My year of wine: No more to say but... cheers!

The time has come to call it quits. It's been a year.

I've been on courses, gone to tastings, read the experts and listened to those who know a thing or two about wine. I still don't get it.

There is a complexity of flavour and aroma in wine. I thought that by focusing I would learn to smell asparagus, fresh grass, cloves, taste the minerality and tannin levels. It seems not all of us are equally equipped to do this. I am a poor taster of wines. Nor can I spin words about a wine. It's easy to make a judgment that upsets a maker who puts lots of effort and time into a bottle of wine.

It hasn't all been a waste though. I have enjoyed learning how wine is made. There are winemakers who are businessmen, and winemakers whose approach seems more spiritual. I'm happy to know that I don't need crystal glasses or an expensive opener.

My drinking habits haven't changed much. In winter it must be red - not cabernet, anything less full-bodied. In summer it is bubbles and dry whites: chenin has been my best discovery.

But the quality of what I drink has changed. Before it didn't matter much to me. Doesn't a cube of ice make anything taste okay? After this year-long exercise, my per bottle expenditure has risen significantly. With any more information and exposure to the best of wine, I'll be importing bottles directly from Chile, New Zealand and France.

I want to be a drinker not a commentator: it's far easier and more fun to drink wine than to write about it.