Wine Dude Online

In Light of some heated “debate” over a recent blog post and my looming 40th birthday on Wednesday, I decided to do a little soul searching. A little reflection if you will, about how I can tweak myself and hopefully be a better, more enjoyable person over the next 40. Here are 10 thoughts (in no particular order) which i will try and remember/follow.

1. Be grateful for what and who you have in your life. i.e. loving wife (love you), roof over your head and a job to go to every day (thank you).
2. Don’t take life too seriously. Slow down and enjoy life. You only get one ride on this roller coaster so make the most of it.
3. Stop living in our own little worlds. Be more conscious of others and how our actions may impact them.
4. Stop and think before we speak. Or write!
5. As my mother used to tell me growing up, it is not what you said but how you said it! I especially need to constantly remind myself of this one!
6. Strive to be better than I was yesterday. While no one is perfect, it doesn’t hurt to try and improve. Remember to use every experience as an opportunity to learn & grow
7. Learn to laugh more. Stop being so negative. say NO to pessimism and YES to optimism.
8. Realize that even though I may make all of the points that I’m trying to make, if presented (written or verbal) in the wrong manner it may have a completely different effect than was intended.
9. Everyone has an opinion to which they are entitled. However, we should all make our own decisions. Just because one person says that he/she didn’t like a movie, thought that was the best bottle of wine they’ve had or that was the worst restaurant they’ve ever eaten at, doesn’t mean you/I will have the same feelings or experiences. Go see that film, try that bottle of wine and take your spouse to dinner at that restaurant and make your own decision. Everyone’s tastes are different!
10. Lastly, if you don’t have anything nice to say, it is better to not say anything at all!

Thank you for listening. What would you change or add? Leave me a comment and let me know YOUR Thoughts

Now that I have your attention, let me explain.

I recently attended a tasting hosted at Enotria, one of my local wine shops, which was having KR Rombauer III pouring his family’s wine. My wife and I have visited the winery once or twice and thought that it would be nice to meet one of the owners and taste some good wines. So here is where I start ranting. I, like most wine drinkers, try to support my local retailers as much as possible. But I have a hard time doing that if the owners will not help themselves or do stupid things. Enotria used to be owned by another group of owners and had small but faithful following because they had a great wine selection, knowledgeable staff and the place had good atmosphere. The new owners opened the store again and unfortunately have nothing in common with the old place except the name. Most of the wine they carry would only be found on the bottom shelf at your local grocery store. I get the idea of trying to have inexpensive wines that everyone can afford, but they may have three or four medium level wines in the entire shop. Because of this, I have been reluctant to go in the wine bar very often. I recently received some emails, they bought the old owners mailing list, inviting me to some wine tasting events they were hosting. The first tasting was Frank Family Vineyards which was being poured by the winemaker Todd Graff. We had been meaning to try some of the FFV wines so thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for us to do so. We went and had a great time and loved the wines so much that we bought some and had the winemaker sign them for us.

This leads me to my “Your Tasting SUCKED!” segment. (more…)