I have a spent a lot of time going "wine tasting" and derived a lot of enjoyment from it. Here are some of my observations: * The sense of taste is very influ

I have a spent a lot of time going "wine tasting" and derived a lot of enjoyment from it. Here are some of my observations: * The sense of taste is very influenced by experience. If something makes you sick (bad chicken), you can develop a lasting aversion to that taste. Conversely, if something makes you feel good over and over again (alcohol), over time you will start to like it, even if, that thing doesn't taste very good initially. * The fact that the taste of wine, beer, booze ... is not simply a "good" taste like sugar or protein, makes it more "complex" and interesting. Candy = yum, but as you get older, it's kind of gross. Alcohol, on the other hand, stays interesting. This theory is not very scientific, but I think it has a grain of truth. * Wine in the USA carries a heavy burden ... of Americans' feelings of cultural inferiority (in general, but originally towards Europe). "Wine tasting" even more so seems like an effete, silly, snobby thing to do. It's in the same neighborhood as the USA's love-hate relationship with France. It got put into our cultural code at our founding, and we still have it. "They think they're so cool and sophisticated. What a load of bull! And yet, it seems like there's something there that we don't understand." Argh, we can't seem to get over it. * Anyways, my advice: just have fun and don't take the experts seriously, certainly don't feel inadequate. It is bullshit, it is an art -- in some domains, who can tell the difference? If there's one thing that "wine tasting" can help you to do, it's just to PAY ATTENTION to what you are tasting, and talk about it. We shove so much crap into our face that we don't even really taste, and it's sad because "tasting" can be a source of great pleasure. Also, it can be fun to think of Wine Country as an especially epic bar crawl that you go on when you're old and starting in the morning. This is when drinking gets serious.