Welcome!

Ew, yuck.

That was my first experience with wine.  

Growing up, my parents were - and still are - big wine connoisseurs.  They believed in exposing their children to alcohol at an early age, too.  Around the age of 11 or 12, for special meals at home, such as Christmas dinner, I would be allowed to have a small glass of watered down wine.  I remember tentatively sipping it and wrinkling my nose, thinking how "icky" and sour it tasted, never finishing the glass.  

I also have not-so-fond memories of visiting many wineries and wine & beer stores growing up.  In addition to being a wine connoisseur, my dad loves brewing beer.  When you're 5 years old however, there's only so much you can look at in a beer store when he's picking out grains and hops.  The same goes for when your parents drag you to a winery.  Boredom  was always sure to ensue.

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I started my undergraduate degree in 2011, but it still took me another year or so to realize that alcohol isn't "icky".  And I really didn't start drinking wine until this past fall semester.  

Merlot is, I quickly discovered, my favorite.  It's smooth, and an easy drinking/sipping wine - great for a girls' night in.  I've done a few wine tastings - I'm from the area, so I've done the wine tastings at  the Gourmet Pantry, the Vintage Cellar, as well as Mr. Bill's Wine Cellar and Barrel Chest Wine & Beer (both in Roanoke).

But my taste buds are still unrefined.  I hope that taking Boyer's Geography of Wine will help me understand what to taste in different wines, understand the different grapes and regions, and understand how to drink wines - with what foods, how long to let the wine breathe, etc.  In other words, I want to learn how to drink this now!