First blog post-My wine story so far

My name is Max. I am a senior in systems biology. I took this class not only because I wanted to drink wine for school credit, but also because I am genuinely interested in the history, process, and ritual of making and drinking wine. I wanted to take an elective I would truly enjoy, and that would help me learn about something outside of my major, something that would enrich my life outside of my career. I am excited to begin this class, my wine journey, and to have this blog as a record of it!

As far as my experience with wine, I would say I'm a noob. Since I have become of legal drinking age, I have mostly been exploring the world of craft beer, and it has become my go-to alcoholic beverage. I was attracted to beer as I was somewhat familiar with it, and there were plenty of good stores to by single bottles of beer in Blacksburg. I hadn't been drinking much wine until recently, as the wine I had tried previously I didn't much care for, and I don't like having to commit to buying a full 750mL bottle if I wanted to try a wine from the store, not knowing whether I would like it or not. However, my friends who are into wine have offered some to me while visiting them or as a gift, so I have been trying more wine in recent months. Generally, I have been drinking wine with my friends when visiting one of their homes. One of my friend's mother has a wine subscription, and we get to drink some of the stuff she doesn't think is interesting. These wines have been from all over the world, and were generally less than $20 per bottle.  We normally drink wine that has been stored in the wine cooler, and we use wine glasses, so I would say the tasting experience has been decent at his house. 

As far as my tastes go, I would say that I like wines that are in the middle when it comes to dryness versus sweetness. Most of the wines I have tried have been reds, and those that were very dry I did not like. The few white wines I have tried I have generally enjoyed, but I still didn't like those that were very dry or sweet. Besides from that I don't know much about my taste in wine. That is something I hope to learn more about in this course!

From this class, I hope to learn more about how and where wine is made, and how that influences the wine itself. More specifically, I am curious about how the grapes and aging combined contribute to flavor. Does the type of grape used determine how the wine should be aged? I want to learn how to better enjoy wine and how to pair it with meals. What tastes in wine pair best with what foods? I want to be able to design my own pairings, not just read about them online. But most of all, I want to spend time enjoying wine with mu friends during my last semester of undergrad here at Virginia Tech! 

Picture of me (right) with Ringo (left), the best officer on the VT Police force.