The next time you go out with your friends or significant other for "an evening on the town" there will likely be an opportunity to sample different wines. But before you venture out, I would like you to think about whether you will be drinking or tasting.
To me, the major difference is whether you are comparing and discussing wines or just sticking with the one wine that's available or the selection that the most outspoken person in your party recommended.
If the later is the case, there is a good chance you are drinking. If you are actually comparing the differences between several wines, you are more likely to be tasting. Drinking and tasting are perfectly acceptable forms of entertainment and I recommend healthy applications of both.
I personally do both but usually at different occasions:
When I'm tasting, I bring along a diary that I have kept for years. Initially, I wrote down my impressions of each wine and gave them my own type of internal grading. Over time, I have added much more information, and the diary has helped me track my preferences, even as they have changed through the years.
When I'm drinking, I am likely to be at social function or party, and I keep my thoughts about the wine to myself. No one wants to hear the "expert" pontificate.
When it's time to party, do so with gusto!! The main thing is to have fun.
In Vino Veritas,
Michael Ambrose
