So what sells you on a wine?

At some point I need to track down Eric Asimov to talk about many of the subjects he wrote about in this Wednesday New York Times piece. It hits so many of the subjects I want to cover with this blog: feeling comfortable about choosing wine, taking the winespeak and tasting ratings with a grain of salt and realizing that part of the fun, at least for me, is finding the bargains. And, of course, learning more about how the winemakers and winery owners view what they do.

For someone like me still trying to develop even a decent nose for wine, this graph from the story made me laugh:
Meanwhile, consumers face an impenetrable swamp of winespeak: Wine Spectator recently evaluated one Argentine red as, “Dark and rich, with lots of fig bread, mocha, ganache, prune and loam notes. Stays fine-grained on the finish, with lingering sage and toast hints.”

I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm OK on recognizing the dark and rich. Still working on decipering the loam notes and fig bread and most other things beyond the grapefruit/tropical fruit in Pinot Grigio and the crispness of a Sauvignon Blanc. If are of you reading this can identify loam notes and fig bread before I do, please check in. Otherwise, just enjoy the experience and the many wines that go so well with the dawning of summer.