In a recent class, I was pouring a sauvignon blanc for high level executives and as I came to one gentleman, he crossed his arms and said, “I don’t like Sauvignon Blanc. I only drink Sancerre.”
I get this a lot. A person has tried one grape from one producer from one wine region of the world and is ready to completely rule out that grape. In the case of the gentleman, I had to gingerly inform him that Sancerre was, in fact, 100% sauvignon blanc and that the Old World labels their wines differently than the New World (a topic I will break down in a future blog post). But in his defense, haven’t we all done this? We tried a single thing and if we didn’t like it, gave up on it forever?
My fellow Wine Savvy drinkers, this is the fastest way to end your wine journey.
Why? Because wine is like dating.
Let’s say you were in a relationship for two years with a guy named Michael and things weren’t exactly puppy dogs and rainbows. You hung in there, thinking it would get better and then, boom! He broke up with you through text. After a few months, you decided you were ready to try dating again. Your friends set you up on a blind date and you waited for him at the bar. You introduced yourself and he said, “Hi, my name is Michael.”
Exactly.
In this moment, you have to make a choice. You can either create an excuse to leave because there is NO WAY you are dating a guy named Michael ever again, or you can take a deep breath and think to yourself, “Okay, I should give this guy a chance. All Michaels are not the same, right?”
Right.
Russian River Valley pinot noir is nothing like pinot noir from Burgundy or pinot noir from Central Otago. Please remember this the next time you are shopping for wine.
The grape you tried once before that you didn’t love? Try it again. Go to another country, another climate. Better yet, have friends over and have each of them bring wine (the same grape) but from all different places. Do a blind tasting. I guarantee you will begin to understand something called terroir (a term so important, it deserves the next blog post).
In wine, one grape does not fit all.
Open your mind and then open some new bottles.