Introduction & Inquiry

[HuckSawyer]

Gentlemen, Ladies, it is my pleasure to have discovered not only this web site but the "friendly" environment which accompanies it! Recently I have embarked on a journey of wine-discovery and this is a wonderful resource. For now I hope only to introduce myself, admit my "grape ignurnz", and thank you all for what I hope to be a mutually entertaining association. My inquiry is this: What was your first "use" of wine? Sounds like a strange question, yes, but in my case (get ready to groan) in my younger years we would add Sutter Home in heavy quantity to Gatorade to sneak it into the pools & hot tubs in our community. Romantic, right? We were 12. Years later my first experience with an actual "bottle" was in Madrid - I cannot tell you the name make or model - but it accompanied a truly massive rabbit & duck paella (sp?) and I will never, ever forget that night. (Author's Note: there was no actual romance that evening, in reality I got scolded roundly for using up all the hot water to wash my hands, the unforgettable portion was merely the size of a paella which required all four burners to keep warm, but now I'm rambling . . . )

Thank you for your attention(s) and any replies which this might prompt. Prepare in the future for a torrent of UNBELIEVABLY ignorant questions regarding this diverse and rewarding topic. Wine . . . it's a lifestyle!

My Very Best Regards,

Robert (and Juanita)
Reston, Virginia

Last Bottle enjoyed: 2003 Barboursville Chardonnay

[wineguruchgo]

Well Hello Robert...I mean Huck,

Welcome to the wineboard! We're certainly glad you are here.

My first experience with wine, outside of family dinners, was with local NY State wines. We gravitated toward the sweeter, germanic styles. I'm proud to say that I have never had boone's farm and I didn't start with white zinfandel.

[Innkeeper]

Strange as it may sound my first wine was a German Spatlese. Have no idea who the producer was. I know my father bought a case it (the only case he ever bought to the best of my knowledge), and we consumed it at Thanksgiving over twelve years. By the time it was gone, I was too. As a matter of fact there might have even been one bottle left when we cleaned out the house to sell it decades later.

[wondersofwine]

Welcome to this friendly and frequently humorous wine board.
I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church at 10 or 12 and starting getting a sip of wine with Communion. Also when I was about a pre-teen my parents let me have some watered down wine at family holiday dinners--Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's (probably blush plonk as I recall). I became interested in wine at age 23-24 when I worked as a Dept. of Army civilian in Germany, so I too began with German Riesling wines (not a bad start). But my intake included Mateus rose' and Sutter Home White Zinfandel and even some coolers before I acquired a taste for serious red wines. I am still somewhat eclectic in my wine tastes but would say Pinot Noir is my favorite red variety and Riesling my favorite white variety.

[robr]

Howdy Huck! Aunt Polly sends her love!

My first experience with wine was BOONES FARM strawberry wine. We used to get it somehow (I think I was 16) and take it out to a beautiful spot in the woods here in Central Florida and just get wasted.

Later that year we tried to make our own from elderberries, which grow wild everywhere around here, but only succeeded in making elderberry vinegar.

My favorite drinks now are Napa cabernet sauvignons and Sonoma chardonnays.

MMmmmMMmm good!

[WileECoyote]

Welcome! My first was Mad Dog 20/20 Grape if that counts. I was never sicker. My favorite drinks are Moscato d'Asti and Bubblies. I am starting to lean towards Rieslings... The journey continues.

[This message has been edited by WileECoyote (edited 02-03-2006).]

[HuckSawyer]

Thanks for the responses! Seems that (much like our first car, or the first trip to Disney World, or a first cruise, etc) the answers and experiences vary. Wine, like cigars, may be more a "sharing" pursuit than at first perceived.

Maybe I should amend the above to "the first time your first car broke down, in the dark, in the rain, in the leaves, and the first person you flagged down for help was missing his first few teeth".

First car stories are nearly always funny - do they go with wine?

Last bottle enjoyed: Still the Barboursville from the earlier post.

[Thomas]

"Last bottle enjoyed: Still the Barboursville from the earlier post."

You obviously aren't getting enough wine [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[VouvrayHead]

It's good to be Jewish... Every Shabbat and Passover I was allowed to drink small amounts of various wines. Fortunately, not all were Kosher (though the Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc is actually quite decent these days!)...
I guess this is why when I started getting seriously into wine I was able to jump right in to the heavies and never had a pink wine phase... Innoculation at an early age was good [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]