Patience may be a virtue, but being patient while waiting seven days for a computer part to arrive is just anxiety inducing. Last week I watched helplessly as the work built up. Then the nail biting began, the petulant attitude kicked in, the pacing, reorganizing... well, you know.
But here I am, a week late, but here nonetheless.

As you've probably noticed it's been a busy few months (good busy) and I have plenty of great wines to share and experiences to recount. I want wine lovers to be as excited as I am about a region, about a varietal, about a winery or even about a splashy label.
Something I've learned (especially lately) is that enthusiasm and open-mindedness are contagious. I see it in the people around me, whether it's someone I'm traveling with or tasting with. Readers, sommeliers, wine makers, wine agents or wine critics, we all become boring when we lose our sense of enthusiasm, our sense of adventure. Especially when we forget the simple reason we started drinking wine, selling wine or writing about it in the first place - because we love it.
My longwinded point is this; as I continue to drag you along on my travels, fill pages with my prolific tasting notes and feed you my fervent swigging I hope that you share my passion. Enjoy wine. Hold it, love it, stare longingly at it or cuddle it (whatever floats your boat) but don't obsess or overanalyze it. And, I'll work on my own unwavering enthusiasm. I think I have a few years to go before I become a cantankerous wine writer - and if I do, maybe someone will send me a bottle of Lonesome Charlie and a note attached that reads, "Take one and go to bed...."

And speaking of patience, isn't it about time for that prophesized Riesling renaissance?