My name is Jake Young and I have committed myself to being a life long student of wine. I have completed my studies at the American Sommelier Association in New York City, and I am now studying with an international organization known as the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Currently I am the Sommelier of an 800 label wine list that was awarded the "Best of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence" by Wine Spectator Magazine. The wine suggestions that I make are based on a few simple criteria.

• The wines are representative of the region from which they come,
• the grape from which they are made,
• and the year which they were grown.

I do not work on a point system, because the object of this exercise is to help you learn what you like, not what I think you should like. All taste and preferences are personal; my role here is to show you good examples of wines that will help you understand what is typical of each wine region, grape variety and vintage. Homework was never so easy!