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Wine shopping can be a daunting experience for a lot of people. Especially for folks who don't regularly drink wine, the thought of walking into a wine store and picking out a bottle — from literally hundreds on the shelf — can be overwhelming.

In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that there are still a handful of independently owned wine stores scattered around the U.S.

Between the “big box” outfits and major retail chains that dominate the wine sales world, mom-and-pop operations are a sadly endangered species.

But the good news is that after thirty five years in business, the Boulder Wine Merchant is still going strong and enjoys a fiercely loyal following among its clientele in Colorado and beyond.

It's already mid-January and the new year is about to get into full swing.

And so it seemed like a good time to get back to basics and brush up on the fundaments of wine tasting.

During the Boulder Burgundy Festival, when I sat down with Robert Bohr, one of the most dynamic wine professionals working in U.S. today, he reminded me that "wine tasting is like a muscle" and being a top taster is "like being an athlete."

Happy 2015, everyone! Today's blog post and travelogue entry on Alsace comes from Boulder Wine Merchant team member Christopher Davis.

Alsace: The Shimmering Jewel of Northeast France

by Christopher Davis

Across the United States, a new generation of sommeliers and restaurant professionals has begun abandoning the flute as the stemware of choice for sparkling wines.

In our parents' era, it was believed that the flute enhanced the sensorial experience of drinking sparkling wine by concentrating the wine's fizziness in the glass' narrow aperture.

Happy holidays from the Boulder Wine Merchant blog!

We really appreciate you being here, reading, and sharing.

We've got lots of great content lined up for next year, including guest contributors.

Stay tuned for next week's notes on sparkling wines for New Year's.

I met a lot of fantastic people at the Boulder Burgundy Festival this year: winemakers, wine tradespeople, collectors, and bon vivants.

But one of the most fun conversations I had was with George Berg (above, left), whose law firm Berg, Hill, Greenleaf & Ruscitti, underwrites the festival each year.

When I asked George, whose generous conviviality is rivaled only by his Texas charm, why he and his firm sponsor the gathering, his answer was a simple as it was brilliant.

Earlier this year, leading wine writer Elin McCoy called Robert Bohr (below right) one of “New York’s sommelier old guard.”

His list at Charlie Bird, which he co-authors with another one of the city’s celebrity sommeliers, Grant Reynolds, is “a window into the New York wine zeitgeist," she wrote.