With this first post, I want to officially begin my journey through the world of wine. While I’ve had an interest in wine for some time now, I would like to change direction and really start delving into what makes wine the most interesting and captivating drink throughout every society. There are not many things in this world that have the power to unite, divide, delight, or disappoint people. And wine has this magical ability across the globe. From California to Siberia, wine enriches so many lives. It is absolutely fascinating.
I technically started my journey with wine at the age of 16, when my boyfriend’s father decided to let us try some of the wine he had bought that day for my boyfriend’s mother. It was a yellow tail merlot. I remember thinking how exotic it must be because of the kangaroo on the label. I associate kangaroos with Australia and I thought, “Wow! This must be very expensive wine to come all the way from Australia!” One sip, and I was immediately put off. I think I had expected it to taste like grape juice and when instead it tasted like dirty grape acid, I thought, “This isn’t for me.” My boyfriend had a similar reaction and his father laughed and told us it was an acquired taste.
I was extremely disappointed in that moment. I wanted to be this sophisticated type of person who would someday be able to pick a wine that went perfectly with every meal. Instead, here I was pushing back the first glass of wine I’d ever had because I apparently had no taste for it.
It took me quite a few years to even try wine again. My new husband took me out to a very nice dinner one evening in Nashville. We were handed a wine list and my husband suggested I try to pick out a wine since he wanted that night to be special. I thought to myself, “I should try wine again. It would be so great if I could pick a wine to go with our meals when we are out.” So I started scanning the wine list and I got to the sparkling section. I figured maybe these would be sweeter and for some reason, better. I selected a glass of the Umberto Fiori Moscato D’asti. The waiter looked at me kind of odd and asked if we were celebrating something. I said no and he nodded. I then knew I had made a weird choice, but what’s done is done, so we ordered our food and waited for it to appear.
When my glass was brought to the table, I saw the light coloring and bubbles and was instantly attracted. I took a sip and fell instantly in love. I thought, “If some wine tastes like this, then I can do this whole wine thing!” I sipped again and again and what I thought of as the sweet nectar of the gods filled me with happiness and made the evening that much more memorable.
From that night on I started trying wine more often. Eventually, I even ventured out of the sparkling section! Now I can proudly say that I withhold all prejudices when it comes to wine. If you have not tried it, then you don’t know if it’s good or bad and even if you have, there are some that should be tried more than once. Also, some wine tastes great to some drinkers and terrible to others. Sometimes, it really just depends on your taste buds.
For 2017, I subscribed to a monthly wine subscription and I made a vow to start tracking the wines that I try in order to really further my wine education and hopefully kick it up a notch. I will be receiving three wines per month from the subscription, but I also might be purchasing a few extra bottles here and there, because really who can resist? Maybe in the end, I’ll become that sophisticated person that that 16-year-old girl really wanted to be. Maybe not. No promises. At least I will have gotten to try more wine!