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It's a new year, and that means it is time for New Year's Resolutions.  Time to evaluate what happened last year and work on improving our lives this year.  A time to regroup and move forward.  It's a good time to talk about some wine goals for this year.  Aside from my usual goal of obtaining and drinking the very best cult wines that I can get my hands on, there are a few more financially obtainable goals.  Changes that I can make to be a better wine drinker.

First (and this is true for me every year), take better wine notes.  Okay, if we are being completely honest here, even though I know better, this would read, take some wine notes.  Sometimes, it just seems so impossible to be standing a tasting juggling a glass, and literature, and attempt to take notes.  However, with all of the amazing smart phone apps, this seems like a lame excuse.  The advantage to taking notes, is that it forces you to pay attention.  To consider a wine's personality, and remember it and it's character.  I am fond of the Wine Notes app.  It allows me to track all of my wine notes, and offers a handy sliding scale, as well as a list of fruits and flavors that I can just tap to complete my notes.  For online sharing, I love the Drync Wine app, which involves a bit more typing but allows me to share wine that I have tasted across my social networks.  If all else fails the back of a napkin or small notepad work great as well.  

My second resolution and one that I recommend highly, is to try something different every week.  It's easy to get in a wine rut and drink the same varietals and even worse the same labels, all the time.  I challenge you to set aside one night a week and try a new wine.  I am always shocked by the number of people that I encounter who have never tasted a Grenache or a Tempranillo, who drink only Pinot Grigio, and have never dabbled with the vast variety of Chardonnay styles available.  If you are nervous about putting good money down on a bottle of wine that is out of your comfort zone, then I recommend tracking down some wine tastings in your neighborhood and making a point to get out and experiment.

I think that two resolutions are a great start.  The best part of all . . . these two are so much easier to keep than my half-hearted resolution to work out more.

What are your wine resolutions for 2012?  Please share.

Cheers!

Jodi