When I first heard about the World Wine Tour it was announced well before the recent tragedy in Haiti. I thought it important to share this post, just as I read it the first time it was written by Pri Anish Vag. Whether Haiti has been incorporated into their master plan, I don’t know.

How can a bottle of wine help the world? And how can the wine world come together, to change the lives of those in the greatest need? How can those in the wine industry really help the lives of those less fortunate?

In January of 2010 Anja Cheriakova and Georges Janssens will be starting a world wine charity tour. The pair will be visiting over 300 wineries around the globe, inviting them to donate a bottle of their best wine for the cause. Upon completion of their journey, which will include most wine growing regions of the world, they will hold an auction of the wines in the Napa Valley of California, donating all proceeds to charity. It will hope to raise 150, 000 USD.

To make this remarkable humanitarian project possible, the World Wine Tour 2010 project is seeking sponsorship, in return for marketing and exposure throughout the mission. The sponsors will be promoted through media broadcasts, and also directly through visits to wineries and other wine related businesses. For those interested in becoming a sponsor let me know.

The proceeds will support the Lao Rehabilitation Foundation Inc. (LRF). There the funds will go towards a special interest in education for children, by rebuilding a school in Simmano Village that was destroyed in 2008 by massive floods.

Average income per year in the destroyed schools village is estimated to be $16 US. LRF is one of the few foundations that works specifically in Laos to improve conditions there.

Aside from the sponsors to promote, the wineries to showcase, and the charity to raise funds for, the pair hope to motivate young people of their generation to combine their passions and dreams with humanitarian goals, which is what this world needs most.

Secrets. We all have them.

I’m about to share some of my wine secrets. These are not secrets about my wine expertise. I have none. I am inspired to talk about this by a current discussion over at the Wine Whore’s blog. Don’t worry, he won’t get mad. He chose that name.

The discussion topic comes from a recent study that finds that people are more likely to enjoy a wine if a wine expert reviews it favorably.

I don’t buy it. In my humble, non-expert opinion, I think it’s 6th grade all over again. We all see it in our daily lives. For example, does anyone think Ugg boots look good? Of course not!

I have two pair. They’re comfortable, ok?

As far as wine goes, I no longer waste my time drinking wine I don’t like. On a vacation to Napa, one vineyard’s wine expert made a great proclamation that I have carried with me ever since.

There are two kinds of wines: Wines you like and wines you don’t like.

Since my humble beginnings as a Wine Nerd, I’ve taken this advice. Over the years, I learned that I dislike white wine and recently set white wine aside entirely. I have evolved into a full-bodied, red girl. And don’t go reading too much into that statement.

While I make this assertion, I am guilty of a few indiscretions.

The Wine Whore correctly and delicately pointed out to me that some people may use the wine scores because they don’t know how to select a good wine. I think this is more of the same issue: back to the 6th grade. Like pretending to get the joke when you don’t, people want to look knowledgable about wine when they’re not. They are afraid to admit that they don’t know which wine to serve at dinner and have to feign knowledge like a kid who doesn’t know the difference between Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

I am that kid sometimes. The wine nerd, who, I am sad to say, still has insecurities about my ability to choose a good wine. I’ve resorted to eavesdropping at wine stores which has turned out not to be the best of ideas. I also try to discreetly take note of the labels on the bottles other diners are enjoying at our favorite BYO. It brings new meaning to the term wine thief. I do this with books titles at the beach too. I freely admit to being a book snob but that’s a topic for another time.

Now my wine secrets are out and I feel better about them. In sum, the only advice I can give you is to stop keeping secrets. Be bold, ask questions and allow yourself to make mistakes when choosing wines. That’s how I became a proud wine nerd instead of a pretentious wine snob.