Lasagna, the Andes, and this Class

 During my childhood, I was fascinated to see my grandparents, parents, and most of my close family having these engaging (and often long) conversations during the typical Sunday lunches at my Grandma’s home. I couldn’t understand how they would sit for two, sometimes three or more hours socializing and having a great time. The one common factor I could identify during these meals was: Wine!

I have vivid memories of my Grandpa pulling one bottle after another of that magical, colorful, purple beverage that seemed to make everyone happy. They would drink in these large, shiny and fancy glasses that I was not even allowed to touch (my fine motor skill was never a strength of mine), and the bottles were kept in sort of special fridge that I couldn’t dare to open.  

To my frustration, wine tasted horribly in my first try. I quickly learned that cheap and sweet wine gave me the worst of the hangovers, and I stayed away from it for a long time. The price of decent wine in my home country, Brazil, also didn’t help: wine is incredibly expensive down there and is perceived as something luxurious and fancy. Bottles that cost $5 here could easily cost $15 or more there. Living in a country where the temperature is often above the 90°F, I was happy by drinking really cold (shitty) beer.

I had to move to another country to start appreciating the drink that now I consider almost as holy: in 2014 I moved to Chile and had the privilege to drink amazing wines from vines that were grown less than 50 miles away from my apartment. The country was filled with top-notch wineries, and I visited countless vineyards and wineries during the time I lived there.

Being an avid traveler, I started tasting wines from every country I was visiting, from Italy to Turkey, from Hungary to Argentina. My interest in wine grew exponentially (so as the price per bottle, unfortunately), and I developed a huge curiosity about the beverage and the industry.

I am taking the Global Dynamics of the Wine Industry course because of my strong family ties, intense desire to learn more about the industry, and above all, my high appreciation for this drink that is critical to the identity of many cultures, Wine.