It's a Happy Wine New Year

The New Year always brings along the anticipation and excitement about what's to come. And 2012 is no different: we all want to accomplish certain goals, learn new things and go, go, go. I hope this will be a great year full of wine posts from me here at Wine-ing Women. So, what's new for 2012:

I am doing more and more wine classes for small- to medium-sized groups this year already. The format is super simple: I discuss the direction that my tasters want to go in (ie. reds, French wines, wines to pair with certain foods), we pick a line-up of wines in a desired price range, I educate a bit, we discuss and then folks ask lots of questions. I've had the great fortune of travelling extensively across the wine world from Austria and Champagne to Burgundy and Napa Valley. The exposure to the land, the people and the regional food leaves a lasting impression and informs all of my classes. Teaching the classes also allows me to re-live those excursions. It's a win-win and I love doing it.

I continue to taste wine regularly and ovserve what restaurant and wine shops are featuring. Afterall, wine is like fashion, with certain varietals coming and going on and off wine lists. It's not that we need to be a slave to fashion; rather it helps us make new discoveries. My friends who are restaurant sommeliers and wine shop owners are constantly introduced to loads of products. They have fantastic relative perspectives. I respect and value their knowledge and welcome opportunities to taste and learn with them.

I hope to share more of this with you all this year so please consider checking out www.WineingWomen.com for more information or just shoot me an email at LauraLevy@wineingwomen.com. I'll welcome the chance to meet you and introduce you to the fabulous world of wine.

Tagged as: wine, wine tasting and resolutions

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Laura Levy Shatkin served for 10 years as food and wine critic for the Chicago Reader. Later, she became an Emmy-nominated executive producer for Taste, a 30-minute food and wine show on NBC-5 Chicago, which later merged into www.WineTasteTV.com, where Ms. Levy is a partner/owner. Today, she teaches private wine classes and hosts wine parties for consumers and firms, and continues to tell the video stories of wine, girlfriends and wine travel on her TCW blog, Wine…ing Women.