I’ll be the first to admit that I think New Year’s resolutions are a bit silly, which is why I rarely proclaim them privately — let alone publicly, in print. Would I like to lose some weight? Sure, and I will. Should I be a nicer person and help others? Absolutely. I’ll try to do that, too. Without measurement and being held accountable, these types of resolutions often fall by the wayside around Feb. 1 every year.
But when it comes to the wine portion of my life — what’s left over after a full-time day job in a high-tech field, my wife and my two kids (ages 4 and 8) — I like to set out some goals for myself. Call them resolutions if you like, but I think of them more as a framework from which I’ll hang my writing for the following year. I’m not just a local wine writer, however; I’m a local wine drinker and fan as well — just as I know many of you to be. So, while these are things that I plan to do during 2016, maybe you can join me in doing one or more. The journey is always a lot more fun when you are on it with friends. Anyway, here’s what I resolve to do in 2016 with regard to wine. Keep me honest if you think I’m shirking my responsibilities with any of these.
1. Restart my tasting group
There once was a time, back when my family life was less hectic, when I was part of a wine-tasting group that met at least once a month. The group included a couple of local winemakers, some other local wine professionals and another writer or two as well. It was fun, of course — as wine should be — but it was also educational. We always picked a different theme for each meeting. Sometimes we’d simply pull wines from our cellars. I always make sure I have a couple of bottles on hand that I’m “saving” for this group. Other times we’d pitch in t o purchase a small number of expensive bottles that we’d likely never buy ourselves. There may be no better way to explore high-end red Burgundy. A couple of our members moved away. Some of us started having kids or had more kids. Or our kids got older and the after-school activities got in the way. I think it’s time to resuscitate the group. If you’ve never been a part of a wine-tasting group, you should start one in 2016.
2. Drink more local wineries
It is incredibly easy to get into what I call the “wine rut”: drinking wine from the same small group of producers all the time. I’m afraid that I’ve fallen victim to this habit. It’s easy to see the appeal — these are wineries whose wines I know I enjoy. But I want to know what’s going on in our entire wine region, not just the five or six wineries I visit and drink most often. I’m not going to stop drinking those wineries’ wines, but I’m going to make a concerted effort to taste wines from all of the other local producers with an open mind and an eager palate. I expect there will be some surprises. You’ll read about them here.
3. Give chardonnay another shot
I’ve been exceedingly hard on local chardonnay over the years — perhaps too hard. Hard to the point that I’ve largely ignored the entire category save a handful of stainless-steel renditions that I love (I’m looking at you, Macari Vineyards). This is the year that I dive back into local chard and see what’s really going on several years after I’d written it off. Things have changed in some pockets of California chardonnay country. Is it happening here as well? You’ll read about this here, too.
4. Rediscover Long Island merlot
Similarly, I want to rediscover what makes Long Island merlot special. It’s easy to overlook merlot. It’s not fashionable in the least and a lot of it isn’t interesting. Still, it’s important for the present and future of Long Island wine. Let’s find the people who are doing the most interesting, terroir-driven things with it. You’ll read about that here. (Noticing a trend yet?)
5. Be more of an advocate
More than a decade ago, when I started writing about local wine, there wasn’t nearly as much interest in wines from American districts that aren’t on the West Coast. That “little engine that could” mentality pushed me to not only write about the region, but to loudly bang the drum for it. Interest in “new regions” continues to grow, but my advocacy has waned a bit. This is the year that changes. The Long Island Wine Council has made it clear that its members agree with the idea that making quality wine — rather than just for throngs of tourists only peripherally interested in the wine — is the way forward. As that happens in 2016, I’ll be the first to celebrate those successes.
