The wine world can be intimidating. And a little stuffy. And a lot pretentious (what do you mean this wine is unctuous?). It’s full of complicated rules and obscure provenances in foreign languages. And sometimes that’s fun, but most people (me) just want to open a bottle you know will be good and share a glass with a friend or two.

I’ve found that the easiest way to get into wine is to look local. The U.S. produces some incredible wines, over 80% of which are grown in just three states: Washington, Oregon, and California. That’s a lot of juice. And thanks to the hundreds of winemakers up and down the coast who honor and challenge traditional wine-making methods, that juice is pretty exceptional.

Not a bad place to start.