Why I Choose Wine

There was a night years ago, about 13 years ago I was at home alone and I was drinking a bottle of Black Opal, Shriaz that a friend had given to me and as I continued to drink it, I realized it was awakening something inside of me. A creative outlet in which I had known was there but didn’t know exactly how to reach it. It was then I started to write. I pulled out an old college tablet and wrote, I must have written for hours because before I knew it the bottle of wine was gone and I was falling asleep on my living room floor.

For months, Black Opal and Penfolds, Kanooga Hill were my go to bottles of wine. I can remember going to the local grocery store back in Phoenix and being so excited that they would be on sale for $8 a bottle. Now a days, I only wish I could go into a grocery store here in Philadelphia a purchase a bottle of wine, but thanks to the state of Pennsylvania we have to go to a state store and HOPE they carry what we are looking for and $8, well, I guess if you want to call me a snob, that’s not even a starting price point for me these days. Yes, I have also been described as expensive.

These two wines inspired me to be grounded in my thoughts, in my feelings and my dreams. I never knew just why, until I stopped drinking them. Once I branched out and started drinking wines from all over the world and our country. I started to learn, one glass at time and one region to the next that there was such thing a as Old World Wine, New World Wine, young and old oak, steel barrels and even mother nature herself all have an influence on this complex and intriguing libation.
I even learned I in fact enjoyed white wines of all kinds, from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Rioja Blanco. Sparkling wine, Port and Sherry, I do not discriminate when it comes to my drinking of wine.

In years to pass I have learned that wines are sweet, dry, oaked, un-oaked, dirty, rich, creamy, lingering, mineralistic, delicious and yes, even offensive. I’m pretty sure there are a million different adjectives I could use in regard to wine, but those are the first to fly out of my head.

I remember once writing about how trying a new wine can be compared to a first kiss, which you simply don’t know what to expect or how it’s going to make your mouth and body feel. I will stand behind that statement, but further back it up with idea that you can actually have a love affair with wine. Yes, you can actually fall in love with a wine.

Wine is sneaky, you can love it, you can hate it, and you can love to hate it! It often confuses me but it likely to pleases me. It gets me thinking, and feeling, learning and exploring.

I enjoy the fact that you can eat anything with wine! Anything, you can tail-gate with it, you can celebrate with it, you can throw some pasta in a pot and pour a glass and you can simply sit on the couch and turn the tv on after a long day and sip. There were rules, heck, I am sure many still believe there are still rules, ie: red wine goes best with meat and white wine goes best with sea food. Yes, I am not going to sit here and throw those, dare I say opinions to shame, but I say, drink what you want and eat what you want to eat! Break the rules!

One thing I have come to find out is that I am not a fan of Italian wine. Now, I have been told countless times that it’s because I have not had the right one, or the good ones, or from the right region or year, blah blah blah, there could be several reasons, but I can tell you this is for sure, I would not choose to drink wine from Italy. And one of the reasons I know this is the Italians feel that wine needs to be paired with food. You must eat and drink to enjoy is their thought process. Well, readers, I don’t want to HAVE to eat to enjoy my wine. I don’t want it to need something, and maybe, quite possibly this is why I don’t enjoy Italian wines.

Can food and wine be paired? Absolutely, but it can and should also be enjoyed on its own. Get to know the grape, understand it and try to figure out why you chose to drink it. I bet you would be surprised with some of the answers you come up with.

Cheers!

GET EXCITED!!!!!

I have not blogged in over a year. Can you believe it? I sure can't, there has been so much in my life in the past year and a half that I can't even wrap my head around it. Friends, found, friends lost, loves found, loves lost, loves found again and realized they were never loves at all. Family...well, family...music, laughter, babies, marriages, careers, loss...Adventure, extream adventure, illness, wellness, storms and laughter.

My best friend got her own home and a new job this year! One of my best friends got married this year! Another one of my best friends had her second son this year. I lost 2 close friends to petty bull sh*t. I beat the odds of cancer this year. I realized what love was and what a love lost can do to a person! I am still in the process of discovering who I am and how I can love myself.

What does this have to do with wine? EVERYTHING! Wine is what gets me up everyday, its what pays my bills, its what I drink, and its what I rely on to give me an imagination. I am NOT a wine snob, I just like the stuff, I like to share it, I like getting excited about it.

I'm Excited, I am excited to write again, and share the wine and the stories and the feelings, thoughts, smells, dreams and life with you all. Please, I ask you, if there is something you want to know or feel you want to share, do it here...this is not a platform for myself, but for everyone to share what it is about your life, your dreams and your WINE, or....WHINE...

2012! I'm Excited!

Cheers!