Hello fellow wine lovers! My name is Terry Liebman, one of the founding partners of Two Masters Wine Club. I will be ‘blogging’ from time to time on Two Masters, wines, wine events, and wine-related topics I find meaningful. I’m hoping you find my musings interesting and enjoyable.
I have little, if any, formal wine training. I did take a wine-tasting class in college. I needed two elective courses to finish my degree, so wine-tasting and a cinema class – “Hollywood and History” – made the cut. A combination of the two, now that I think about it, might have been even better! My training is more on-the-job so to speak. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Outliers,” makes the case that one can only become an ‘expert’ in a given field after 10,000 hours of ‘work’.
Have I spent 10,000 hours tasting wines? I can’t be certain. But if I’m not yet an expert, I’m well on my way! So are you! And that’s what’s so great about wine. We all love our ‘on-the-job-training!’ The best way to develop your own expertise is to drink wine. And, as you’ve already experienced, Two Masters is dedicated to bringing you great wines to sample every month.
Of course, if you feel motivated, you can do some reading as well. There are plenty of wine blogs already on the internet. And there are some fun books waiting for you. For example, have you read “The Billionaire’s Vinegar" by Benjamin Wallace? The sub-title of the book is: ‘The mystery of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine,’ referencing a 1787 Lafite. The book is choc-full of great information about the origin of the French classification of wines, Thomas Jefferson, and a boat-load of really interesting historical wine facts. And it’s a fun read.
But I digress. Back to wine-tasting.
Drink wine and you will discover what you like. And that’s the most important thing about wine: what YOU like and enjoy. With wine, there is no right answer. Whether you personally love our robust California Cabs, a delicate Pinot, the myriad of Chards, first-growth Bordeauxs, Rhone varietals, wines from Spain (Rioja), Argentina (Malbec) or Australia (Shiraz), or some of the unique ‘ice wines’ from the higher latitudes, what you like is most important. You are the expert on you. Two Masters will help you discover what you love to drink. And, hopefully, help you find the wines you want to share with your friends. As you, too, become an expert.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. More will appear over time. Agree or disagree, feel free to share your thoughts. Both Two Masters and I appreciate any feedback you care to offer. But, at the end of the day, we all agree on one thing: We love wine!
Terry Liebman
