Introduction

I used to hate wine.  I suppose that's natural, as aside from taking a taste of my parents' wine at Thanksgiving every year, I didn't have a whole lot of exposure.  During the Summer of 2007, I attended a study-abroad course with the Virginia Tech classics department, and my life changed.  The course began in Riva san Vitale, Switzerland, where Virginia Tech owns a 200-year-old villa.  Our first night there, we went to the apartment that my professors were renting, and had a gathering - with wine.  I can't remember the label; but I remember that it was a Swiss Merlot.  And it was awesome.

I drank a lot of wine on that trip. And beer. And grappa. But mostly the wine.  I was only 20 at the time, so having easy (legal) access to alcohol was a new experience.  We had wine with dinner often, and I even found my favorite (to this day) white of all time.  It was a Swiss white Merlot.  Not that nasty pink stuff that Sutter Home and Beringer put out; no, this was a true white, lightly effervescent, and truly amazing.  I used to be able to find it occasionally at the Vintage Cellar, but apparently it's no longer imported.

Anyway, enough about the Europe trip.  Since then, I've enjoyed wine.  I've gone through phases where I drink more of it or less, but it's always been a part of my life.  It's the best thing I've found for a date, drinking to relax after work or school (although a nice scotch is great too), or to pair with food.  I don't often purchase expensive wine, and rarely sparkling, although I do enjoy a good tawny port or some sherry now and then.  But I always try to find something different, and have enjoyed tasting a wide variety of wines. Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay... I discovered Primitivo a few years ago, and fell in love.  Never had I tried such a complicated wine; the girl I was dating didn't care for it, saying that it tasted too much like one of my sipping rums instead of wine.  Maybe that's why I liked it so much.  I wish I had the vocabulary at this point (or the memory) to describe it; I'll have to find another bottle.

I very much want to learn the vocabulary of wine, and learn to describe what I'm drinking.  I'm looking forward to it!