I know nothing about wine! The comment I get most often when you tell people what you do. 'Not to worry', I would say, as the people who know the least are the best customers. Wine sales are not driven by connoisseurs but by the man on the street who drinks to get plastered or to socialize. The mini-expert is the customer you don't want as they tend to be opinionated, difficult to sell to and only buy wines that have won awards. What's in an award? Every Chairman of every tasting panel would like you to believe that their gold medalist is truly worthy. Yet many award winning wines have been turned down in different, experienced tasting panels. It's hard not to be subjective when tasting wines. I would always turn down a wine in which I pick up excessive added acid and another person would score a very fruit driven wine higher and ignore elegance and finesse. So who's right and who's wrong? You just have to judge for yourself. Only through trial and error do you learn and by attending every possible tasting that you can. Most retail stores will have Saturday morning tastings where you can taste free of charge and be under no obligation so buy. In South Africa your best bet is a Makro, Bootleggers and Liquor City.

The only way you learn is to taste taste taste, not to have preconceived ideas and ask lots of questions. All questions are welcome. You can reach me till the end of the year on maudl@makro.co.za

Drink and enjoy, don't drink to get drunk (practise in your garden how to spit properly!)