My Wine Experience....Thus Far!

 My goal in signing up for this class was shamelessly to have fun and drink on my parents dime (Not like I don't do that already). Jokes aside, I did sign up for this class to enjoy my last semester of senior year and to learn more about wine. 

My story may not be all that interesting; however, it is unique to me. If you are grading this (have mercy) or are just here reading my blog, let me explain to you my experience with wine up until this point in my life. 

My parents were never big drinkers. They would have the occasional beer but both my parents never drank hard liquor or wine! Both my parents were never into wine and so I just always assumed it was for old ladies like my Busi ('Boo-She')(Polish for Grandmother). Literally, the only good experience I had with wine was something my mom would always say to me and my three brothers. "Do you want some cheese with that wine?" 

But Oh boy was I mistaken! Before my taste buds got to indulge in some good wine, I was introduced to bourbon. My girlfriend's father is a big bourbon/whiskey connoisseur. Once I turned of age, we would have some of the best experiences of my life. We would sit out on their back deck (screened-in), share a bourbon and sometimes a cigar to boot. 

So this previous Christmas, most of my girlfriends extended family is in town. Her older cousin and her husband are staying at my girlfriends house and they are very very big on drinking wine. They told me to try some and I was determined that it was going to be wretched. They asked me what I like and I honestly told them my favorite bourbon (Basil Hayden). I did know for a fact that I hate white wine, and was not big on trying red wine. Well it was one night after Christmas, maybe before the new-year and my girlfriend's cousin and her husband come back from the store with a wine for me to try. I was very skeptical and said only one sip. Well, that one sip turned into a few glasses. They had bought me a bourbon barrel aged zinfandel. Apparently, a grape of sorts (quick google search tells me it has Croatian origins) grown and often times produces a stronger alcohol % and has a dry, full bodied, and sometimes peppery taste. Well let me just say this, I wanted to try more. I have not been able to try all that much but I am really looking forward to truly understanding wines. I want to know what kind of grapes there are, where they are originally from, what kind of flavor profiles they tend to present, wine regions like Napa Valley, and cool wine snob things like watching the legs of a wine run down the glass. Overall, I want to enjoy experiencing wine and learning more about this amazing world of wine that seems kinda daunting.

Stay tuned friends, my first wine tasting is almost here!