About

decant – verb – pour out; “the sommelier decanted the wines”

*WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

decantstoptasting.com = They Can’t Stop Tasting – we’re totally addicted to wine tasting. More than that, we love wine and love to share our experiences – both so you can get a recommendation for a good wine, as well as avoid some of the not so great ones we’ve tried.

Shawn and Rika Sato-Veillon

I’m “Mr.Sato”, a.k.a. Shawn Sato-Veillon. My wife Rika and I started this site primarily to have a way to remember what we thought of wines we’ve tried – partly to be able to go back and have one we know is great, and partly to avoid making the same mistake twice (thus the “don’t even try it” category). Plus, I’m a big-ol’ geek (Network Engineer by trade) so it had to be something online. But as our friends, who are painfully aware of our fondness for wine, kept asking for recommendations, we realized this should be openned up for public viewing. We hope you find it useful, and please leave comments – wether you have tried a wine and agree disagree with our assessment, have your own recommendations, or just want to say hello.

Ratings are out of 100, since it is a standard used by professional wine critics, and offers more granularity than the 5 point system. This allows you to compare our score with professional scores, but really, the description of wines is the most important thing because a high score only indicates that the “critic” personally likes the wine. You may or may not agree with the score because you have different tastes. The key is knowing what you like in a wine and judging by the descriptions whether or not YOU will like it.

Most of the wines rated here are currently $20 or less, with a few exceptions. I think there are plenty of great wines in this price range, and also that’s what most people are willing to spend. We also rate a few more expensive wines from time to time, because like you, we like to splurge a little now and then, especially on special occassions. And, of course, to get a truly exceptional wine, unfortunately, you will have to drop some bigger bucks on the counter.

Let us know what you’d like to see on the site and we’ll do our best to bring it to you. If you would like to become a contributor (write reviews), contact me and we’ll discuss it – this is something we’re open to.