FREE Online Wine Course!?!

Wyatt, Cory, and I recently had a lengthy debate about which one of the 5 senses we would get rid of if we had to. Wyatt and I chose what we thought was least useful--smell. Cory, on the other hand, went with sight because he thought it would be cool to not know if he was awake or asleep. I was then reminded about how much smell and taste were linked by my friendly online wine expert Bill Wilson.

Wine for Newbies is your free online wine course ($150 value!). Bill Wilson the host is a lawyer and wine enthusiast, who has worked on litigation to try to improve wine laws. I have never personally met Bill, but I have exchanged emails with him and he is super nice! He will answer any questions you have and even did a few shows based on suggestions from me.

Bill is currently airing a wine course he is teaching at Indiana University (South Bend) (Listen Now!) If you were to take this class in person it would cost you around $150, but through the wonderful medium of podcasting it is 100% FREE.

I would like to take a brief moment to say how great podcasting is and what you are missing out on if you aren't subscribing! First and foremost, podcasting is free to you the listener and if you haven't gotten the picture yet there is a lot of high quality, entertaining, inspiring information out there that you would normally be doling out the big bucks for. Podcasters are typically very passionate about what they create, do it for no pay usually, and spend a good amount of time and effort to produce a show (think about scripting, editing, research, ect).

Now wine or alcohol, for that matter, isn't for everyone, but if you do plan to purchase or order wine in the future I highly recommend getting the basics down to greatly enhance your culinary experience. I must admit I knew the bare minimum about wine, but after getting Bill's insight I can now comfortably go into any wine store and talk intelligibly with the wine expert about picking a wine or sit down at a business dinner and select a wine to pair with the meal I order.

I cannot pour all of my wine knowledge into this blog, but a few tidbits I have learned will have to suffice. Try wines outside of California, France, and Italy because you can find hidden gems at a great value. You can't go wrong with an Argentian Malbec, South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon or German Riesling. Don't just pick up that cuddly critter wine (Yellowtail ect.) from your megagrocery store, do a little research and talk to the experts at a local wine shop...its worth it!

I will leave you with Bill's mantra--Drink what you like and keep trying new things!

Thought for the day: Every day is a new day