Whether you are a casual or serious wine connoisseur, you will inevitably taste wines you either love or loathe. Given the vast array of wines available in the marketplace, it is practically impossible to remember exactly what you tasted at what event, unless you find a way to write at least one sentence about each wine you try. Writing something down is critical to remembering, and regarding wine, you will capture your preferences and avoid unnecessary disappointments down the road.

If all varietals were created equal, remembering what you enjoyed wouldn't be so difficult, but not all Chardonnays are the same, and no two Merlots taste alike. It is not uncommon for someone to taste a certain type of wine — maybe an Australian Shiraz — and become an instant devotee. That same person may, over time, come to realize that she really only likes one Shiraz out of every three or four she tastes. Without record keeping, it may take a while to track down the producer of the one she liked most.

A Wine Journal

You can easily purchase an “official” wine journal at certain retail locations, with pages designed to help you remember all the information you need to record about a wine. If you only have a generic pad of paper, here's some of the information you need to jot down:

• Name of the wine

• Name of the producer

• Country and region

• Vintage year (if it has one)

• Price

• Where and when you tasted it (and with whom)

• Food you ate with it

• Color

• Aroma

• 5 Taste

• Any other comments that may help you remember the wine later

One of the most helpful visual elements in remembering a wine is the label. Removing it can be frustrating, but there are products on the market that can simplify the task. One popular label removal system is a large adhesive strip that you lay over the label and then pull away from the bottle. It splits the wine label and removes only the printed surface, which you can adhere to the page of your journal.

Getting the label off without such aids can be a snap — or it can be problematic, depending on the adhesive the bottler uses. To test, use a razor to take up the corner of the back label. If the back of the label is sticky, fill the empty bottle with the hot water and let it stand for a few minutes. Test the back label again by sliding the razor under the label. It should peel right off.

If the back of the label isn't sticky, you've got more work to do. After you've filled the bottle with hot water, submerge the whole bottle into more hot water and let it soak. It could take minutes or hours. Then try removing the label, starting the process with the razor. A last resort is to add soap or ammonia to the soaking water. The process might be more fun if you drink wine along the way.