When we talk wine, we speak too often about what we love, not enough about the dark secret of how we got started.
Only one guy I know grew up around great wine. So I asked a dozen others to tell me how their wine careers began, where they stand today, and why.
A pattern emerged. At least half had a bad night that left indelible stains. This usually happened in high school, they said, usually with a couple of pals, usually at a party. The offending beverage was Annie Green Springs, Ripple, Arriba, Boone's Farm, loganberry flips, wine coolers, or some similar Satanic concoction sold at 7-11 (stolen in most cases.)
The plot sickened. They found a secret place to slug down the wine,
drank half a bottle (hey it tasted kinda like Kool-Aid!), they got woozy, woke up at 2 a.m. in a ditch, on a beach, in the back seat of a bad car with their faces pressed into a pool of puke. Yeah.
They gave up wine instantly, and did not return to it for a decade.
When they did, the pattern was more gradual and guarded, often involved friends, another couple, dinner, a wine-tasting...and they found the wine was OK, nothing special. It took another 5-10 years before they got serious.
Their first legitimate sip was commonly a Merlot (which by now most have abandoned). Or a chardonnay, and many still sip it. Most guys and some of the women have moved on to Cabernet, Syrah or out of the wine world entirely, usually to beer... or a particular mixed drink like margaritas or Fireball (a trendy new whiskey mix).
While I was not (originally) looking for recommended wines in my half-baked survey, I found that most people did wind up with a persistent preferende, and their migration was instructive.
They began by accident in most cases, usually in a fit of mischief, not figuring they'd be more sophisticated after they drained the bottle. They returned more sober, but not sure what to expect. Maybe they were bored with Bud Light, or had moved up in their social standing.
Once they tasted a sensible bottle of wine, most hop-scotched from merlot or chard to (a) bigger, more oaky, or tannic wines like Cabernet; some chose syrah or pinot noir or a red blend; or dabbled with more complex whites like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio or a classic French white Chateau d'Y'Quem.
Here is a short list of some accidental recommendations. (As a group, most prefer red wines (cab or syrah).
Caymus CONUNDRUM (a California blend of several whites), usually under $20 and described as follows: "green apple, tangerine and sweet white flowers, melon, citrus, vanilla." Spectator says "Intensely flavored. Drink now."
Robert Karl 2006 Claret: out of Spokane. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec impart black cherries and smoky coffee, cedar and bittersweet chocolate. About $20
Milbrandt Estates Cabernet $25 black cherry, blackberry, cassis, vanilla, chocolate and spice.
Got one belated addition from another friend, who says he got started with Annie, too, and did not like it (too sweet) so he wrote off wine for a while. He met a red wine that woke him up, years later, probably at a convention or a company party, he thinks. Today he's a confirmed cab drinker, but also enjoys a sauvignonr blanc now and then.
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ReplyDeleteGot started making my own 'coolers' by spiking Kool Aid with alcohol when I went on school field trips. Then I discovered Annie Peach Creek and Apricot Spash. I was sorry they went out of business and bought up all the supplies I could find and afford.
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