As we taste the finish of 2006 and look forward to the attack of 2007, it's time for a new set of resolutions. The most important resolution is not to try to remember last year's resolutions. If you kept them, they'll come to mind easily enough. If you didn't, it's better to forget about them.
I've come up with half a case of wine resolutions for 2007.
First, I'm going to pay a lot more attention to Chardonnay. It's really an undervalued variety in some circles, but at the same time it's increasingly popular on the market. There's a disconnect between wine writers and consumers that needs to be addressed.
Chardonnay comes in so many styles, it's versatile with food, and it's so often delicious. But Chardonnays are so ubiquitous that it's often easy not to see them, and so I'll be looking at them more closely next year.
Second, ditto with Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand came on strong with this variety in the 1990s, but a certain sameness has crept in and I often hear people say they're bored with Sauvignon Blanc. True, it's not as versatile as Chardonnay, but there are many terrific styles to choose from, and Sauvignon is an excellent food wine because of its acidity. It deserves a closer look.
Third, ditto with Shiraz. This is the big success story of the past couple of decades. Before Australia re-invented the variety, who had ever heard of Syrah/Shiraz? The great Syrahs were known only by their Rhone appellations, but now Syrah/Shiraz are household names to the point of becoming banal.
Fourth, I'll seek out less-known varieties. The universe of grape varieties is huge, but most wine drinkers stick to six or seven tried-and-true varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz. They make terrific wines, but so do hundreds of other varieties, and many are available in the LCBO and Vintages.
I'm going to give a lot more attention to non-Ontario Canadian wines. That doesn't mean I've gone off Ontario wines. Far from it, because they continue to impress me. But I want to re-familiarize myself with British Columbia and to get a better sense of what's going on in Quebec and Nova Scotia. I'll pass on what I learn.
Fifth, I'll give more systematic heads-ups on wines being released by Vintages. With two releases a month most of the year, I'll be able to give advance notice of wines in the second release each month, at least.
Sixth, I'll do those "Ottawa Tastes" surveys more often. Readers like them and participate in them by the hundreds, and I find the responses very interesting.
Then there are the things I have no influence over. These are more like wishes than resolutions. I wish there were no more really stupid books about wine. I wish that neo-snobs (the ones who approach wine in ways they think disguise their ignorance) would just go away. I wish ...
But what's the point? It just makes me grumpy to think about these things. So let's all resolve that in 2007 we'll break out of any wine ruts we've grown comfortable in, go forth and taste the riches of the world of wine.
Give the New Year a sweet start with one of these. All are sweet but not so sweet as to be cloying or difficult to pair with food.