In this day and age, mass media are everywhere. We are bombarded by various publications telling us what to want, think, like and buy. The wine industry is no different. With giant wine magazines, independent experts and the amateur bloggers, it's not hard to find someone's opinion on just about every wine available today. On the Internet anyone can be a self-proclaimed wine critic or expert. It's easy to fall into the trap of "so-and-so gave this wine a perfect score, we're going to love it!"

That is rarely the case when it comes to wine. Just because a person thought that specific bottle of wine was perfect doesn't mean you will like it at all. Wine ratings should be taken with a grain of salt unless you have the exact same taste and palate as the rater, which is not likely. I haven't found anyone yet with the same taste as I have and you probably haven't either. You don't let someone tell you what your favorite band is, or favorite sports team — you like who you like and what you like for your own personal reasons and it should be the same with the wine you drink.

By no means am I saying don't buy or read wine publications or blogs. They are a great source of knowledge and information and you should use them to your advantage. They have up-to- date information on recent vintages, wine areas, changes in the wine world, specifics on wineries and winemakers, up-and-comers, and tasting notes. They are a wonderful resource to help you stay current with the wine industry. The key is to learn how to use them to your benefit; the tasting note sections are very helpful. It is not possible for most of us to taste all the 2005 red Bordeaux released, but we can read about almost every single one released in one wine publication or another. Granted, the taster notes will be different than your own notes would be if you were to taste the wines but these reports can give you a basic idea of the flavors and sometimes the structure of a wine. After some tasting of your own, you can figure out how your tastes differ from that of your favorite magazine or blogger.

You'll often see tear-out buying guides in magazines as well. Again, take them with a grain of salt. There is a reason those wines made the list and not others, and it doesn't always have to do with the quality of the wine in the bottle. Most of them are fabulous wines, and sometimes they are even a bargain. They are a good starting point and can be used as a reference. Just remember by the time you get the list in your hand the cost of those wines has probably increased just from them having made the list.

Some recommendations to consider with a grain of salt: