© Stewart


Its a new year, I'm a year older (and hopefully wiser) and as I drank a cheap White Merlot in a Vegas hotel with a group of girl friends, I thought, "Maybe I should make some resolutions besides the old stand-bys." Every year we want to be better, look better and feel better. But what about drinking better?

It may say a lot about me, or at least a lot about me in Las Vegas, that I thought about this but I thought it might be a fun exercise. So here are my wine resolutions for 2010:

1. Try new things. Every year I try to pick crazy looking bottles or labels as my way of being adventurous. But I stick to the same kinds of wine. My safety-net wines if you will. For me its Riesling and Pinot Noir. This year I want to experiment with wine types that I've never heard of.

2. Savor More. I don't know about you, but sometimes I rush my wine. I buy a glass and drink it with savoring all the little nuances that make each glass unique. I consider how it blends with my food, but only for the first few sips.

3. Write it down. Sometimes I try a new wine, or test a wine with a meal (I love to pair wines and foods together), and its fantastic. Or maybe not so fantastic. And then I forget. Later I'll make the dish again and rack my brains trying to remember the label I loved so much. I bought a book over a year ago to take wine-tasting notes in. I plan to actually use it this year.

4. Drink with friends. I buy bottles of wine just to have on hand for myself, or to take to a party or share with a date. Rarely do I share a wine with a group of friends that are all interested in wine. But when I do, I love it. I enjoy everyone's thoughts and opinions and pairing suggestions. Something about a group of people all experiencing the same thing but throwing in their opinions creates an energizing atmosphere for me.

Do you have any wine resolutions for the new year?