Personal Experience

Wine is something that is relatively new to me. During my first years of college, my wine experience included Franzia during parties and whatever else was the cheapest/ easiest to get my hands on. At one point instead of "pregaming" with liquor or beer we would purchase a bottle of wine and drink it before leaving, essentially finishing it in the allotted time before leaving, instead of actually enjoying what we were drinking. When I would go home during breaks, I would take my brother to the grocery store and watch him spend a solid 20-30 minutes deciding which type of wine he would want to drink. During this time I thought that the amount of wine options sold in Wegmans was ridiculous and I definitely did not understand why it was necessary to have so many options. 

With being the youngest of my siblings and the only girl, my mom was excited when I was finally 21 and could go to Winery's with her. I turned 21 during the summer, which was a perfect time to experience my first winery. Being from Northern Virginia there are wineries all over the area. Within a 20 mile radius there are at least 15 different wineries, and that number only includes the ones I have heard of. While we were there we had a tasting. It included two whites, two reds and a desert wine. Before having this experience I did not think I would like red wines. I based this off the fact that I had a sip of one once and didn't like the fact that it wasn't cold. It had nothing to do with whether the wine tasted oakey, or fruity, etc. just simply that it wasn't cold. After that winery I decided that dessert wine was my favorite. No surprise there. 

However, recently I have had a better experience with wine. I now buy different kinds of wine and enjoy a glass every so often. Sometimes with dinner, and sometimes when I am in one of those "I just need a drink" mood. To be brutally honest, although I know some of the wines I like and dislike, I tend to choose wine based on the look of the bottle. I went through a phase of trying a few different types of Cupcake wine simply because it was cheap, and I liked the name/ look of the bottle. 

I hope by taking this course I will no longer purchase wine based on the price, name, and look of the bottle. When I taste the wine I want to be able to tell what the different tastes I am tasting are. When people say that a wine tastes "oaky" I have no idea why they say that, I simply associate it with a bad aftertaste. I also hope that by taking this course I will be able to tell people about the wine that I drink. I hope to find my "favorite" kind of wine throughout this semester and actually know what I am drinking instead of simply drinking it and enjoying the buzz.