The Beginnings

    The creation of this blog is far from where my journey of wine began. This journey begins some 15 years ago, where every good story begins, in childhood. If my memory serves correctly, wine was the first alcohol to ever cross my lips when I was but a child. My father relented to my repeated requests for a careful sip from his glass at dinner one night. I quickly learned the difference between malbec and welch's. My juvenile palate recoiled with some level of vigor, and I don't remember touching the stuff again for several years. My journey with alcohol would continue with my parents in the form of beer during a family trip to Germany. This would continue throughout high school, along with the occasional liquor. 

 But you, dear reader, are not here for my journey with beer, or even alcohol, you are here for the wine. And for that, we must fast forward some years to the early days of college. Wine was a frequent companion to my ragtag group of intimate colleagues. Our point man would frequently lift several boxes at once from the local grocer and bring them back to the dorm for our raucous enjoyment. I know what you are thinking, and no I did not misspeak. The wine in these early days was always contained within a box, from which we would always liberate a bag full of the incredible liquid. "Slapping the bag" before taking a long pull was a common pastime, and a skill I hope I have retained to this day. We drank so much of this wine that in fact, the walls of this particular gentleman's dorm were completely covered by the end of our first semester in these discarded boxes, these trophies of debauchery. I've included a picture of myself on the left. 

    The purpose I found in drinking wine at this time of my life, as you may have gathered, was not to enjoy the subtle complexities of flavor and texture but to enjoy the more inebriating benefits of the beverage. However, after the summer of my freshman year, the leader of our organization was beheaded by Virginia Tech (metaphorically), and we were disbanded. 

    My stint away from wine however would not last long. As a dear friend had just moved to town, and having family in nearby Floyd, he introduced me to the wines from their local winery, Chateau Morrisette. This began a longstanding tradition which is ongoing to this day, known as wine Wednesday in which the two of us meet, make dinner, and converse over a bottle of wine. It's been going on for about three years now, every week I am in Blacksburg. He also introduced me to one of my favorite whites, a riesling known as "Our Dog Blue". 

    Another tradition I have upheld for the last couple of years is pasta nights every Sunday, in which my girlfriend and I, along with another couple make our own pasta and sauce and eat it with at least one bottle of wine, sometimes more. We ever started a Vivino page on which we have rated most every wine we have tried, coming now to some 53 wines. 

    As for my current particular tastes, they have been immensely shaped through both my travels and the people around me. I enjoy local wines such as the wines from Chateau Morrisette, as I believe they assist in connecting you to your land and the people of your community. I also greatly enjoy Italian wines, as my username may suggest. In general, I prefer dryer wines, and I abhor cloyingly sweet wines. I usually prefer reds over whites, however, I also enjoy the occasional white, so long as it is not too sweet. The occasion on which I drink also has a lot to do with my preferences. A light, bright, breezy, crisp, citrusy white is ideal for a day at the beach, while a dark, full-bodied, oaky, smoky red is the only thing for a rainy day by the fire. 

    I look forward to exploring my interest in this subject further as the semester progresses and I hope you will join me on my journey. I hope to learn more about the grape varieties, not just the wine names in this class. I also hope to explore wines from regions I am less familiar with, such as Portugal and Latin America.