Some people say you become an adult when you turn 18. Others say it isn’t until you land your first real job. But for us, we think the real marker you’ve made it is when you move on from pooling your cash with your roommates to buy a handle of vodka, and get serious about starting your very own home bar.
So you’ve decided to give a Taster’s Club membership for the holidays. Great! They’re going to love it. Now strap in, because here comes the hard part: picking out just the right one.
The world of wine is almost unimaginably complex. Between the hundreds of different AVAs, the thousands of different grape varieties (seriously—Italy alone has more than 500), and the boundless creativity of the world’s winemakers, you could spend a lifetime studying this deceptively simple beverage and still have more to learn.
Michael Ayer, Managing Member at workman/ayer winery in Santa Barbara, California, came to wine early. Right out of college, when many of us are subsisting on a diet of takeout pizza, free snacks from the break room, and cheap canned beer, Michael got a job in Napa Valley, where he fell in love with the craft and complexity of transforming perfect fruit into fine wine.
Whisky is a truly global beverage. While Scotland and Ireland may be its birthplace, today, whisky is made all over the world, from the frosty fjords of Sweden to the baking tropical shores of southern India.
Every great wine has an element of mystery to it, but Rioja can feel particularly obscure. Between the four-tiered classification system, the sometimes unusual grapes (gracianoisn’t exactly ubiquitous), and the fact that Rioja includes red, white, rose, and sparkling wine, there’s a lot for even the most dedicated enophile to keep track of.
