Help for a beginner

[jmiddleton08]

I have just gotten my own place for the first time, and after setting everything up I am now ready to start collecting, and learning how to truly appreciate wine.
(I have wanted to do this for years but never got around to it).
Where can I go to really learn about wine?
How/where to buy it? Best Wineries, different types, goes best with what foods.
I guess I'm looking for a Wine 101 course.
If anyone can help me I would appreciate it.

JM

[Innkeeper]

Hi JM and welcome to the Wine Board. As with most endeavors, the best way to start is with a good book. Two are "Wine For Dummies", and Andrea Immer's "Great Wine Made Simple." You also happen to live in an area that is lush with resources. Just to mention a couple, in lower Manhattan at 225 East 5th Street is a store called Is-Wines. It is small, easy to navigate with help from a most knowledgeable staff, has an excellent selection of inexpensive wines, and offers tastings and courses. Just east of you in Island Park is a huge wine emporium called Pop's Wine & Spirits. They have just about anything you would ever want and a very helpful staff. Check them out online at www.popswine.com.

There is most probably an excellent resource for you right around the corner. Let your fingers do the walking or just your feet. If you find a liquor store (the only place you can buy wine in New York) with lots more wine that liquor, ask about tastings and courses. Once you have read about the basics, the only way to broaden your knowledge is to taste the wines you have become interested in.