Parker Hudson - Introduction

I remember the first time I ever had a glass of wine. I was a senior in high school and hanging out in my friend's basement. My friend grabbed a bottle of some miscellaneous red wine (I cannot for the life of me remember what kind of red it was) from his parent's stock and proudly poured us each a glass of it. I didn't smell it. I didn't swirl it. I didn't swish it around in my mouth to savor the flavor. I simply threw it back like it was an ice cold Bud Light. "That's f*cking disgusting." It had tasted like I just licked a cat. It was the driest tasting beverage I'd ever had in my life.

I didn't drink wine again until the end of my freshman year here at VT. The girl I was dating at the time was really into wine (Barefoot Riesling) so I figured I might as well try it again. The Riesling had a ridiculously fruity aroma and it was sweet as hell. Honestly, I thought I was drinking Welch's grape juice for the first time since 2nd grade. To be fair, I did enjoy it. It was a pleasant surprise given how awful my first experience drinking wine was. The Riesling opened the doors for me to try a few other whites such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

As I've gotten older and tried more and more wines, I've grown to appreciate them and the complex flavors they possess. I did my first wine tasting in July 2015. The Bull Run Winery is a few miles from my house in Manassas, VA. The Bull Run Winery had a Cab Sauv that was killer. It was the first red wine that I had ever enjoyed. It was fruity and full of flavor and not as freakin' dry as whatever I had thrown back in high school. I had officially made the transition from college-student-that-only-drinks-dessert-wine to college-student-that-actually-kind-of-likes-all-wines.

I am really hoping to gain a better understanding of how to taste wine in this course. Anyone can take a sip of something and say "I liked it" or "I hated it" but I want to know what to look for. I want to know the right way to taste wine and the right way to describe its taste. I also want to learn about the differences in the kinds of whites and reds. Honestly, I just want to lay the foundation for wine drinking that I can then build upon for the rest of my adult life.

Here's to a great semester! Cheers!