wine pleasure has as much to do with what's in your head as what's in your glass

Most wine publications celebrate the high and mighty wine world – smoked salmon and caviar. My focus is on the middle ground, the good everyday trooper, the Toyota. Wines to get me through the week—and to take me on the occasional trip. Wines to have fun with rather than worship.

Not everyone wants wine expertise. Most of us just want to know which wine will work well for life's various events—the BBQ, the birthday bash, the pizza night. We want to know how different styles of wine might connect to our times, moods and events. We want quick, easy solutions so we can get on with enjoying ourselves.

the experts are wrong – it's not about the wine
It's not the wine itself that matters, but your experience of it. We don't play music for the compositions, or the players, but for the pleasure of the feeling it gives us. And so it is with wine. Everywhere we hear about the wine and its flavours – this has been a mistake. We should be hearing about the experience of it. What emotions are created by the different wines?

Wine is more than a liquid with a smell, flavour and history. When we analyse wine by these components, we focus just on the matter and ignore the spirit. In fact, the character of the wine unfolds in the drinking process—so wine is really part drink, part situation, part thought, part desire, and part imagination.

how does it feel?
The communion between people and wine is feeling. Wine's statement isn't flavour. The essence or character of a wine can only be felt. It's the feeling that connects wine to our moods and events. Today, many people want to grasp things holistically and intuitively, so shift to seeing wine as a feeling experience. Instantly you'll become more comfortable with the subject because you know and trust your feelings. Feeling is a language of the soul – not the head. It's a universal language that we can all connect to.

excessive glitz
In North America, we're obsessed with stardom and prestige brands and this blinds us to the whole point of wine. The Japanese tea ceremony suffered a similar fate when it fell into the hands of wealthy merchants who had little knowledge of the true spirit of the event, and then made the ceremony a show of glitz and materialism. Take a look at current wine magazines with L.A.-style sensibilities. By turning aside from glossiness we can start to enjoy imperfection, downscale and not so obvious beauty.

in case of emergency
1. grab the beaujolais
2. get a baguette
3. leave your worries on the doorstep
4. direct you picnic to the sunny side of the street

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