Sheehan, wine and a whine-tasting

Several readers have commented on Jason Sheehan’s recent review of Sketch, particularly his confession that he’s just not that into wine:

I used to think it was ­me — that I didn’t have the taste for it, that there was something magical about wine, some secret I had yet to unlock, and that if I only drank the right bottles in the right order, it would all somehow come clear to me. This was a plan I pursued with some dedication, and while it did get me drunk, it didn’t reveal any mysteries. Fairly recently, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t me at all; it was the booze. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the palate, but that I didn’t have the appetite. I’ve been a happier drinker since, no longer feeling duty-bound to waste my time with something I didn’t love the way I do a good whiskey, a cheap whiskey, a good whiskey and then a shouting match at the bar.

“I’ve finally had it,” writes one reader. “How can you have a ‘restaurant reviewer’ who can’t review the entire program? Wines? And clearly proclaims his dislike for it? Is that not a part of the dining experience along with ‘beer, whiskey, gin’? I would think Westword is certainly capable of finding someone more qualified and less self-absorbed….Expand your horizons, Sheehan, or find another job.”

Help pop the cork on this controversy: Should a restaurant review include an assessment of the wine list? Let the discussion flow.