My Experience with Wine Thus Far

My glass of wine from a Chateau Morrisette visit last year. 

I like to think I am more experienced with wine that the average college student, however this class has already taught me really just how much I do not know. The picture I included is from one of my trips to Chateau Morrisette. After attending tours, wine tastings, and food pairings there last year, I really have had my interest piqued. I also made it a habit to attend Saturday morning wine tastings at the Vintage Cellar and usually came home with a bottle or two. My initial fasciation with wine I contribute to my mom. She is a complete wine fanatic and has always drank it for as long as I can remember. She even took a trip to Nappa Valley a few years ago and I hopefully can convince her to bring me next time. When I was younger (say 12/13) she would let me taste her wine whenever she had a glass. Unfortunately for me, her wine choices are pretty much all red which isn't exactly the easiest beverage to drink at first. Every single time I took a sip of her wine, I hated it. I couldn't understand why she would drink something that tasted that terrible. I don't think that's incredibly unusual though. I feel like most kids and even most college students turn up their nose the first few times they have wine, especially red. so for the longest time I had absolutely no interest in it. I eventually started tasting some white wines and the lighter, sweetness was more agreeable with my palette. When I started going to the wine tastings last year is really when I began my interest in red wines. I actually really liked a lot of them and usually prefer reds over white now, especially with food.

I am a big fan of pitnot noir and will drink pretty much anything in that category. It's usually my go to when I order at restaurants.   I have tried quite of few blends I like as well.  I do not think I really know exactly what I like yet. I enjoy a lot of the wines I taste but do not really know why I like them. I'm happy to be taking this class so that I can learn more about what I like and maybe why I like them. I love to drink wine with food and am aslo interested in in learning about pairing the two and why certain wines go better with certain types of food.

I would call myself a habitual wine drinker. I'll drink a glass or two at least twice a week. It's nice to really enjoy alcohol and to drink it without the intention of getting drunk.  I think this class will deepen my appreciation of it and make me a smarter wine drinker.  Some things I'd like to learn include: how to pair wines with food, how a certain type of wine differs depending on what region the grapes are from, and what types of flavors I should be looking for in certain types of wine.

XOXOVINO, 

LJ