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The
Wonderful World of Wine
Welcome
to Joy of the Table! This is the first installment of Russel's
Ramblings, my addition to the website, which will focus on the
various aspects of the joy of the table- Wine! I plan on just letting
you know what I have experienced and what you might enjoy. There are
wineries in all 50 states and there is likely one near you. They all
have something to offer, be it fruit wines or some extraordinary
interpretation of a well-known varietal. It is a great day trip with
family and friends or a fun date. Don't think you have to go to
California or France because I have experienced great wines in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. I will let you in on
the secrets of my experiences.
Just
to introduce myself, I am a convert to wine. I first fell in love
with beer years ago as a youth. I spent a summer in Germany as an
exchange student and learned what beer was supposed to taste like. I
did not learn to appreciate wine until much later. It seemed to high
brow and elitist to me. Beer was the drink of "the people"
but could be quite exceptional and different than what the mass
producers provide. I spent a second summer in Germany attempting to
try a large number of beers from many different towns and breweries.
I must of have tried over 50 different beers that summer! It was
definitely a high point.
During
that summer of 1987, the group I was with took a tour of a handful
of wineries on the Rhine. At that time I tried a number of wines and
enjoyed one that was "made out of French wines." It was a
white wine that was not too sweet but had a nice light fizz. I
thoroughly enjoyed it but liked the beer so much better! I started
college soon after and kept drinking all kinds of inexpensive beers
and spirits.
After
graduating college, I tried to drink wine and started with white
zinfandel. It was okay but it still did not replace beer. Luckily at
this time there was an explosion of micro-brews that just increased
the types and flavors of beer that I could enjoy. With a job and a
little money, I was able to enjoy not only beer but bourbon. It was
at this time that my palate grew and I began to experience the
various aspects of both beer and bourbon. I had yet to graduate to wine.
When
Tonya and I first began dating seriously, she was a big Riesling
drinker. I do not mean she drank a lot (although she did win a
chugging contest on our honeymoon!), but she was a big fan of that
varietal. A few months prior to our wedding, I planned a vacation to
the Finger Lakes region of New York. I had gotten the idea from her
love of wine and speaking with a colleague who was a wine buff. He
talked about the great wines he found in that area. I had recalled
traveling to Canada on a bus trip as a kid and we stopped at a few
wineries so I was familiar with the area. I also knew the area from
traveling to Cornell for football games in college.
We
spent a long weekend in the Watkins Glen area and visited wineries
on Seneca
Lake,
which is the largest area in the Finger Lakes. The area was
beautiful and the wines were quite good. This was my first
eye-opening experience with wine. I was finally able to see what
people were talking about and why they were hogging wine and
constantly searching for that exquisite experience. After driving six
hours, we pulled into Watkins Glen and went right to the first winery
we found, Castel
Grisch.
We found it to be a great experience and bought a case of wine right
on the spot! It was at that moment I became a wine aficionado!
I
write this just to let you know that you too can find your own
experience in wine and can find it to be "the joy of the
table" as I have. I still enjoy beer and brew my own, but I do
love wine. It is such a communal experience and I now understand why
there are sonnets, poems, movies, books and countless stories devoted
to wine. It is an experience that is shared by many and can be fun
for all. In my Russel's Rantings column, plan on just letting
everyone know that you can move from beer to wine. I don't care if
you like sweet or dry, white or red, fruit wine or traditional
varietals because there is something for everyone! So understand that
I am no expert; I am just someone who enjoys the entire experience of
visiting wineries and speaking with the wine makers. This is a labor
of love. Sit back, open a bottle and join us on our journey!
Cheers,
Russel
