A chuckle

An amusing anecdote in an old article in The Economist, about Robert Parker:

One wine merchant, asked if he can think of any other person who exercises such power over a market, pauses for a while and then says, “Alan Greenspan”.

How do wineries plan for the arc of the open bottle?

We've all noted that wines change dramatically after the bottles are opened. Often they need a little time out in the air. I've noticed that every now and again I even prefer a red on the second day. On the 3rd day it's often still drinkable, though past its prime, and the 4th day it's time for the drain.

I wonder, do wineries plan for this? I suppose hitting it's peak the same night after it's out of the bottle is probably the preferred timing of such things, but I admit, the second-day peak delay is something I kind of like. I'm the only wine-drinker in this household, so there's no way the bottle gets finished in one night. I like the idea that "leftovers" can actually be better. It's something to look forward to - "I wonder what that cab has done with itself while I was gone? I'll taste it tonight and find out!" Sadly, sometimes it's a dud.

It does seem to me though that there might be a market out there for wines for sale in varying portions. Personally, I would love to see single-glass portions, perhaps in little boxes, like juice or milk. The price of single servings would mean that it would be a lot easier to try new wines, since the money risked would be a lot less. Note that this advantage would disappear if buying single-serve packages was priced similarly to glasses of wine in a restaurant. Asking 5 dollars for a glass when the bottle is 10 is going to offend people. Single servings would make wonderful sense if they were priced proportionately to the regular bottles. I bet a lot of single women (growing wine demographic!) would love this.

Edited Later to Add: Huge Johnson is way ahead of me on this single-serve packaging thing.

Seeking Wine Sages

So, it's time for a career change, and I've been considering doing something related to wine. I'm not sure what yet. I've sought out advice from a successful wine shop owner, and done a bit of reading here and there, and the consensus seems to be that wine, like any career, takes knowledge and experience from as many points of view as possible. To that end, I've got to try out as many different wine-related jobs as possible over the next couple of years. Production, marketing, wholesale, retail, etc, all are points of view to understand in the business. I'm going to start by getting a job in a wine bar, and trying to get a part-time job (either paid or as a volunteer) at a local winery.

It's a bit daunting - wine, unlike a lot of other professions, really can't be learnt from a book. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good books out there! But tasting is a necessity. And to taste, and to really experience and learn about wine, you've got to travel. Since 10 dollar bottles are a stretch on the budget right now, intercontinental wine tours seem difficult to arrange. My hope is that I'll get a job that exposes me to opportunity. (And pays the bills, let's not forget that!)

Does anyone out there have advice for a fledgling wine employee?