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Diners drinking more wine and learning more about it.

Article Excerpt
Drinking wine is becoming more popular in Mississippi as residents become more knowledgeable about the fruit of the grape and a larger selection is available, so say wine stewards at three of the state's best restaurants, BRAVO! and Schimmels in Jackson and the Purple Parrot in Hattiesburg. Palates are changing as attitudes change.

Certified through the World Court of Master Sommeliers, Leslie McCarty has been at BRAVO! since it opened 10 years ago. She was a bartender and bar manager before completing the rigorous master sommelier certification process. She took over the wine program there in 1997 and has built the list to include 400 wine selections. There is also an extensive wine-by-the-glass list that McCarty changes out often to keep it interesting.

"We didn't have much when we first opened, but in the past five to six years the state has gotten a lot better about getting better wines," she said. "There are more brokers and we can special order through wineries. We can build a wine list to what we want it to be now."

McCarty, 35, said until recently there wasn't much to choose from on the state's wine list. Selections were confined to California wines such as Kendall Jackson and Beringer. Now, she feels people in Mississippi have become more sophisticated and educated about wines.

She thinks diet and health are playing a role in increased wine consumption in the state. "Doctors are...