In the early days, I followed.
Audience participation requested here. Where did your big wine wine adventure begin? When you first started drinking wine (and enjoying it versus slamming a gas station jug on the way to a party!), how would you describe yourself? A) Adventurous B) Conformist C) Obsessed or D) Tolerant. No judgement whatsoever coming from me! In fact, I’ll be the first to spout out my answer – B) CONFORMIST! I mean who didn’t love a buttery, creamy, oaky Chardonnay from a certain Cali winery? And who on earth would admit they did not find a certain big, bold, tannic, alcoholic Cab the best wine on any wine list? Oh, I see you all out there with your hand slightly raised as to not catch too much attention. Well raise ‘em high and be proud as you’re not alone, we’ve all been there!
For several years, I plodded along with my oaky Chards and in-your-face Cabs and thought I was the epitome of a wine connoisseur. Not much of a true wine adventure. It sure did make reading a wine list easy as I only had two decisions to make. Red, or white? And from which winery? I simply looked for a name I recognized and voila – wine selection made! Don’t even bother me with further details as who cares whether the wine came from California or Washington And who the heck knows the difference between Columbia Valley or the Beckstoffer Vineyard. I certainly knew I didn’t and obviously, I didn’t care.
Until that fateful night…
Like many others, selecting wine outside of my fail proof decision making process I just described felt like having my neck in a guillotine on the cusp of having my my head chopped off for making the wrong selection. Utterly frightening. Until one fateful night when I was traveling and had reservations at a local hotspot. I cannot explain why or how it happened, but when the server came to the table and asked what wine I had selected it was as if my body was possessed and out of my mouth came a foreign language! “What wine would you recommend?”
Did I seriously just ask that?! Even more bizarre was the server’s recommendation of Nebbiolo, from Barboursville in VA. (Thinking to myself “A what? Can you spell that? Is that really a wine?”) from Virginia (again asking myself “Where? Didn’t all good wine come from California? Is this going to taste like that syrupy sweet pink stuff we drank in high school? Oops I mean college!”). Not wanting to embarrass myself, I thanked him and agreed to his recommendation.
Scene 2: ACTION! Waiter arrives with wine bottle. Waiter presents wine bottle. My head nods accompanied by a faint smile. Foil cut. Corkscrew inserted. Cork extracted. .002 ounces of wine poured into my glass. Waiter stands holding the bottle looking at me with anticipation. I smile back. He nods. Awkward silence ensures. In a kind and friendly voice, he finally asks me if I’d like to try the wine. Duh! How could I be so dumb? Of course he wants me to try the wine. Glass in hand, I slowly raise it to my mouth and sip the translucent, but deeply colored liquid.
What happened in my mouth changed my wine journey forever. It was unlike anything I had every had and I was in love. Madly, passionately in love. B) Conformist no more. C) Obsessed. Why yes, I was. This, my friends, was my obsession confession and were my true wine world adventure begins!
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This journey is about the experiences, not the destination.
Smitten as I was, it wasn’t for a few more years that I was able to start indulging my curiosity at wine tastings, exploring wine menus, making trips to wineries, going to wine events. What had changed in me was my unadulterated transition not only from B) Conformist to C) Obsessed. But C) Obsessed multiplied by A) Adventurous. Instead of my trusty Chard and Cab, I made every effort to try as many varietals, blends and styles as I could. Did I love everything I tried? Of course not. Did that make the wine a bad wine? Of course not. It just didn’t fit my profile or palette. Much to my husband’s chagrin, new wine exploration has become my new favorite pastime. I see absolutely no issue here, do you?
The world of wine is amazing. There are so many varietals (grape types) and so many styles within each varietal. The options are endless and I implore you to get out there and try them all! Each bottle is an experience, a story to be told, a place to be discovered. Wine is the never-ending journey and I would love for you to break out your most adventurous self and join me! Until next time…
