Despite the fact that I shop for wine every week and I drink it daily, I know very little about wines. For years I've resisted the impulse to learn more; my stubborn attitude has been something like "I know I like the stuff, so why complicate this simple pleasure?" But in fact, I find myself distressingly often in situations in which I wish I knew more about wines. The usual: 1) what to order when at a restaurant; or 2) what wine to give as a gift.
Can a "wine tasting/appreciation" course help me here? I ask because I really don't know what is it that one learns in such a course. If they just have me taste wines of various qualities side-by-side so that I can learn what is it that makes a wine "better" than another, this knowledge would not help me when I'm staring at a wines list or at shelves at the wine store.
Aside from the above, what should I look for in a wine tasting/appreciation course? What makes a good course? What makes a bad one?
If anybody knows of a good class to learn about wines in the Boston/Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA) area, please let me know!
TIA,
bill