And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine,
‘I don’t care where the water goes if it doesn’t get into the wine’.
G.K. Chesterton(1874–1936)
Wine and Water
Back in the day, I used to be a liquor only type of gal. Vodka and cranberry was my poison of choice. This is great if you are out on the town where some bartender is at your beck and call to pour, shake and garnish as many drinks as your charge card can hold. However, when the party is at a friend’s house you have to pack a cooler with vodka, juice and limes then set up shop in some cramped corner of their kitchen where you can concoct your cocktail. Then, whenever you want a refill you have to do it yourself cause no one else can get the ratio of vodka to cranberry the way you like it plus they always forget the lime. This gets old.
So, to make gettin’ my drink on a little less time consuming, I tried wine. At first, the only wine I could stomach was White Zinfandel. It’s pink and sweet and cold (much like vodka-cranberries) and I loved it. For about two years this was the only type of wine I drank aside from the occasional Riesling or champagne.
Barrel room at Wolf Mountain Winery, Dahlonega, GA
I don’t remember exactly when I started to branch out and try other types of wine. I do remember that it was a very slow process. I learned that I don’t like Chardonnay or many other types of white wine. This led me to try lighter, sweeter reds like Shiraz and Pinot Noir. From there, I got the courage to try darker reds that, up until that point, had been too much of a shock to my palate. I was surprised to find that I really liked Cabernet and Merlot. Soon, I was drinking the darkest, chewiest reds out there and enjoying most of them. I’ve since leveled off a bit and now mostly enjoy Pinot Noirs and Spanish reds like Malbec or Tempranillo, except in the winter when I really like a good Merlot.
This evolution from drinking syrupy sweet Zinfandel to appreciating complex reds from a specific region took about ten years. And, I’m still learning. I am no expert on any wine or wine related topic. I really just know what I like and why I like it. I plan on taking my future education in wine just as slowly has I have so far. What’s the hurry? Wine is meant to be enjoyed and savored, not studied and analyzed. I doubt that I will ever research the rainfall of a specific region to determine if one vintage from a given year will be better than another. Who has the time? Wine is a happy hobby of mine, not an all-consuming passion.
I suppose this should have been my first Wine on Wednesday post. I would hope that no one would expect anything too serious from me, but just in case, now you know. I probably won’t use the correct or accepted terms when talking about how a wine tastes and I know very little about distributors and specific wineries (unless they are local). This is a fun topic for me and I will approach it that way. So, there.
Just to prove this point, take a gander at this little guy:
I love him! He’s called “Wine Be Gone” and you can buy him at one of my favorite on-line stores, Uncommon Goods. My birthday was in March, but I’ll still accept presents, just in case you were wondering.
What was your introduction to wine? Have your tastes changed over the years? Trying anything new or exciting?
