Keeping a wine journal.

Cafe Society
1

I’ve decided to start keeping a wine journal, because the hubby and I keep finding ourselves wandering aimlessly around in the liquor store, trying to remember what was that really good Chardonnay we had when Jim and Frieda came to dinner that one time.

I’ve seen these fancy wine journals in stores and for sale at vinyards, what with the fancy pages and the little blanks for all the details, but I found the keenest “Science Fair Journal” totally on sale the other day. It’s a very nice little notebook, kind of tall and skinny, with good quality paper. The top 2/3 of each page is blank and the bottom 1/3 is lined, and it just screamed “Paste wine labels in me!” If I get around to it, I might decoupage some pretty wine-type pictures on the front, or I might just be all post-modern and ironic and leave it as a science fair journal.

Anyway, I’m wondering what, in addition to the wine label, I should put in the journal. So far, figure I should note:

[ul]
[li]Date purchased/recieved.[/li][li]Place purchased / recieved from.[/li][li]Price (not if it’s a gift, natch.)[/li][li]Date opened.[/li][li]Comments and rating.[/li][/ul]

For comments, I’m thinking along the lines of, “Too dry, but really good with brie, 4/5.” 'Cause we’re not exactly hardcore wine tasters.

Is there anything else I might want to include?

2

I think that covers all of it… perhaps how the wine tasted with the food it was served with?

Good idea, though! :wink:

3

Sounds interesting. Would definitely include in the notes/comments whether it went well with the food you had it with, or if you think it would go well with a different meal. For example, you ate it with cheese and crackers but thought it might be an excellent accompaniment to steak, lasagna, tacos, gummi bears, whatever.

For more expensive wines you might also want to compare vintages and note when the wine might be in it’s prime. I also like to research the area the wine came from and other wines from the same vintner/region that I might like to try, but I’m geeky that way.

I think I need to resuscitate my LiveJournal as a winetasting (only) journal. Just need a scanner to get the labels in.