As we were putting up more “shelf talkers” the other day in the shop, I started thinking about my earliest adventures wandering around my local wine shop. I was too self-conscious to ask for help but I kept seeing all of these “cute” little info cards popping up along the shelf edge “talking” about the wine. They would give wine notes like:

This deep-crimson-colored Cab has an attractive bouquet of cedar, coffee, cassis and black currants. This start leads to a medium-bodied, fruit-driven wine with light tannins, silky fruit and good length.

At first I thought, “Um… right. Because every time I open a Cab, I just smell wine! And what the heck is tannin?!” It kinda stressed me out. Bottom line: that little talker didn’t tell me if I would actually like it. Overtime I have found shelf talkers are both incredible little gifts to help me make a selection and great fun, too… I often like to taste a wine for myself and see if I agree!

Recently one of my closest wine-loving friends reminded me when you’re just starting to get into wine just about every wine smells like…well, wine! To get over that hump the key is to keep tasting wines. Have fun with it. Compare your impression to whatever “they” say on the back of the bottle. Make your own judgement. Your palate is your own! Overtime, you’ll start to get a better sense of what’s what when you read those little talkers.

Question of the day: Do you find “shelf talkers” helpful? Why or why not?

I know you’ve been anxiously anticipating what I have up my sleeve for Friday’s here on the Pour Favor Blog… Drum roll please…! Since a lot of shenanigans usually pop up throughout the week, I figure it is only right to reserve Friday’s for some bit of news or industry trend or even another blogger’s banter that caught my attention and deserves a little more “air time”. Hopefully this fodder will give you something entertaining to talk about as you open a bottle (or two…) over the weekend.

If you haven’t been following Gary Vanerchuk’s video blog, you must start immediately. That is all I have to say today.

Well, not quite (I do like to chat)… but seriously. Perhaps you caught him on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch last Wednesday night, or Conan O’Brien on Monday or heck, even Tuesday on Mad Money with Jim Crammer. He’s the guy who made Conan eat dirt and cigars last year and “trained” Ellen’s palate with salty stones, leather, and even cherry juiced cotton candy last September. Yep! He’s been making the rounds!

I love Gary because he “gets” it. Everyday smells and tastes really do come through in a wine. You just have to stop and smell (and taste) the vino to pick those out; and when you do, your wine tasting experience is taken to a whole new level.

Gary’s constantly pushing his viewers to step outside their box and experiment to find what makes their palates really sing (cigar tasting and stone licking and all!). And – bonus – if you’re willing to take a risk, you can find some real gems often without breaking the bank. Who doesn’t want a great value wine, particularly in this day and age?

With that introduction (or review of what is wonderfully Gary V.), I not only encourage you to check out the “Thunder Show” for yourself, but to get in on the action on Thursday, June 19th right here in Boston. Yes, Gary’s coming to town for a book signing at the BU Bookstore! Tickets are very limited, so register today! He’s so fabulously nutty, who can predict what you may be missing?

Question of the day: Are you coming to the soirée?

I want to share information, musings and happenings from life padding around a wine shop, tasting and learning about wines, planning events and otherwise staying on top of the latest wine news and trends. But I’m all about efficiency. So I’ll attempt to save my random musings for Mondays and reserve Wendesdays for a more “educational” take. (You’ll just have to wait until Friday to find out what that day’s all about!) In the meantime… welcome to the first of many Wine Wednesdays!

In part I’m inspired by last week’s discussion on Wine Blogging Wednesday about Old World Riesling. But I’m also just inspired. I’ve even been known to bust out my little “Rebecca dance” upon first sniff of a Riesling! (Note: This dance is way cooler, and way better than Elaine’s on Sienfeld.) Everyday I’m noticing that the word is starting to spread… MOST RIESLINGS ARE NOT SWEET. They only have that reputation from post WWII days when German wines were intentionally made sweet to appeal to American GI’s and to locals, who were malnourished and craved something sweet. Needless to say, this is some of the best, most-gorgeous, mouthwateringly delicious wine to sip (with practically any food you can imagine)!

A question I often field is: how can you tell from a label what makes a German Reisling less (or more) sweet?

Germans clasisify Rieslings using the Pradikat system, which indicates the ripeness (read: sweetness) of their grapes at harvest. This does not necessarily tell you how sweet the wine ends up being.

You may be familiar with everyday or QbA wines – the basic level of less expensive, often perfectly tasty Riesling. The next levels in the German quality spectrum are QmP wines (from normal to super ripe): Kabinnett, Spatlese and Auselese. Then Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauseles, and Eiswien (dessert). But a winemaker can do whatever he/she pleases when crafting the wine, resulting in varying levels of actual sweetness in the finished product.

Here’s a tip: Check out the alcohol content posted on the label. The lower the level, the sweeter the wine. If a bottle is listed at 7% it is sweeter. If you see the maximum (for a Riesling) of 11%, it’s gonna be its driest.

Question of the day: How do you like your Riesling?

Greetings and salutations fellow wine-lovers!

If you’ve had a chance to check out my bio, you know that I’m a relative baby in the wine world. Yes, I still remember what it was like bumbling around a wine shop attempting to select a satisfying bottle. But my absolute fascination with the stuff is something I now contend with just about 24-7 these days. The fact that each vintage (nay, bottle?) produces different results, technology is always improving and techniques are always evolving means I’ll never be satiated, either. Yippee!

Join me on my wine journey! As I host tasting events and continue in my role at my local wine shop, I’ll be posting various tidbits, a-ha moments, fun facts and, I hope, useful tips and analogies to make wine (additionally) accessible for you and your friends. I encourage you to share your own musings and experiences, too. Wine appreciation is always at its greatest when sipping is considered a “team” sport!

On that note… won’t you share when you first caught the wine bug? Click on “Comments” below!

Cheers!