At some point, I knew I would start documenting my love of good wine. I guess today is as good a time to start as any. But before I get into the serious side, a bit of personal wine history.

Awareness - My parents liked to imbibe. They weren't alcoholics. They just enjoyed a drink now and then (mostly now). This was usually some sort of mixed drink. Then in the mid 1960's, they took a trip to Europe. There, they discovered wine. They returned with a newly developed taste for grape. Domestic wine selections back then were pretty limited. The popular commercial imported brands were Lancer's and Mateus. Since dad had really enjoyed Spain and Portugal, these Rose wines became his favorites. I just remember the distinct bottles.

First Personal Encounter - The very first time I went drinking in high school, we had beer. I won't go into the sorted "bizarro world" details of the evening except to say that it began at a bridge party and ended at the police station. I will say that after the beer was gone, someone found a bottle of rot gut wine named Gino (the fact that I remember the name should tell you something). Kids, let me turn to a time proven formula for disaster that you should heed at all cost - First Time Drinking + Empty Stomach + Beer + Crappy Wine = 1 Really Bad Experience. The worst part was that it would be 9 years before I could drink beer again. The good part was that my ability to drink wine wasn't affected.

College - Because I couldn't drink beer and hard liquor was too expensive, the only thing I drank during my college years was wine. Now based on the progression so far, it shouldn't be hard to understand that this was not fine Cabernets or Burgundies. This was college in the 70's and that meant Boone's Farm and Annie Greensprings. You should also understand that the goal was not to savor the fine delicate intricacies of the wine, but to get blotto. However, by the time we were seniors and had become intellectuals (I'll pause here to give you a chance to stop laughing ............... Ok, I will now continue), some of us had begun our appreciation of the more European view and traditions of wine. One of my friends in particular really started embracing dry French red wines. I can remember us spending many an evening enjoying the aroma and subtle nuance of what (in hindsight) can only be described as sucking on cotton. Much of this was due to the fact that we had learned that the proper way to serve red wine was at room temperature. Of course in an unairconditioned house in Austin, Texas in the middle of August that would be around 105 degrees. Then came a most unfortunate and regretful side effect. Wine made me sleepy. As a young person, I didn't find this to be desirable. The terrible result is that college graduation would begin a 30 year hiatus from drinking wine.

Eureka - Over the years, my wife and I have grown accustom to dining out at fine restaurants. And of course, this includes the enjoyment of beverage. As I approached the age of 50, I felt that something was missing from the whole steak and beer, pasta and beer, fish and beer experience. It never occurred to me to order wine with the meal, because wine made me sleepy. Then it happened. I had an epiphany. SO WHAT! There are certain advantages to growing older and this was definitely one of them. So began the modern era of wine enjoyment.

This ends the first installment. Next time, I will try and explain the poor early decisions one makes in becoming a wine enthusiast.