Mrs. Wine Guy was throwing a bridal shower for the future daughter in law recently.  My hope was that I would get to go visit one of my buddies or head over to the sports bar and watch a game on TV, or do some other manly pursuit.  That hope was short lived when the Mrs. WG asked “would you mind being the bartender”.  Knowing that no was not an option I lied and said “I’d be happy to honey.”  So there I was, committed to using up a perfectly good Sunday afternoon serving wine to 14 ladies.  I did not know about half of the ladies attending and I knew that at least four of them did not drink at all.  So I was selecting wine for at most 10 ladies.  Two were Mrs. Wine Guy and the bride’s mother both of which who have fairly sophisticated palates.  I have a niece that is a fan of Pinot Noir, and the bride to be that will only drink sweet wine , but the rest of them were uncharted territory.  I had to put my wine guy skills to the ...

One of the questions us wine guys and gals get asked most often is “Where is the best place to buy my wine”.  Like so many things in life the answer to that question is “It depends”. If you are unsure of exactly what you want but it is important for you to find a good bottle of wine you need to go to an independently owned wine shop.  Most of these shops only have room for a limited selection of so they generally only stock what the owner feels are the best examples of each wine.  For most of these owners it as much a mission as it is a business.  They have a deep knowledge of wine and care deeply that their customers enjoy the wines they purchase, and that their customers grow in their understanding and appreciation of wine.   There is nothing more they enjoy than answering questions and helping customers. The only drawback is that you will generally have to pay a little more for your wine, but most of the time it is not all that significant consi...