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The world of wine seems to be everywhere now. Do a Blog search on Google; there are thousands and thousands of wine Blogs. There are magazines, TV shows, and even a whole aisle dedicated to it in your local supermarket. Diageo reported that wine sales equaled beer sales in 2007, something unthinkable just a few years ago. It really is a true global market. It appeals to young (not too young) and old, rich and poor, happy and sad! There is more written about wine than any other beverage, and that’s just a simple demand issue.

The world of wine has really opened since Robert Parker. He was the one that saw the need for varietals on the labels, and the emerging American wine market saw this as an opportunity to jump into the business. It is intimidating to be at a fancy restaurant, looking at a 15 page wine list full of vineyards and years, but none of them say what the wine inside of the bottle is. That’s because you are supposed to know, or at least the “Old World” likes to think. Most people wouldn’t know what’s in a Chinon or even a Bordeaux if it isn’t specified on the back of the bottle or by the overdressed sommelier. If your dinner partner did know what it is you wonder what the hell you are doing out with that person in the first place! As the world of wine opens, and this mass of people enter the business, changes start to occur to make wine more accessible for everyone.

As I get deeper into the Diageo network, I get to see more and more everyday of the business aspect of wine. I see the hands reaching out, writing blogs, sending hundreds of cases of wine to writers, hoping to get that cameo bottle in CSI, or just finding new ways to market to certain demographics. The only limit to wine is access. Think about your neighborhood, how many wine shops are nearby? Has a wine bar opened in the past few years? Do you have friends who go wine tasting? There are so many different types of wine that there really is no end to the adventure. Even within Diageo, the California wineries would take months to really get through the whole portfolio.

I guess my point is that just by reading this you hopefully have learned a bit about wine. You must have had some interest in wine to read all the way through my Blog, so now go explore. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know how to pronounce the winery or you’ve never heard of a varietal. Take a risk, keep tasting, when you get home do a Google search about the wine and learn a bit about it. You have just increased your wine knowledge!

Wine of the Week- 2006 Rosenblum Cellars Chateau La Paws Cote du Bone Blanc ($12)- This is my favorite Rosenblum white and this delightfully light blend is perfect on a warm summer day. The blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc combine to bring spice and fruit into a mouthful soft and supple wine. Clove and passion fruit dance on your tongue and a touch of honey smoothes the whole thing as you happily sip through your glass. A bit of oak sophisticates the wine but a nice chill brings it back down to earth. The price of this wine is set low enough to make this an “every fish dinner” type of wine. Get ready for more of this, as there will be more Rosenblum whites released in the near future.