Resolutions You'll Want to Keep

Make 2022 the year you drink better, whether or not you subscribed to a dry January

- Sarah Heller MW

Though New Year’s resolutions are typically made at year’s end, as a wine person I find that timing inconvenient. My first resolution is almost always to maintain a dry January; by the time I’ve made it through that ordeal, I’m either so dispirited or self-congratulatory that I feel little need to follow through on any other resolutions. This year I’ve pre-empted the February motivational dip by delaying my resolutions until now. Here, I’ve shared mine in the hopes that whatever your level of interest in wine, you will find some inspiration for yours.

1. REASSESS WHAT I “KNOW”

An unfortunate side effect of studying for the Master of Wine is that (of necessity) you build a mental library of stereotypes to help you identify wines in blind tastings. Central Otago pinot: inky and alcoholic; Marlborough pinot: light and candied. In truth, most wine drinkers subscribe to stereotypes, even if they’re unarticulated. Not only have developments in the five or so years since I passed my tasting exam rendered these caricatures passé but there have always been plenty of exceptions: for instance, Burn Cottage pinot from Central Otago is lucent and graceful; Churton pinot from Marlborough is structured and serious. This year I plan to re-examine several of my remaining wine stereotypes—California cab is big and bombastic, gewürztraminer always unctuous and oily—and pick some fine exceptions (I promise to share what I find!).

2. SIDELINE WINE-SEARCHER