I will admit it – I was a big fan of Desperate Housewives. Bree, while not my favorite, was always very sophisticated and well-heeled – until the night she was going to take her life in a hotel room. She set the stage with fine linens, her best nightgown, her favorite chardonnay. Then, she proceeded to pour the chardonnay into a plastic disposable cup. UGHHH!!

Fortunately, Bree’s suicide attempt was interrupted, but let’s talk about why the glass matters. Wine can be drunk from any type of vessel, yet the result will not be the same. As I mentioned last week, what we experience with wine is about 75% driven by what we smell. The source of the aromas is the volatized esters in wine. Those are the floral, blackberry, and strawberry aromas (just to mention a few). We can discern only five distinct flavors on our tongue: sweet, sour, salt, bitter, and umami (a Japanese word that translates to meaty or savory). However, we can distinguish thousands of odors.

I’m excited to finally be putting into print what I’ve been talking about for a long time. The intent here is to educate, inform, and engage in a conversation about wine. Quality is the pursuit, and it need not always be expensive. There are great wines that are relatively inexpensive, but the challenge is in knowing what to look for and where to find it.

To begin, we need the tools to understand our own preferences and expand from there. The joy of wine is the exploration, and together we have that opportunity – not only to explore what the single glass has to offer, but also different varietals and different countries. There is a big, wide world out there; and it is ours to explore.