taste

[Randy Caparoso]

"Just a kid?" "5 star hotel?" Well, might as well start off modestly.

But seriously... kid. The good news is that if you really begin to like the stuff (wine, that is), the "kid" never leaves you. I was a kid once -- in 1974, fresh out of high school (you could drink, then, at 18), discovering the world of Sangria Sangria, and quickly graduating to Almaden Grenache Rose, Sebastiani Zinfandel, and B.V. Private Reserve. I used to worry that I might get jaded, but no chance. I just returned from a month-long tour of the West Coast (Oregon on down to Santa Barbara), France, Italy, Germany, and Chile. I can still barely get to sleep at night, I'm so excited about discovering new wines!

My advice: taste, read, and take notes; taste, read, and take notes. Always something new and exciting. If the wine bug really sinks in its teeth, in the beginning you find yourself racing across town for a single bottle. Later, you're flying across oceans!