Napa Valley Wine Radio

Fascinating reading.  Many thanks to Appellation America.  A wine-closure supplier released results of a research project on various closures and the rate at which they expose the wine to oxygen.  This set off a rant by Dr. Richard Peterson, a highly-respected winemaker and scholar, intended to beat it into our little pea-brains that corks don’t “breathe”. 

Many were put off by his vehement, more brilliant-than-thou approach but, more importantly, folks of equal education and experience contradicted him in the comments, which are easily as fun to read as the rant. 

Takeaway message?  They don’t know.  PhD vs. PhD and they don’t really understand why or how wine ages in the bottle. 

My personal takeaway message?  If our foremost wine scholars are mystified by this stuff, and so many other facets of wine, then we shouldn’t worry too much about our own lapses of understanding. 

Wine is there to make life more fun and meals more enjoyable, period. 

And, if part of the pleasure, for you, is that it’s an incredibly complex subject, go for it!  Learn all you can!  But, no one knows everything because there’s just too darned much to know.  They didn’t even understand what fermentation was until the mid 19th century, frevvins sake! 

So, next time you’re feeling clueless about wine, as I often do, chill out and pour yourself a glass!  Learn as much as gives you pleasure - and leave it there.