Wine Tasting Season

With Labor Day weekend nearly here, summer is almost over and autumn is around the corner. September also begins a significant wine tasting season around here. It is when numerous local wine stores hold large tastings, sometimes with over 100 wines. So many new wines come to the market and you have plenty of choices available.

Wine tasting is still the best way to learn about wine. Especially if you have the opportunity to try a number of different wines together, to compare and contrast styles, grapes, blends, regions and more. When you can attend a wine tasting with 50+ wines, you get that chance to compare and contrast. Maybe you do not like oaked Chardonnay but have you ever tried an unoaked Chardonnay? If not, you might find several Chardonnays at a local tasting so you can compare and contrast the taste with and without oak. You might also get the chance to taste wines made from more unusual grapes, wines you might not normally buy unless you tasted them first.

If you want to learn more about wine, if you want to broaden your wine horizons, then you definitely should check out the large wine tastings that are coming up during the next few months. I will add listings for these tastings to my Events section as soon as I learn about them. I actually already have a few listed, including:

• September 20: Wine-Sense 2nd Anniversary; Wine-Sense, 166 Main St., Andover, www.wine-sense.net
• September 25: Salem Wine Expo, $20 prepay/$25 at door; Salem Wine Imports, 32 Church St., Salem, www.salemwineimports.com
• November 8: Fall Grand Tasting. Over 70 wines, beers & cognac; Grapevine Travelers, 18 High St., Medford, www.grapevinetravelers.com

I try to attend many of these events so maybe I will see you there!