"One of the most insidious myths in American wine culture is that a wine is good if you like it," writes Karen MacNeil in her groundbreaking book, The Wine Bible.

     "Liking a wine has nothing to do with whether it is good. Liking a wine has to do with liking that wine, period."

     MacNeil goes on to suggest that wine requires two assessments, one subjective and one objective - much like literature.

     "You may not like reading Shakespeare," she suggests, "but you agree that Shakespeare was a great writer."

     She adds that getting to the point "where you are knowledgeable enough to have both a subjective and objective opinion of a wine is one of the most rewarding stages in developing wine expertise."