no more wine snobs?

Here's an interesting article about a California wine consultant who's advocating a system that would take the "right" and "wrong" out of wine tasting.

He examines taste buds -- a process he calls "getting your buds done" -- to point out the sensory differences that make certain people adverse to even highly praised wines. An excerpt from the article:

His goal, he says, is to democratize wine once and for all. It's something the industry has been talking about for years: getting rid of the snooty sommeliers and insisting that it's okay to drink white zinfandel with your steak if that's what you like -- really. "There's no right or wrong" has become a mantra of the new generation of wine professionals.

The consultant, Tim Hanni, has developed this Web site, The Budometer, where you can take a quiz and based on your taste sensitivity to drinks like coffee and diet soda, find out your wine preferences.

Interestingly enough, even though I spent years living in California's winery-rich El Dorado County, I only got into wine after moving to Columbus. And that was mainly because I wanted to fit in with my friends, especially aspiring sommelier Dawn Minty.

I still really don't know what I'm talking about, but I love to pretend.

Want to dabble in the local wine world? Tastings are held 1-3 p.m. most Saturdays at Meritage. You get four 2 oz. pours for $10. Get details here.

Wednesday, March 19, there's a wine tasting 6-8 p.m. at Ben's Chophouse, 5300 Sidney Simons Blvd. Six glasses and select appetizers for $18. Call 706-256-0466.