Getting Back to Business

As I sit down to write this post, I slowly sip a red blend from Epoch Estate Wines located down south in Paso Robles. I come from an Italian and Scottish family which is nostalgic, sentimental, and festive when it comes to wine drinking. For me, wine doesn’t just complement foods, but gives me an additional sensory experience with which to both make and preserve memories. I remember the Peju rosé I drank with close friends during my first San Francisco Fleet Week, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape my father would bring out on special occasions, and the 2014 DAUO Vineyards chardonnay I drank on the night of my engagement.

I admittedly didn’t take strongly to wine until I moved to San Francisco after college with my close friends, and the fantastic vineyards of the North Bay seemed to drip down into our backyard. It was as if almost every weekend there was a day trip to Healdsburg, a day of tastings on the town square of St. Helena. I was in my early twenties, so took any excuse to head to the sunny hills, tasty bites, and delicious pours of wine country.

It didn’t take long for me to realize a few personal lessons:

1. I actually liked the wines I was drinking
2. Wine tastings were more fun when you listened to what they were teaching you
3. I had a decent memory for the new tastes I was experiencing

I learned that I loved the buttery chardonnays of Napa Valley, not the steel barrel varieties so often marketed to my “young” peers. I started to write down the wines I enjoyed, taking pleasure when I came across them in restaurants throughout the city. Most importantly, I watched every wine documentary on Netflix, often paired with a brief Chef’s Table espisode!

Yet with shifting jobs, business school, and the many other responsibilities that try to lay claim to my daily schedule, I feel my learning curve tapering. I can identify the big buckets and make the sweeping generalizations (Reislings are too sweet, Pinot Noirs too soft, red blends overlooked), but I find myself wanting the intricacies and anomalies that can unexpectedly delight. I look to this class as a way to jumpstart a new period of exploration and learning. I still don't think any wine can beat a California chardonnay, but I'd love to see several try.