This is what happens when I go into a wine shop. More often than not I haven't the slightest idea what I want. Forget which country or which grape, I often can't even decide between red and white. If someone there asks if I need help, I usually say I'm sure something interesting will leap into my hand.

Then I find a pinot noir or a Pinot grigio, an interesting semillion-viognier from Australia or an earthy Cabernet from South Africa, drink them over the next few weeks, forget which Pinot I liked better and whether it was the Oz Shiraz or the Beaujolais Villages I liked better, and start all over again the next time I go to the wine shop.

One way to remedy this random approach, of course, would be to keep a file of tasting notes. I could even be oh-so-millennial and keep them in my PDA -- that is, if I had one. That way, I could have the info everywhere I went, no matter which wine shop I stopped at.

I could be visiting my sister in Atlanta, and, right in the middle of the side-of-the-highway package store, pull out my trusty electronic assistant to find the yummy Chardonnay that went so well with the grilled shrimp last summer and would go just as well with the lemon chicken we were making that night. Of course, I'd also have to wade through the cases of beer and jugs of plonk to find the real stuff, but it'd be worth it because when we poured that Chardonnay later on for my sister's 30-something yuppie friends, not only would I score points as the wise and cultured older sibling but they might even experience a little broadening of their wine horizons. Which is, as we all know, always a good thing.

Of course it'll never happen like that. I mean, I'll always be able to impress the yuppies in the crowd -- as well as plenty of friends my own age -- but it won't be because I know exactly which wine to pick. And it's not that I'm out to impress anyone, either. I just like knowing how to read a label, how to distinguish grapes and regions, and how to appreciate what's in the bottle. I'm not very organized about it, that's all. Somehow, though, it all works out pretty well.

Now, here's something you don't see addressed a lot in the wine press. The other day, I had an experience that happens rarely, at least for me. As I was opening a bottle of Sangiovese, the cork broke. I was able to reinsert the corkscrew and ease the rest of the cork out, but then I wondered what others would suggest -- so I did a web search. This is what I came up with.

After scrolling through various sites, I finally got to http://www.wineloverspage.com/ where I went to the "Questionary" and found a category called "Cork is crumbly." You'll find a fairly thorough answer there. This site is a treasure trove of info -- so comprehensive I haven't had a chance to really scope it out.

In a discussion forum at http://wine.about.com/food/wine/mbody.htm the answer was somewhat less than satisfactory. Go to "Visit Forums" and you'll find the postings under "Broken corks." The about.com wine section feels sort of institutional and sterile, but there's a lot of helpful stuff here and the range of topics is pretty broad.

On the quirkier side of things, there's http://www.stratsplace.com/wine.shtml -- a great site that includes audio clips of how to pronounce wine lingo (French can be such a challenge), photos of people's wine cellars, tons of info both fun and useful. Looking for things to do with all those corks you're saving? Check out http://www.stratsplace.com/how_corks.html. I've got mine in baskets, but after looking at some of these suggestions, I'm heading out to Home Depot for a glue gun and some other supplies.

And, just because it's fun to be an armchair traveler, visit http://www.laibach.co.za/webcam.htm to see a New Zealand winery, or, for those (like me) who yearn to visit Napa but can't quite swing it, http://www.wineviews.com/ is a gorgeous web site with photos galore.