Hello Wine, this is Kitty

My parents introduced me to wine when I was a child. They never shared it with me, but they did train me and my brother how to properly pour a glass of wine. At dinner, my parents would ask for a refill, and one of the children would pop up, grab the bottle, and play somelier for the half a minute it took to pour the glass and present the bottle to the adults. They smiled and laughed at their little trained wine minions, but I always thought it was fun. After refilling both dad's and mom's glass, I returned the bottle of wine to its resting place- a dish with the following sentence inscribed:

"A dinner without wine is like a day without sunshine"

I didn't drink much until I turned 21, but I loved trying new wines and beers. In the two years since, I've become a beer drinker- my boyfriend and I make frequent trips to breweries in North Carolina and Virginia and plan our road trips around the big craft beer gods, like Russian River and Firestone Walker. While he has taken to the craft beer movement, I have always fostered a love in my heart for a good glass of wine. And while studying abroad in Europe, I drank more wine than beer. It was typically house wine, nothing special. During a day trip in San Gimignano, however, my friends and I partook in a small wine tasting. Trying new wines (and beers) is my favorite part about alcohol culture- tasting the product that craftsmen have worked on and slaved over until perfection was achieved.

 

Tasting reds and whites in Italy

I enjoy both red wines and white wines, particularly rich, earthy reds and dry whites. Sweet wines and dessert wines, however, make me gag. Tastings are my favorite way to try new wines, but I also enjoy pairing a cheap box of chardonnay with my couch and Netflix. During this course, I hope to learn more about the common types of wine, how to differentiate flavor profiles during tastings, and learn about the subtleties that differentiate similar styles made in different parts of the world. In short, I want to know the nuances that make wine so diverse.

So, let's raise a glass to never having days without sunshine or wine!