Wine Appreciation, Tasting and "How to" Guides

“Wine, like anything else that gives us pleasure, can be enjoyed more fully by those who have taken the trouble to learn something about it, and who have tried to develop their individual sensory systems. The human sensory system, which includes sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing, can be trained, just as our minds or muscles can be trained. There is no mystique about this, regardless of what the snobs and poseurs say.”

The words of the brilliant Alan Young from his Making Sense of Wine Tasting, and it’s the guiding principle behind Board and Bench’s wine tasting and appreciation texts. Wine is an egalitarian delight, with a 10,000-year history of common, everyday consumption. Learning a bit about it shouldn’t make someone feel like a rube.