Brandy Hauman

Got no time for WSET classes? Is there no WSET location near you? Check out the WSET 3 Minute Wine School Films. Knowledge is power!

Always good to review the basics. It’s important to keep your communication focused.

“Old Spice” style promo as  seen around the internet…

This is not a new idea, but I like the way Eric Asimov presented it. I know as a wine consultant there is always a big fear of the idea of sweet, and I usually spend some time educating people on the difference between the concepts of sweet and fruity.

I’ve noticed something about myself – as I learned about wine I was able to figure out a pattern in my likes and dislikes. I noticed that (in a very sweeping, general way) I tend to like wines that have a higher acidity, and that are produced in cooler climates. Looking at this breakdown, I also like wines that can be classified as savory. I think there’s a pattern there, and if you like wine it is good to try and figure out your own patterns. It will lead you to more intelligent purchases, and you’re more likely to get what you want even when buying something you’ve never actually tried before.

For those of you who are saying to yourselves “what the heck does OTBN stand for?”, here it is.  Even though the couple that started the idea are no longer writing for the WSJ the tradition still lives on.

Because of people’s schedules we decided to celebrate it a week early. I invited a friend over who really helped me learn to love wine, and we cracked open two bottles. Mine was the 2001 Bordeaux – it was young and vibrant and a lovely pairing with the mushroom risotto I made. The bottle was important to me because it was the very first payment I ever received working in the industry… I helped a gentleman administer a survey about Bordeaux to people for a few hours and when he said he could pay me in cash or wine I decided to go with the wine, and this is what he gave me. It could’ve aged for a lot longer, that’s for sure, but the whole thing about OTBN is that life is too short to always save things for a big special occasion… sometimes we need to make our own special occasions.