So… a wine snob huh? Yeah, that what some of my friends call me. Nice friends, I know =) They say it with love!
Seriously though, I was one of the first of my friends to get into wine. Not that they are all converts now, but some are learning as they go. My friend Amber and I used to watch Alias every Sunday and we start with Beringer White Zin, oh yes we did!
It didn’t take long for us to get out of that phase and then we moved on to bigger and better (and more expensive) things.
I have always loved France and Italy and had always wanted to go there as well. I loved the wines I had tried from there at restaurants and such, but never really branched out and bought my own until one night I met some friends at a wine bar called Nectar’s. They had a fabulous 1997 Bordeaux made by Chateau LaGrange. Here is the label from their ’98 vintage. After that, I was in love with all things Old World….
From there I started to go to some tastings here and there, and I kept moving in the old world direction for wines while my Mom and Amber were also growing their love for wine, but in a different direction – West. They fell quickly in love with many wines that Napa had to offer. Meanwhile, most of our friends were drinking beer and were boggled by two things: 1) why didn’t we like beer and 2) Who would order wine at a dance club? And although, I have to agree with them on the second one, the era of the wine snob began.
I view wine as not only a delicious beverage, but a learning experience. I love to learn about wine, the wineries, the grapes, the winemakers and their inspirations, their labels, the distributors, the wine glasses and crystal... all of it and above all of that I love to learn what everyone else thinks of it. It doesn’t have to be snobby. It doesn’t have to be expensive. I love the debate of who likes what and why (without having to bring up politics or religion!)
So, tonight I am resuming my attendance at the wine tasting at my local WineStyles. I wanted to share with you my love for wine so you could understand why I will post my reactions on my blog and share my thoughts on some wines with you, and maybe by sharing them with you, you’ll be inspired to go try something new.
