Trying Something New

I recently became employed at a local winery. I'm sure, at first, this doesn't seem like a big deal. And, I guess in the big picture it isn't. But for a 27-year-old college graduate with no firm plans, living in the middle of Kansas, after just quitting an 8-year run with a big-corporation, this is pretty fantastic. This small, 2 1/2 year old winery is like a portal into a learning experience that I don't think I otherwise would have been able to experience.

Let's face it: according to everyone else, I should have an adult job at this point. Making tons of money. Paying off bills instead of accumulating them (I did recently put myself on a tight budget). But when you need a job immediately, you take what you can find and, luckily, I stumbled upon something I'm not only good at, but inherently love. A few years ago I completed an internship, at the mecca of all things tourist-y. I loved entertaining people and helping them in any way possible while they enjoyed their vacations. I loved going the extra mile to get them what they didn't even know they needed. And, more than anything, I loved learning about where people are from and why they love it there, and what I should do when I go there.

At this small winery, I am able to talk to people from all over the country every day. More than half of the people I pour samples for at the tasting bar are just stopping in off the highway because they saw the billboard. They are almost always pleasantly surprised when they find that our wine is not just a joke, but a venue that takes it's wine very seriously, and ends up with products that please even the pickiest of palettes.

I also happily found that at this particular job, there is reason to learn more about wine. Shocking. According to a random magazine article I read, which cannot be cited right now because I don't have it with me, nearly 80% of people at a tasting bar will buy wine (and more wine) based on the knowledge and personality of the tasting bar attendant. That's me. So, what help could I possibly be if I don't know which of our wines tastes most like a Pinot Grigio? Well. None.

The training began simply enough: taste all of our wines with the boss, take notes, and learn about what they're made from, how they taste and smell, and basic things like the "body" of a wine, the color, and how to swirl.

But this wasn't enough. I asked my boss for resources. I read books like
101 Essential Tips: Wine. I recently started in on Wine for Dummies. And these are great books to help clarify (which is, but the way, the 3rd process our winery goes through...more later on that) complicated methods, terminology, and especially to make all wine SNOBS seems, well, silly.

But as the weeks went by I still found myself needing more information. Yes, our dry reds are lighter than most, but why? What is it about our processing that makes our wines the way they are? I convinced my boss to train us more.

Just last night we enjoyed 8 (eight!!) wines that were not our own and learned more details about our wine-making process. Again, my coworker and I feverishly took notes about what we tasted and smelled, and absorbed it all like sponges. I came out feeling not just a little tipsy, but armed with even more knowledge and confidence to pull from when I walk into the wine store and have to make a choice.

The point of all of this is simple: I'm an average girl, learning slow, small tidbits about wine, which is a vast and deep world with seemingly no end. There will always be new wine, new flavors, and new things to pair it with. But, bit by bit I'm gaining what I consider to be useful enough know-how to select a wine I need or want, and not just the pictures on the bottles.

I can even say, that when I taste a wine I don't enjoy, I'm still able to pull out the flavors it should have, and it's overall intent. I can appreciate what I don't like: that's progress, in my book. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not saying I'm awesome, I'm saying that it isn't that hard. It isn't that complicated, and with just a little focus on what you're doing, anyone can learn how to taste wine and then buy based on what you learned.

So, join me, if you dare, as I try to blog about each wine I sip. I want to keep it simple and easy to understand - a basic reference for anyone who has no clue what the three bottles they got for their wedding are for, which wine to take home for Christmas, or what the difference is in Syrah and Shiraz.