My First Wine Blog Post!

My first blog! I'm already having so much fun! Before coming to college, I would say my exposure to wine was minimal. My family never really drank wine, but when I was in elementary school I befriended a Polish girl and was at their house every week for many years. Her parents would drink wine with every meal and I never registered until now but now I'm realizing that it was just so European of them to have wine and enjoy it with their meals. Other than that, no one in my life drank wine, and I really just thought of it as an old person's hobby. One that I would partake in when I felt like I was finally grown up and I had my life together and could pair it with a nice dinner and do all the classic things that I associated with wine. But now, I'm realizing that I can just have fun with wine and pair it with something as simple as crackers and fruits. Fun fact about me is that before this summer, I was vegan for 5 years and recently started eating fish again! That's also why I haven't had a need to drink wine. I felt like cheese and meats are so strongly associated with wine and I thought, "Would I fully be able to enjoy wine if I can't have cheese and meat?" but I guess that's something for me to answer this semester with this class. 

Before this academic year, I would try wine here and there, have a cup from a wine bag, and just use it as a way to get drunk without drinking a gross seltzer or disgusting shot. But, something changed this year. In the fall, we went to Wine Lab for dinner to celebrate the beginning of our senior year and we had some wine and some charcuterie board and it was so good. It was also the first time I've had wine with a meal and it felt so grown up of me! I think I got some pear or fruity Sauvignon Blanc, which was not a good option but I was happy that I tried it! It was such a fun experience and fun way to spend time with my friends that I would love to do it again. At least twice a month, my friends and I would hang out, gossip, watch shows, and sometimes make charcuterie boards, but we would always open a bottle of wine to relax! We typically go with a cheapish Moscato from Kroger because it's so easy for us to drink. 

When it comes to wine, I like a fruity, soft wine. I'm pretty sensitive to the taste of alcohol and I can't really unwind when it REALLY feels like I'm drinking alcohol. I almost want it to be like juice. I have tried a few Rosés and honestly, I just want to like it because it's pink-toned but I seem to be picking the wrong ones...  I think white wines are my current favorites but I'm not sure and really want to take the opportunity to do good research to find out what wines I like either with or without food. I really want to understand the flavor profiles of the wine and would love to know about the production of wine and what aspects can be changed during the maturation stage to affect its flavors. With this course, I'm really interested in wine pairings with food so I can talk about it with other people but for myself, I would love to take the aspects of the pairings and adhere them to the diet that I have (ie. fish and vegan cheese/meats). I'm really excited for this course!