A few things I've learned about wine

1.  You like what you like.  No excuses. If others don't agree with you, it's ok! Everyone's tastes are different.
2. The more wine you try the more you'll figure out your likes and dislikes.
3. Educate yourself on wine - go to a winery, ask questions, take a tour, keep notes, keep tasting!
4. The worst thing someone can do is give you a wine they like and expect you to like it. You have to develop your own tastes. (I know this from experience!! I hated wine until 6 years ago all because of the way "certain people" tried to force it on me.)
5.  Most everyone starts out drinking sweet white wines, then drier whites and then eventually develop a liking for reds. However, that is just the norm - doesn't necessarily mean it will happen that way.
6.  Dark chocolate always compliments red wine. It can make the best red wine better and the worst red wine bearable, even good! The only way I could "fathom" red wine for years was to eat chocolate with it. Now a big red wine is my absolute favorite!
7.  You can't go wrong with a California Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa is my favorite region, followed by Sonoma and Paso Robles.
8. There is no better Pinot Noir than one from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
9.  A wise man, and good friend, once told me a Viognier is a Chardonnay "that couldn't". I've never forgotten that statement and I whole-heartedly agree. :) Those Chard lovers out there should understand this statement and embrace it.
10.  Decanting a very young red wine is a beautiful thing and it is truly amazing how the taste improves!
11. Orin Swift (yes, I know he isn't really a human being but I believe in Santa Claus too) is magical. Anything made and produced by Orin Swift is going to be bought and will live in my home - at least two bottles of every wine produced and available.
12.  The way you store a wine really is important.
13. Wine glasses make me feel fancy.
14. I was once told by a girl working at a winery in Southwestern Michigan that another name for Gewurztraminer was "Girlsaremeaner" and I have referred to that white wine by that name ever since. Why? B/c it's fun!
15. Wine is better with food and equally improves with good music, especially big band music.
16.  Wine brings people together. I have formed friendships that I never otherwise would have done if it wasn't for wine being the common ground.
17. I am the luckiest girl in the world for many reasons but a big one is because I was welcomed with open arms into my local wine bar/restaurant and years later am still treated like a rock star (and considered family) every time I walk through the doors. 
18. Virginia  (Northern Virginia) wineries may not have the best wine out there (although they are moving up in the world) but they have wonderful people working in them and beautiful scenery. I love going to wineries for the wine as much as I do the human interaction and photographic opportunities.
19.  I've never met a Rose I liked..... but I still keep trying.
20. Beer makes some people rowdy. Liquor makes some people angry. Wine makes most people happy! DRINK WINE!