Food and Wine Part 2

"Good friends are like good wine... they get better with age."

The analogy of friends to wine is one of the greatest ways to describe my wine experience. We've all had different types of friends that take on different flavors in our lives. Some are immature and don't end up being our particular taste preference, some we may not have liked initially but grew on us over time, and some are just truly spectacular and worth noting. Wine is the same way. As with making new friends, I feel its important to always maintain an open mind and try all varieties.

I started drinking wine in Italy while I was studying abroad in Turin. When I first moved there I didn't even realize I was in one of the greatest and most original wine regions of the world - Piedmont. I started drinking everything from Pinot Grigio to Dolcetto and Barolo. (Pinot Grigio is the lightest of whites, Dolcetto is a medium bodied red, and Barolo is one of the greatest full bodied ageable wines) Wine was like water over there... affordable and consistently flowing. It was almost cheaper to get a jug of table wine at a restaurant than to order bottled water. Wine became a part of every meal and every meal became an experience. When wine was on the table, no one cared when the food was coming or what time it was. People were more engaged in conversation, felt more relaxed, and were more enjoyable. It was frowned upon to intentionally get drunk but having a few glasses definitely always lightened the mood. This was the point of my life where I decided I loved wine... not just for the taste but for the experience.

My advice for novice wine drinkers... taste it all, appreciate it for what its worth, and make it a memorable event. When I got back from Italy, I moved back to the central coast and continued my experience by tasting all over the coast and up into Napa. I ventured even further in my late years of college and started tasting Australian, Chilean, and Argentinean wines. Now I pretty much drink all varietals from all over the world. I can definitely tell the difference between a $10 bottle and a $50 bottle but truly do appreciate the art of winemaking and all that goes into the bottle.

So where to start???

If you've ever sipped a red and weren't interested... this is the scale from sweetest/lightest to most full bodied and dry

- Begin with Riesling.
-Move on to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio
- Start trying Chardonnay after that
-Try Pinot Noir as the gateway red.
- Drink Merlot once you're ready for a real red.
- Move into Cabernet Sauvignon
- If you start really enjoying full bodied reds, drink Syrah (Shiraz in Australia)

Wondering which wine is to get from different areas of the world??
- Riesling from Germany
- Champagne from France
-Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, CA, France
- Pinot Grigio from Italy
- Chardonnay from CA and France
-Pinot Noir from Central CA, Oregon, Argentina, France
- Merlot from CA, France
- Cabernet Sauvignon from CA, France, Chile
- Syrah from CA, France, Australia, Chile
- Tempranillo and Garnacha from Spain
- Chianti, Dolcetto, Barbera, Barbaresco, Barolo from Italy
- Malbec from Argentina
- Carmenere from Chile

These are some starter wines but by all means try everything! Cheers!