About Us and Wine:
Those reading these notes should be aware that Darcey and I are wine-first people as opposed to food-first and then choosing a wine to complement the meal. Wine pairing is something we will certainly get into more at some point, but at this time we are much more absorbed in the wines, themselves, on their own.
Another aspect one should know about us is that we truly favor red wines over white, and heartier, more robust, wines over milder/lighter wines. That being said. our new best-buddy Gary Vaynerchuk has helped us considerably by stressing that wine lovers should try all wines and not get stuck in a rut (we were certainly stuck in the Cabernet Sauvignon-only phase for quite some time, with the occasional Merlot or Shiraz). In practice this has opened our eyes to the greater world of wines, and not only have we now tried some white wines but we actually really like some we have tasted. Additionally we now attend one or two local tastings each week, which usually consists of a variety of eight or more wines; we have found this is a GREAT way to taste wines without, of course, having to buy them.
It is likely also important to point out that Darcey and I have very, very similar likes and dislikes in wine (and many other things as well), so that although one might find it odd to read tasting notes that are a combination of two people, usually this is not a problem with us. For the times when Darcey and I disagree I will specifically make note of what the disagreement is, and this should make the notes even more interesting; so far, however, we have agreed on virtually every wine we have tasted. I do find, actually, that Darcey has a better palate than my own, so I tend to trust her more, especially when at tastings when deciding what to buy or, much more important, what not to buy.
The Wine Info
Each of our tasting notes will include, whenever possible, a picture of the wine label as well as the specific information about the varietal or blend, the winery, the vinatage, the country and region of origin (if available), and the price we paid as well as the date we drank the wine.
Our Ratings
We use the point ratings and the "Would we drink/buy it again" sections merely as a means for us to archive our tasting notes. If others get something out of these ratings, great, otherwise please use these ratings as points of comparison or interest only. We are not professional wine tasters, just connoisseurs who take wine seriously enough to learn more and more all the time. Plus it's just so fun!
Our ratings use the ubiquitous and familiar 100-point rating scale developed by Robert Parker in The Wine Advocate. If interested please learn more from Robert Parker's website by clicking here.
It's always hard to come up with a rating, but we feel it is necessary for us to rate our experience if for nothing more than an archival of what we have tried and what we thought about it, especially at a glance, and a score does this for us. Additionally the ratings may help others choose a wine, or perhaps stay away from a wine, but never should one use a rating alone: always read the tasting notes too; this goes for everybody's ratings, of course, even Robert Parker. Finally, trust your OWN palate most, because only you know what you like; tastes change, too, however, so also leave room for your palate to shift and, hopefully, improve.
Would we drink it again? 
This section is different than the rating that we give a wine because it's also important for us to know if we want to drink this wine again, which is very different than buying the wine again, which follows the "Would we drink it again?" section. There are times when we feel we would certainly not mind drinking the wine again if, say, a friend brought the same wine to us, of if we found it open at a party, so this is what we mean here. The images of thumbs-up and thumbs-down are offered as a means to recall our opinions at a glance.
Would we buy it again?
Although there are times where Darcey and I feel we would not mind drinking a wine again it is another thing entirely deciding if we would BUY the wine again. Although we have a few favorites, most often we find we would not buy the wine again, even if we scored it high and noted that we would drink it again. This is mostly due to the fact that there are so many different wines to try that it takes a truly special wine for us to want to buy it again. When the day comes that we have a cellar and can afford buying specific wines by the case, then these ratings will change accordingly, but for now when we primarily only have a variety of about twenty or so bottles at a time, buying the same wine again is rare. But if we do say that we would buy it again, take note, as that particular wine is likely a good wine AND a good value, or QPR (quality-price ratio). I can't think of a time when we would decide we did not want to drink a wine again but would indeed want to buy it again (save for bringing a good-value wine to a party where folks generally don't like or know good wine), so these two ratings would either be UP/UP, UP/DOWN, or DOWN/DOWN, and never DOWN/UP. Does that make sense? I hope so.