method to this madness?

[Nate]

Hi again! I took your suggestions and read "Wine for Dummies" and I'm also working on a book published by Dorling Kindersley called "French Wines." Both are very useful resources, but I have a few more questions: Where is the best place in the refrigerator to store a white wine? a bubbly wine? Where can I learn the french words/phrases associated with buying/collecting/consuming wine, now that I know most of the english ones? Do you recommend "Wine Buying Companion for Dummies" as an additional resource for the wine shop? Where can I learn the location of wine-tasting events in western europe, or as the germans call them, "Messen"? I think thats it for now! Thanks!

[Innkeeper]

Nate, I'll try to answer some of your questions, and let others answer the rest. Store sparkling wine in the coldest part of the refegerator, and white still wine in the next coldest part.

The biggest difference between buying or even tasting wine in the U.S. and in Europe is that here we not only have wines from all over the country at our fingertips or lips or whatever, but also wine from all over the world. In Europe, except for a few select and usually expensive places in the major cities, most people buy, drink, and sell local wines. You need not know much more than the local words for red and white. The names for varietal wines are much the same in other languages as they are in English.

As far as tracking down the wine tasting events, I'll leave that for others.

[hotwine]

Nate, every little village in the wine-producing regions of Europe has its own wine festival each year that features tastings of the wines produced in each village. Suggest you determine which country you would like to visit, then contact a travel agent and explain that you would like to visit the wine-producing regions of that country and attend their local wine festivals. Many festivals are held in the fall, at the end of the harvest, so September-October can be a good time to visit. The wines offered for tasting would be from previous harvests. Use the term "wine festival" (or "wein fest" in German) to describe the events you wish to attend. You should be able to find them throughout all of Europe.

[wondersofwine]

A German Weinfest that I found particularly enjoyable was in Enkirch along the Mosel. They had a two-day Fest (I think usually in August) with a Volksmarch (10 or 20 kilometer walk along marked paths). The walks take you up the steep Mosel bluffs to look out over village and vineyards. I usually arranged to stay overnight in nearby Traben-Trarbach following the Fest. The crowd in Enkirch was a more manageable size than say the Bad Kreuznach Weinfest which is a much larger event.