Getting Excited About Wine Time

My name is Jessica Chambers and I love wine. This is Bear and he also enjoys wine (plush toys). 

I grew up in a family where the adults always had wine on special occasions such as celebratory dinners, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, etc. It was not unusual once I became a teenager for my grandparents to pour me a small glass at one of these special occasions because they were Irish and German, two countries where the legal drinking age is much less than 21. However, every experience I had with wine, I hated it. I thought all wine was bitter, red, and hard to drink because that is just the type of wine they had around for those occasions.  

Once I was able to explore wine on my own I quickly realized that not all wine tasted disgusting. I branched out in college and tried wines that were moscato, merlot, chardonnay, and many more. What I found was that my taste in wine closely resembles my sweet tooth for candy and chocolate. I love sweet wines (but not the hangover). However, I know nothing about what foods to eat to enhance my experience with other wines that are not so sweet. I am looking forward to pairing different foods with different wines. I also find it interesting, and a bit skeptical - so I am looking forward to being proved wrong, that wine tastes different out of different containers or drink glasses. 

Another thing I am excited for is wineries. I discovered my love for wineries, which are way better than breweries, my junior year in college. I went to Beliveau Winery in Blacksburg without being able to drink but for vendors and grape stomping. It was beautiful and such a peaceful place to relax, drink wine, and talk to close friends or family. Also the grape stomping was really fun. The environment is another thing that I love about wine and wineries. To me wine is more of a social drink that does not involve pressure, parties, or wasted nights. There is no shame in going to a winery on a Sunday and being able to make it to work on a Monday. 

I am super excited to learn things about wine that I never knew, visit wineries, and overall enhance my wine experience. Maybe I will even find a wine that is not so sweet that I fall in love with.