Unlike some other classmates, wine was rarely present in my family's house. With little exposure growing up, I didn't learn to appreciate the beverage until later in life (after progressing past the boxed and steeply discounted varieties).
After college, I increasingly found myself surrounded by people passionate about wine. My boss in New York was an avid collector from France, who considered the bits of wisdom he would share with me fair exchange for the late nights I spent in the office on his behalf (sometimes this was upgraded to a bottle from the ~1,000 bottle cellar he managed to fit into a Tribeca apartment). After moving to the Bay Area, my San Francisco roommate committed himself to building an amateur collection in our apartment. Through these interactions, I began to pick up the basics of varietals, regions, etc. (enough at least to convince my college friends I knew what I was doing).
While I thought I had made progress, when asked to help assess a potential investment in a global wine brand in my previous job I was quickly overwhelmed trying to understand supply / demand dynamics, the value chain, branding, and distribution. I learned through this experience how much I still had to learn about not only wine as a beverage, but also the dynamics and economics of the broader industry.
I look forward to exploring these topics over coming weeks over delicious wine.
Best way to fall in love with wine: through the eyes (and bottles!) of a friend who is a serious collector. And yet wine as an investment vehicle sometimes emulates art as an investment vehicle (timeless, uncorrelated with the markets, etc.), and also dominated by iconic brands and critical reviews. You'll particularly enjoy the module on the role of the critic I imagine.
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