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In Pursuit of Beauty

Jan 30, 2026 | Featured, Tasting and Evaluating Wine

What Matters When You Taste Wine

By Karen MacNeil

 

I once had an employee (a woman who was smart and knew a lot about wine) who, when she loved a wine would always describe it as “pretty.”  It drove me crazy. Just about every time she used that descriptor, I’d ask her what she meant by it.  “A pretty wine is… pretty,” she’d say unhelpfully.

If she’d been a man, I’d have probably challenged him for (possibly) being misogynistic.  But she was a woman.  I had to let it go.

But now, years later, I The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.