Wine Not?

            My absolute favorite thing about wine is that it’s appropriate in pretty much every situation. Reconnecting with old friends? Yep. Family dinner? Often a necessity. Paired with pancakes? Just add OJ. Even in church? It’s actually considered holy. We use wine across the board to celebrate, to smooth over, and to just plain have more fun. The question is rarely “Why do we need wine right now?” but rather, “Wine not?”

Though my parents didn’t foster a particularly knowledgeable “wine culture” when I was growing up, they still drank the stuff. Then when I hit college, they would send me off each semester stocked with bottles of Trader Joe’s finest in an effort to keep me away from frat house punch and shots of peach flavored Burnett’s. Turns out, it worked. Though my friends were astounded when I insisted on bringing a solo cup of syrah to a party where there was free Natty Light, there was no way I was going back.

My bar for wine was admittedly pretty low for most of my college career. It wasn’t until I studied abroad that I learned how to appreciate the stuff that was in the glass. It’s amazing what traveling to five major wine producing countries, accompanied by a professor of wine who leads tastings at every stop, can do to educate the aspiring oenophile (and maybe one day winemaker??).

Experiencing these wines and the places where they were grown was what really got me hooked. I found I couldn’t appreciate what I was drinking without understanding the biology of the fruit and terroir, the chemistry of fermentation and aging, the economics of production decisions, the culture of when and how it’s made and consumed, and the art of sensing when each of these is just right. Studying wine is perfect for the student who wants to major in everything in college. Or the consultant who refuses to pick a specialization. There is quite literally always worlds more to explore.

And so whenever I’m presented with an opportunity to learn more about those worlds, I have to take it. To me, the question is not “Why would I want to learn more about wine?” but really, “Wine not?”