An introduction of sorts...

[Oenophile420]

hello all..

i'm new to this board, this is my first post. i've milled through the archive and there seems to be a wealth of knowledge here.

however, i do come here with a question so to speak. it's not a real brain teaser, but something more or less to gather opinions.

i have been enjoying wine since i was very small. being only 24 years old (my b-day is the 10 of march) i got started in and developed a love for wine at a young age. in my home my mother was a great lover of wine and would take me wine tasting with her. she allowed me to sample wines..(sssh, don't tell her i even swallowed a couple of sips). this afforded me a healthy appreciation of wines early on.

i have recently discovered champagne for the first time and i've become hooked. i don't even wait for an excuse to purchase something or open it. i'm beginning to buy two or more bottles of something so i can have one now and one for later.

i'm trying different vintages and producers and so forth to get a feel for what a like. i've grown up in CA my whole life so i'm used to CA sparklers and my mother had a particular affinity for spumanti and i suppose that may have flavored my taste for sparkling rather than still wines. i do however enjoy and collect still wines too.

ok..enough about me. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img] the question i came to pose is this...

does anyone keep wine logs or cellar books? i've seen kits to remove the label from bottles so it can be placed on a laminated page. i believe there is space for comments on the wine or the occaision. anyone do this?

what about keeping a journal of wines tasted?

sincerely..

tara

[Innkeeper]

Hi Tara, and welcome to the Wine Board. For your Champagne and other sparklers go to Wine Expo, 2933 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica; 310-828-4428, Fax 828-2969, or WineExpo@earthlink.net.

For a good wine software program go to: http://www.cellarsavant.simplenet.com/index.htm

[hotwine]

Welcome,Tara. I think we all keep cellar books of some sort; some keep records of more than one type. For example, I have a database for recording bottle locations, date/place/price of purchase, tasting notes, etc. (it's called Cellar! by Collectware.) But I also still use an old cellar book, a looseleaf binder with sections for various regions of the wine-producing world, that duplicates much of the database information. It has sentimental value as a gift from a former exchange student that we hosted; but it's also useful now as a reference. And I also use a little pocket-sized address book to record reminders to purchase specific wines....it's used as a little wine-shopping book.

So yes, we do keep the types of records you're describing....

[barnesy]

I keep a wine journal on the wines I like. As far as getting the labels, I run them under hot water and try to peal them off. If that doesn't work, I smear goo be gone over them. If you're careful, you can get them off unharmed. I just use one of those hard bound writing journals you can get at Barnes and Noble, or Borders. I put the labels in, then write the info off the label that I want and any other information I want to include. I don't have a large enough collection worth using a computer program. If I ever do, I can transpher the info out of my books.

Barnesy

[chittychattykathy]

Also remember to write down who you are drinking with, where, time of day, and your mood. These things can really make a difference in how the wine tastes and what you write, or don't write, about it.