The first post in any blog is a dicey proposition - as the old simile concludes, everyone has an opinion. I'm writing (some of) my opinions down in public because I find that many of the things I enjoy most in life - wine, food, art, travel - can be experienced alone but are only enjoyed when shared. I've had great food dining alone, but where's the joy in that? The joy, the real pleasure of an experience, the sheer reveling in the beauty of a well crafted meal, comes from sharing it. 

Anyone can get a website (after all, I did) and venture an opinion. Depending on your perspective (and your optimism), a blog is the greatest exercise of democracy where everyone has a voice, or it's a contributor to virtual cacophony where no one is heard because we all drown out our fellows. And yet, here I am throwing my glass, my plate and my camera in the ring of public opinion. I don't want to be just a voice in the crowd, but I'm happy to have a conversation, and it begins here.

In succeeding posts I'll share impressions from tastings of wine, food and spirits, interviews with winemakers, chefs, musicians and more. I'll touch on my dismay over how we consumers slavishly follow ratings and my concern over the Internet's rampant self-qualification of opinion. I'll put my opinions out there anyway, however my real aim is not to persuade you of anything (other than that my opinion is right for me), it is to show ways we can each have a better opinion, and a better experience in our cultural and culinary lives. I believe we accomplish that by more fully experiencing the opportunities that come our way and to do that, we better utilize our senses - all of them. The thrust of my many presentations to trade and consumer groups, and here to you, is that we taste more when we bring our senses of sight, touch, smell and even hearing to the tasting experience. We have a fuller experience of art by using not only our sense of sight, but also touch, hearing and yes, taste and smell. I want to encourage you to engage all your senses, and this is where I'll offer that encouragement. It's time to taste, to savor, your world!