When I first started getting into wine, it wasn't my fault.  It certainly wasn't my parents fault either.  They believed wine in a box was all they needed to satisfy friends and family.  That is what I grew up drinking, or should I say, not drinking!  Wine from a box tasted green, acidic, and just plain bad.  In today's world, these wines would be rated well below 80 points and would be considered to have many flaws that warrant such a bad score.

Then one day, one of my cousins who worked in a wine store, invited me over for dinner at his parents house.  Steak was on the menu, so of course I said yes.  My cousin immediately decided to open a bottle of wine, asking if I'd like some.  "No Thanks," I said, thinking there was no way I'd like it, remembering of course the dreaded "box."   He insisted I try it, so of course I finally did.  I expected not to like it.  When you go into something expecting the worst, the worst usually happens, but not this time.  The expression on my face after the first sip said it all, that this was good stuff!  When I first started getting into wine, it was my cousins fault! 

The first question I asked him was, "What is this stuff?"  The next question I thought about was, "Why is this so much better than that boxed wine I grew up with?"  Then as I had a few more sips of what I found out was a "California Cabernet Sauvignon" I had more questions than really could be answered that night.

That brings us to today, which leads us to the Wine Education Center that I'm creating here at VinoCellar.com.  I'm going to answer for you all of the questions I had back when I had my first sip of a real wine.  Questions like:  "What types of wines will I like?", "How do I read those wine labels?", and "What is wine etiquette?"

If you don't find an article here about a question you have, take a look in our Wine Forums in the Wine Learning Center section.  Further, feel free to send me article suggestions underneath the Contact Us tab above.