My Wine Experience So Far

 

Hello, I'm Ellen!

I didn't really start liking wines until recently. My parents were never big wine drinkers, so I never got to sample things when I was younger to introduce my palate to the experience. Most of the times I've had wine recently, it's been for special occasions, big dinners, or holidays. I know a lot of people's parents walk them through the language of wine from a young age, but since mine aren't big drinkers and don't know the lingo, I never learned. I tend to scoff at wine snobs when I see them, and I think that a lot of the pomp surrounding wine is irritating

From this class, I would like to bring wine and wine culture to my level. Like I said, I hate the pomp and snobbishness that people tend to have- I think it makes drinking wine feel very inaccessible. I want to know how to speak their language so I can share my knowledge with friends and family. Hopefully, I can show them that drinking wine (that is, "good" wine,) isn't only reserved for fancy-pants rich people.

I love food and cooking, so I am also hoping that this class can also inform my knowledge of pairings. I've always been hesitant to try wine with food since there are so many wines I dislike. I want to broaden my horizons, and hopefully it will enhance the experience of both the food and the wine. I think the circumstances I have previously tried wine has informed my tastes a bit. I really enjoy sweet, fizzy, and refreshing wines that are served at special occasions like I mentioned. I don't enjoy drinks that have high alcohol contents, so I usually stick to the cheaper, sweeter stuff that has less alcohol. I don't have much experience with reds, but every red I've tasted so far has made my face pucker up! An early goal for me is finding my "gateway red" that might make me appreciate reds in general more. Maybe even learn to enjoy reds!