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Check out these discussion forums (message boards), where some of the most interesting—and best-informed—wine discussions are held.

Mark Squires' Wine Bulletin Board

erobertsparker.com/bboard/boardintro.a sp

This bulletin board on Robert Parker's Web site attracts geeky and very well-informed tasters, so the discussions can be quite serious. A post from Alex Anthopoulos, a.k.a. Dr. ScrewCap—"I still just don't 'get' why and how it is that restaurants with wine lists attempt to justify a 300 percent (or more!) markup on a bottle of wine as a necessary cost of doing business"—sparked a heated debate about restaurant economics, with more than 700 replies.

Wine Lovers' Discussion Group

wineloverspage.com/forum

Robin Garr runs one of the Web's oldest wine forums on his encyclopedic Wine Lovers' Page, which debuted in 1994. This easy- to-navigate discussion forum accommodates the novice and expert alike. Newbies will like postings with travel tips about wineries, while the more experienced will enjoy the detailed tasting notes and polite discussions.

Wine Therapy

enemyvessel.com/forum

Regular participants in this site's forum are called "patients" who are "in therapy" (to cure wine obsession?), but the discussions are blessedly sane. Though this board doesn't have as many posts as some of the larger forums, the ones here are low-key and intelligent; many members are wine-industry insiders, such as Joe Dressner of the Wine Importer blog.