it was fitting if you ask me. The point is, we knew what we were drinking and we went with it and managed to enjoy it in it's context. Nobody would have claimed it was actually GOOD, though. It's amazing how this analogy keeps working with the concert, as well. I'll leave it at that.

Why can't box wine be good, though? There are a lot of advantages to box wine. The $20 box I bought is the equivalent of four bottles. The packaging itself is recycled cardboard. So if you're a green wine lover, you've found a much more practical alternative to the bottle. The stuff actually keeps for longer too. The box promises a month long freshness guarantee. No bottle wine can stay fresh that long. Some have longer life-spans after opening than others, but most tend to be at their best for two, three, maybe four days. You get to that week point, and you're pushing it. So not only do you get more for your money, you don't have to worry about taking that week or two off of wine to let your liver rest, or to switch to other libations, or whatever the reason.

No corkscrews to mess with, which also means no corks, which means the wine will never be "corked" (a certain percentage of corks contain a bacteria, which is harmless to humans, but effectively destroys the flavor of the wine). It's sturdier and easier to store. There are a lot of reasons why the box makes sense. But the true test of a good wine has nothing to do with packaging and everything to do with taste. I, in fact, recently had a wine with a label I thought was pretty cool, that turned out to be pretty nasty wine. Don't judge a book by it's cover and don't judge a wine by the vestibule it rests in.

We won't be doing that here. This particular wine, as I said earlier is an "Old Vine Zinfandel". The producer is Bota Box and this isn't the CSF 95 point '08 vintage, but the newest vintage, the 2010. I follow the directions on how to properly open the box (it's really not that difficult, but better to be safe than sorry), squirt some juice into my wine glass and go for it. There's no way to make this elegant, which makes me wonder what the Court of Master Sommeliers has to say about proper box wine service. I'm guessing they pretend there is no such thing and avoid the topic entirely.

The wine itself is a nice dark red, borderline purple color. The box says I should be detecting "ripe plum, blackberry, and cherry notes." There's also mention of a "rich mouthfeel" (cue the adolescent giggles) and also mention of "spice". Ok, yeah I suppose. I get the cherry and the spice. Not so sure about the plum, but palate descriptors are all subjective, so you very well might. There's almost something bacony about it, which is cool. Overall, it's very enjoyable. If you go online and read comments about the Bota Box wines, you get some pretty outstanding reviews. This is definitely better than my experiences with Franzia, for sure. And I will tell you this, I have had bottle wine that's been a lot worse than this. I should re-phrase to give proper credit: This wine is much better than a lot of its bottle counterparts. I'm a fan of Zinfandels, and while I've had better, this works for an everyday wine, which is the point I suppose. I venture a guess that you could get some purists to rave about this in a blind tasting.

And now it's time for a pairing. If we're going to drink box wine, let's try some box food. If box wine can get better, can frozen, boxed tv dinners as well? And how do they pair? I bought a "Chicken Tikka Masala", a traditional Indian curry dish, from Whole Foods' "Whole Kitchen" frozen line. I'm hoping the spice from the box Zin, goes well with the spice from the box curry. Fingers crossed. If you want the true, real-time feel of how this wine and food experience went down, stop reading and come back in a few minutes. Actually it may be longer than a few. Bulls vs. Heat, game 2, is going to start fairly soon. While I'm at it, I'm going to say, Bulls by 5 tonight. Bulls in 5 for the series. Okay. See ya in a bit for the results!

So I'm resuming at about 2pm the next day and the Bulls lost by 10. No more sports predictions for me! As for the Masala, it was pretty good. Boxed food is definitely a lot better than it used to be too. I remember the days where you'd get the Hungry Man dinner where the peas spilled over into everything and all the food vaguely tasted like the brownie. This wasn't as good as sitting down in an authentic Indian restaurant up on Devon Avenue, but for a quick, at-home meal, it did the trick.

As for the pairing, it was okay. Not spectacular, but I wouldn't say that it was bad either. The heat of the dish may have been more suited to a flavorful white like a Gewertztraminer, but it was fine. Truthfully, I've rarely found those spectacular pairings. I've had wines that work well with food, but only once can I say I had the PERFECT pairing and that was foie gras and Tokai. Spectacular. I think wine and food pairings are tricky. It's really not as easy as saying, reds with red meats and pasta and whites with poultry and fish. Palates are different and individual tastes are different. Experimentation is the key, if you ask me.

So what can I conclude about the box experience? This particular wine was pretty good, I've got to say. 95 point good? I don't know, but since I don't believe in this type of rating system, why not? As I said before, I appreciate the enthusiasm. The thing I like most about the box, though, is it's decent wine and it'll be around in my apartment for awhile. I can be confident that my $20 is going a long way, and that says a lot in times like these. I don't really do much entertaining here, so the wine I purchase, is most likely just for me. The box is perfect for this type of drinking, because of the value, yes, but also the shelf life. Four bottles guaranteed to last one month after opening. No need to feel pressure to guzzle it.

I'm not saying I'm only going to drink box wine now, but I may think twice when I just want to go throw down $20 on good, everyday wine. It'll be interesting to see just how much of the box we'll continue to see. And it'll also be interesting to see if producers can not only make it good, like it is now, but actually really great.

botabox.com

Stale and Stuffy No More!: Chicago's Most Inviting Wine Store

If wine itself can seem somewhat intimidating, boutique wine stores can seem positively uninviting and not-for-the-regualar-person-ish. But as the wine world continues to change, and people continue to search out value and accessibility, so too does the concept of the wine store itself. And nowhere is this more apparent than at my favorite wine store in Chicago, Que Syrah Fine Wines (3726 N. Southport Ave).

Que Syrah turns nine this August and was started by three neighborhood partners at a time, and this is somewhat hard to picture considering the number now, when there weren't a lot of small establishments that focused solely on wine. From day one, they have been catering toward smaller producers and wines that one doesn't see everywhere. And as Don Hupp, manager of Que Syrah puts it, "We believe in good people as much as we do good wine. There's a lot of good wine, but we generally like to have a story behind each wine and know and believe in who's making the wine."

The spirit of those words is felt when you walk through the door of the shop. A lot of wine stores can have a feel of class and elegance, but rarely does one achieve what Que Syrah achieves: warmth. Maybe it's the brightness of the store itself or the colorful artisan glassware that's for sale. There's a certain level of comfort that is felt from moment one. Friendly people, inviting atmosphere, and unique wines, complete with approachable, thorough write-ups accompanying many of the wines.

The store features many events, from regular Saturday free wine tastings to sommelier led events focusing on specific regions, just to name a couple.

"We've done fairly ambitious ones over the years," says Hupp, "Everything from pre-Prohibition type grapes to the food pairings which is probably my favorite because we look at wine as a grocery more than a luxury."

His favorite of the food pairings? Barbecue and wine.

"It's two strong bold flavors that can come together...There's a lot of amazing pairings that can happen there. I like when everybody finds a wine they like, but when they actually get a pairing of a wine they might not be so sure of like a Spatlese Riesling or something with pulled pork or a Texas sausage, you can see the smile. That's one of the things I enjoy the most."

Hupp has been with the store from the beginning and has been witness to many changes and trends within the wine world. The 2004 film Sideways changed the way people bought wine, with sales of Pinot Noir increasing and those of Merlot decreasing. Hupp calls this the "single biggest impact, in terms of what media has done". With the increasing influence of social media and the Internet, he describes how wine has been "demystified" and the positive consequences of this:

"There's not as much skulduggery or that type of mysticism around wine. It's much more approachable to younger people, which is awesome.

The single biggest trend he witnesses on a day to day basis though is consumers looking for good value wine for under $20. But as you browse the shelves for that value wine, Hupp says you shouldn't be shocked by alternative packaging like tetra paks and boxes, another trend that he is starting to notice.

"It's really smart. We've finally gotten over the screw cap stigmatism that it's cheap, awful wine, but it's just better for the wine. As technology improves, there's going to be something more practical than a wine bottle. I hate to get rid of the romantic side of it, but you know, the tetra pak is lighter, it holds a liter, it's easier to open. It makes sense in a lot of ways."

And though box wines have been the butt of many a sophisticated wine drinker's jokes, Hupp has this to say about them:

"If the producers will finally start putting good juice in there, I'll start carrying it. I have two on there that I believe in now. If you're going to have a glass of wine everyday and not want to throw out a bottle, that's the best way to do it."

But fear not, traditionalists, as Hupp puts it, even though this is a trend that, "we will continue to see grow in our lifetime," he states, "There will always be corks and there will always be bottles."

And whether you choose to buy your wine in a box or in a bottle, he points out that there are many regions you can look for on the label to find affordable, good wines.

"You can always find great values in Italy. I think Portugal is not getting as much respect as they should...They're producing amazing wines and deserve to be looked at a little more carefully.."

He also points out that one can find great values in reds and whites from Spain, as well, but the real value is south of the border.

"South America is really where it's really at right now in terms of high quality and drinkability," he says pointing out both Argentinian Malbec and Chilean wines, the latter of which Que Syrah will be featuring in an upcoming event.

I can't say enough good things about Que Syrah. It's the type of store that, undoubtedly, a wine connoisseur will enjoy, but is extremely well-suited to the needs of a wine newbie, as well, with its helpful staff and useful information. And to those fresh entrants into the wonderful world of wine, who might be feeling a little uncertain and unsure, Don Hupp has this advice:

"With the Internet and the availability of wine, you should just try as much wine as you can and arm yourself with a few words to explain what you like. I think the days of snooty-tooty wine shops, not wanting to sell anybody a $13 bottle are over because we all realize there's really good wine at any price. Don't be shy...If you do go online, read a book, or take a class, just be able to arm yourself with a couple of adjectives. That's really all you need to find wines you like. Don't be scared."

And to those who still might come into Que Syrah feeling nervous because of their newness to wines or whatever the reason may be, the staff wants you to know that there's no need to worry.

"We just like to get over that, if you're drinking wine you're a friend of ours. It makes you closer to us than somebody drinking beer or not drinking at all. I don't care if it's Yellow Tail or whatever that you're drinking because eventually you'll find us and find out that you want something different or better...You have to start somewhere. We all do."

Start and/or continue the great journey into the wine world at Que Syrah Fine Wines. 3726 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago. Que Syrah is open seven days a week. For hours, upcoming events, and to sign up with their newsletter, go to:

quesyrahwine.com

Wine & Punk Rock: A Connection

I'm a big fan of early punk rock. I especially love the big three of the late '70s, maybe you could call them the holy (or unholy) trinity of punk: The Clash, The Ramones, and The Sex Pistols. It shouldn't come as a surprise, at least in retrospect, that punk rock and the whole "punk movement" came about when it did. Music-wise, the late '70s were all about excess and glitz: disco and monumental arena rock productions permeated pop culture. Socially speaking, though, especially in the birthplace(s) of punk: London and New York, many lived a harsh reality, far removed from the Studio 54 lifestyle. The Joe Strummer documentary that came out a couple of years ago, "The Future is Unwritten", shows that punk came out of the harsh realities of poor, angry kids. It spoke to the disenfranchised, those who were squatters in abandoned buildings, those who were at the opposite end of royalty and excess. Punk rock was a raw statement of raw reality. It was taking rock and roll back to it's basic roots. You didn't really have to know how to play very well. It wasn't about talent (although there were a lot of talented punks), necessarily. Anyone could do it. Learn a couple of chords, put on a sneer, and play like your life depends on it.

That's a perhaps simplified version of it all, and at this point, you very well may be wondering what if anything this has to do with wine. Glad you asked. Wine has been a symbol of the elite for years upon years. One thinks of high brow culture and lavish dinner parties, where the rich swirl their glasses and banter about country club gossip and whether their servant staff is stealing from them or not.

And as I've mentioned before, certain bottles of wine, especially from a certain French region called Bordeaux, are priced well out of the range of not only the average consumer, but also of the consumer who regularly is willing to pay a good chunk of money for wine. We're talking thousands of dollars. For fermented grape juice!

But the reality of wine is this: It's primarily a product of agriculture. Of people who carefully tend to the land and the vines. This is what it is, first and foremost. My grandfather was a farmer, not of grape fields, but rather corn fields, but still, it's the same idea. It's a hard life of working in the sun and in the dirt. I worked a couple of times, detasselling corn, and can tell you, it's not glamorous working in a field on a hot summer day. I still have memories of dew soaked work gloves and finding pieces of the corn plant embedded in my hands. I don't know how my grandpa did it for so many years. I think it's just in some people. He grew up on that land, so I'm sure he felt a deep connection to it.

It's this careful tending and understanding of the land that is the basis for all good wine. Sure there's more to it. I don't want to minimize the art and craft of the winemaker his/herself, but without the dirt and the sun, there's no grape. Without the grape, there's no wine. Wine is literally the fruit of the workingman/woman's labor. From this point of view, it is almost comical that bottles are treated like solemn museum pieces in fine dining establishments and rich people's private cellars. This is the juice of calloused hands and sun baked skin. And here's your connection. The punks were raw and straight to the point. And it just doesn't get any more raw and straight to the point than dirt and sun. So the message here is this: You don't have to be a sommelier or a wine nerd to get it and appreciate it. Put on a good ol' fashioned Johnny Rotton sneer, drink it, and enjoy it whether you can detect anything beyond a wine smell/taste or not! Really, in some cases, less is more. Buddhism has a concept known as "Begninner's Mind", where the goal is to approach every experience with a fresh, untainted outlook every time. Tasting and enjoying wine is about sensory experience. Too much intellectualizing clouds what it's all about!

And the reality of wine is nowhere more present than places like Napa itself. While yes, there are plenty of Michelin starred restaurants with incredible lists to go around, there are also plenty of pickup trucks, barns and fields--things not unlike the rural surroundings I grew up around. And there are plenty of down-to-earth people who merely want to share their love of it all with you, rather than intimidate and judge you.

Really, the way I see it is like this: You have a choice. You can be in awe of the critics and the old guard of wine who would rather you bow down in hushed reverence to them and their snobbish world that you will never truly ever be accepted in. Or you could see it for what it is...a great drink made with the care and love of people whose hands got really, really dirty.

The encouraging thing is that I may be late to the party. Do a simple Google search on "Wine Punk", "Wine Rebel", and even "Wine Populist" and you get some really interesting information on people who seem to truly want to be a part of a wine revolution, where wine is celebrated and enjoyed by us all rather than a select few. I hope to bring you more information on these people in future posts.

So go ahead. Drink up and be happy. Purchase from establishments that are friendly and helpful. Look for wines with a little edge and attitude. Seek out local wineries. People are making it in your own backyard. Find wine lists that are down-to-earth, fun, and affordable. It's what I plan to do and I promise to share it with you. Hell, give yourself a certification. Don't let the certified sommeliers have all the fun with their fancy pins and letters that they add to their name on their business card. Try this on for size: Certified Cellar Punk (CCP). Maybe you have a better one. Let me know. Anyhow, it's not really about the titles, it's about the pairing a great American and global beverage with friends, family, food, music, or whatever suits you in the moment. And if your hands get a little dirty in the process, even better!

Your friend,
Andy P., CCP

State Fairs and The Art of Picking a Bottle

So you're tired of drinking the same five dollar jug wine you've been buying once a week for the last three years. You want to branch out. You love your jug wine and I understand. No judgment. While I don't order Old Style at a craft beer bar, I can certainly get down with it on a hot summer day at Wrigley Field. Booze is situational and your jug wine is to you like that blue blanket is to Linus. Nobody else may understand why, and people might find it somewhat creepy, but you get it and that's all that matters.

But when it's time to lay the jug to rest, how do you go about branching out? There's no right way, and that non-answer answer shouldn't come as a surprise if you read my first entry. You could do research, but who has time? You could get a bottle that is highly scored, but that just means SOMEBODY really likes it, not necessarily you (although there's a catch to this point...read on, please). What to do?

First of all, decide what you're willing to pay. It's really true, that there is a noticeable quality difference between wines under $10 and wines over $10. Most of the time. That's not to say you can't find quality cheap wines. But if you are going to play the random bottle game, you are most likely going to be more successful if you have say $15 on you. The random bottle game is this: I want a red wine, I have $15, I will pick the first $15 red wine I see. This can work with any type of wine or price range. You might be disappointed, but hey, you could just as easily be disappointed by that 92 point wine that you just dropped $35 on.

There are variations on the random bottle game. You could play the "Gee, this label is pretty" variation. You could play the, "My Unrequited Love's Initials" variation, where let's say you are in love with a girl name Betty, so you find a bottle of Benzinger or Beringer, bring it home and sob uncontrollably as you drink straight from the bottle screaming, "WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME BETTY?!!?" You could bring a baseball to the liquor section of your local grocery store, pretend you are playing a carnival game and randomly heave the ball, and whichever bottle breaks first is the one you choose...that is, after sprinting away to a different store where you haven't committed a crime. Destruction of property is pretty douchy, though, so don't do that one. Somebody's gotta clean that up, jerk!

You could just go to a friendly wine store and ask the clerk/owner for their advice. The friendly wine store that I go to has been very helpful on this front. I have gone in and said, "I'm interested in a red from California for less than $20. Whatta you got for me?" They've never steered me wrong. In fact they once even steered me away from paying too much for a white Bordeaux in favor of a white varietal that I had never tried, which was in fact cheaper. Get to know people like this!

But maybe you don't have a friendly wine store and you find yourself in one of those huge liquor emporiums that are as warm and welcoming as the drill bit section of a hardware store. Now what?

These places are a bit overwhelming, so if you don't feel like playing the random game, I suggest at least going in with a vague idea of a plan. I would like a Riesling from Washington. Find the aisle with Rieslings from Washington, take a look at bottles, prices, and at some point decide to put your faith in the random game.

I'll tell you what happened to me just the other day in one such store. I came in with a pretty clear cut plan. The one winery that stuck out from my recent trip to Napa was Regusci. It's a small operation that's got a welcoming, rustic, homey feel. At the entrance to the winery, you'll find Trixie the dog (that's her in the picture to the left, standing guard over Regusci's winery), lazing by the door, living perhaps the most perfect life that any living thing could possibly achieve--laying around in wine country, getting the occasional belly rub by visitors. Sounds good to me! And then there's Neal (or perhaps Neil...never found out), the kilt wearing Brit, who will guide you through an educational barrel tasting, complete with descriptions of the wine and wine making process that can best be described as "colorful". He will call you and your group "pigeons", you will laugh, you'll actually learn something, and you will enjoy every minute of it! This experience is one of the inspirations for this very blog.

So the people at Regusci said that I'd be able to find a couple of their wines at this particular gigantic liquor emporium here in Chicago. I walked aisle by aisle through the California section and found no sign of it. I went to their "Wine Information" table and waited a minute or two for somebody to appear, but they never did. I was now on my own.

Plan B for my bottle selection was to find a Viognier (a refreshing alternative to Chardonnay. I'll put a link at the bottom if you want to know more about this great varietal), which also brought back memories of my Napa trip. I found a bottle by one of the wineries I visited, but at $80, it wasn't speaking my language. Time to fall back on our old friend, the random game.

You'll find many ratings in these big stores. It's one of the main ways they push certain wines. So and so gives it an 89+ and detects notes of fennel, cardamom, cassis, and roasted peach pits and would pair it with a glazed rack of wild boar. You can't help but almost want to buy one of these highly rated wines, because, well 90 points must me good right? But I ask you to resist temptation. Unless...

I ended up finding a Viognier for $9.95 that had been rated 98 points! One of the things you should know about wine ratings, is that cheap wines are rarely scored over 90 points by anyone. I have a feeling this has something to do with intense snobbery because of the image of the elite great wines that don't go for less than $75 a bottle. Usually more. But come on, why are ALL the inexpensive wines at 89 points? Someone surely must like it more than this but is afraid to get sneered at. And even rarer, is ANY wine receiving a score over 95. Suddenly, I wanted to know more.

The 98 points and double gold medal winning status of this wine were given at the California State Fair! I love it! Let me just say here that I've been to the Illinois State Fair once or twice in my life and have a certain mental image of what it is like. I'm not sure how accurate that image is, considering I haven't been to one in years, I may be confusing some of my county fair imagery with my state fair imagery (two similar, yet vastly different beasts), and the late David Foster Wallace once wrote a laugh out loud funny essay on the Illinois State Fair and my brain may have co-opted some of his images. And yes, I'm pretty sure the California State Fair is probably a lot different than the Illinois State Fair, but still, state fair's are about as non-snobby as you can get. I have memories of constant smells of fried food and/or livestock or some combination of the two, sights of farmers in their overalls standing by their tractors, sounds of cheering for the pig races. Pig races! I won a cheap plastic Illinois State Fair piggie bank once for betting on the winning pig. Countless other agricultural displays and displays celebrating all things non-urban (and there are a lot of them) about the State of Illinois. And I'm pretty sure REO Speedwagon somehow plays every state/county fair in the country and they have been for the past 25 years! And people like it!

So the probably inaccurate picture that I imagine is of an unpretentious scene such as this: A panel of regular Californians (possibly in overalls) sampled a bunch of wine, and just stated simply, "Hey this is really good!" and stamped it with a 98 point seal of approval, without either realizing or caring that the wine critic world at large would never dare commit such a faux pas!

And so, I bought the bottle of 2009 McManis Family Vineyards California Viognier, and you know what? It is good! Really easy drinking. Great in the summer I'm sure, but equally great with my spinach & artichoke chicken Lean Pocket.

My advice on picking a bottle of wine? Take chances and be on the look out for unexpected recommendations. The more unpretentious the better. I was willing to spend a lot more money that day, but managed to pick up a bottle that I really liked for a lot less all because the state fair liked it! This enthusiastic rating from a delightfully unexpected source piqued my interest. And when you're enthusiastic about something, why wouldn't you give it a score like 98? It drives me crazy when a critic seems to really, really like something, but then scores it something that doesn't seem to match the visceral reaction. Whether it's wine, music, or otherwise. Really good things deserve really good ratings. Don't overthink it.

Anyhow, my point is that if you feel yourself drawn to a wine for its particular unique rating, or pleasant-looking label font, or clever name, or whatever may be that initial visceral connection, I say go for it! You've bonded somehow on some mysterious cosmic level. Wouldn't ad execs love to know everyone's personal cosmic purchasing triggers? Strangely, the connection between racing livestock and wine worked for me. Whatever it may be for you, follow through and enjoy. Have fun with it! That's what it's about, my friends!

http://www.enjoyingviognier.com/
http://www.regusciwinery.com/
http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/

Wine is Fun...

Wine is fun. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Wine really doesn't need me to advocate for it. It's doing just fine. In fact, we Americans are drinking more wine now than even the French. And that's what the French do...wear berets, eat baguettes, watch Jerry Lewis movies, look down upon everyone, but especially uncultured Americans, and drink wine! Maybe you are drinking wine right now. That would be a spectacularly appropriate thing to do while reading a wine blog! If you're not, somebody somewhere surely is drinking a glass and/or whole bottle of fermented grape juice.

And really that's all it is. For as much as people make of it, and pay for it, and speak in hushed tones in fine dining establishments about it, at its core, it's only grape juice.

But be careful, this is one of the common lines of the wine snob in hiding. I've heard it a couple of times from people. They try to play it cool and make you believe that they are really and truly, actually low-key and easy-going about wine, but then they turn around and insult your unrefined palate. See, it's not cool to be a snob. Who's going to come right out and say, "I'm a big time snob who knows SOOOO much about wine and am going to laugh at your lack of refinement and love of grocery store wines with animals on the label." Some might come right out and say it, but most people like having friends. Don't get me wrong, there are certain unabashed wine snobs who aren't afraid to tell you how you aren't nearly as good of a taster as them. I've met someone who said these exact words. As egomaniacal and off-putting as that sort of elitism is, it's almost more respectable than the people who try to cover up their snobbery.

And it's because of people like this that the wine world, despite wine's popularity, seems so inaccessible and unwelcoming to most people. Answer this question for me that was recently posed in a bit on Conan O'Brien's show: In America, do we drink wine or beer? You know the answer, I know the answer. And I love beer! I do. But why is beer so popular? It's unpretentious. It's versitile. You can drink it at home while watching a ridiculous TV show, at the bar with your buddies, at a sporting event, and it pairs well with everyday affordable food. And it's marketed as the "everyman's" drink. And it has been for ages.

Wine has an image problem in this country, which is too bad. Some of the greatest wine in the entire world is produced right here in the USA. While we should be celebrating and promoting and enjoying this fact throughout the land, instead this information seems to be reserved for the select few: those with money, wine snobs, patrons of snooty fine dining establishments. When people want wine, they settle for what's at the grocery store or maybe something that Robert Parker, the man with the golden palate and creator of the infamous 100 point wine rating scale, recommendeds, because it's easier than getting judged by wine elitists.

I'm here to say enough is enough! There's no reason why people should be intimidated by wine. And I see it on an everyday basis at the restaurant I work at. People will act apologetic about their lack of wine knowledge or they will act immediately defensive about it, based on past experience. Some avoid wine all together for these reasons which is a shame. There are so many great things about wine. First of all, there are so many different types. Even most wine experts get tripped up from time to time because of this. Chances are, maybe you didn't like something you tried in the past, but there is a decent chance that somewhere out there is fermented grape juice that you'll love. That's half the fun of it!

Of course it goes great with food. But it doesn't have to be reserved for 5 star dining. I'll drink wine with anything. Chardonnay and In-and-Out burgers go really well together. Have you tried fried chicken and sparkling wine? Magical! Wine with Hot Pockets? I've never tried it, but why the hell not? Some combinations will work, some are bound to not be as good, but it's fun to be pleasantly surprised, and it's fun to take chances once in awhile.

And wine is a great social beverage. Like all alcoholic drinks, it loosens people up. It makes you want to talk, to spout grand plans, to conquer the world. It makes everyone more attractive and music more vibrant and dance-worthy. At least in my own experience, wine, more so than beer and especially more so than hard liquor, has a way of creating warm feelings, possibility, bonding, and happiness. It's the perfect beverage for social gatherings.

And so the point of this blog will highlight what makes wine so fun. It'll be about accessibility and enjoyment. It'll be about the social experience of wine, especially when the video podcast gets rolled out. More on that later. I want to highlight the people that are making wine that is affordable, yet interesting and accessible. I want to highlight wine stores and wine bars that are friendly and welcoming to everyone, not just wine snobs. And not only that, I want to know how they are making wine fun and accessible. I want to learn about local wines and those on the cutting edge of the industry.

I write this as someone with no wine certifications. I am not a sommelier, nor do I plan on becoming one. I have a decent amount of wine knowledge, but am by no means an expert. So I want to write what I learn as I go and hopefully share it in a way that is helpful to people who want to learn as well. I think learning about wine is fun and I want to present my experiences in a way that encapsulates this spirit. I'm not going to do the 100 point rating system. In my opinion, this system is horribly flawed. My palate and your palate and Robert Parker's palate are different. So even if Parker can detect flavors found only in the existential realm, it doesn't help me one bit because I don't have his palate. Something he pans may very well turn out to be my favorite. Something I may love, may be as pleasant to you as drinking paint thinner.

So rather than be the source for all-things-wine-ratings, I want to be a source for finding new avenues to explore wine. I want to provide you with interesting producers. I want to provide unexpected, but everyday useful, types of pairings. I want to bring you profiles of those people who really get it. Not just those who give lip service to actually getting it, but those who really do! And while most of the time, I want to keep the tone positive, I will call out wine douchery when I see it. There's no place for it anymore.

Expect the podcast to be ridiculous. Not only will we drink wine and talk about wine, but we'll enjoy ourselves far too much. I want it to be about that wonderful social side of wine. I hope to have special guests playing music and doing comedy or whatever else might fit. It'll be a wine podcast with a twist...the twist being it'll actually be fun rather than just watching one or two dudes swirling their glasses around and giving it a grade like they're scoring an algebra exam or something.

I want to be absolutely clear that I respect the wine world. I think there are some really great sommeliers out there who don't believe in talking down to people. And I respect the history of wine and the culture of wine and the supreme talents of grape growers and wine makers. That being said, it's time to get a little punk rock about the wine world. It's time to celebrate everything that makes it fun. It's time to go out and find bottles that anybody can afford and anybody can enjoy, whether you're having grilled rack of lamb or Ramen noodles with a side of Spam for dinner.

The wine revolution starts here and now. And it's based on the spirit, not of $1000 bottles of Bordeaux, but rather on the spirit of how it was most likely discovered in the first place. One of our gatherer ancestors probably left a bunch of freshly picked grapes out and yeast managed to do what it does...change the grape's fermentable sugar into alcohol. What a glorious discovery that must have been! The harsh, unforgiving life of early humans was suddenly a lot more pleasant and hopeful, I'm sure.

So with that, I hope you'll join me as a fellow wine punk to discover more hope and pleasantries that the world of wine has to offer. And to those who may disagree, that's fine, but please oh please, for the love of God and fermentable sugars, I say this to you in all sincerity: Don't be a douche, wine is fun!