Wine Snob

I’m a wine snob.  I'm a cheap wine snob, but a wine snob just the same. I freely admit it.  So how, you may ask, does a girl from a small town in North Dakota who’s first experience with wine was Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill in the 12^th grade become a wine snob?  (It was a horrible experience that involved a barn dance and vomiting. I haven’t touched the stuff since.)

She moves away. Seriously, I’m pretty sure this is the only way this could’ve happened.

A year after we got married, we moved to Colorado. We knew some people out there, but neither one of us had jobs. It was a great adventure! We lived there for 11 years, met great people and made lifelong friends.  It was one of those lifelong friends that pushed me to try, horror of all horrors, red wine (and it wasn’t Franzia Chillable Red from a box).  I can’t remember what kind it was (L, if you are reading this, do you remember?).  Probably a cabernet? Maybe a shiraz?  Every time we went to their house for dinner, we had wine.  Eventually, I started to order it when we’d go out to restaurants to eat as well.  And then, I actually started buying wine.  I had no clue what I was doing.  Back in those days Yellow Tail Shiraz was my fav.  But, I’d try pretty much any of it, as long as it was under $10.

Fast forward to present day…we now have a wine fridge. (It’s glorious.) I spend waaay too much time in the liquor store wandering around the Cabs, Shiraz, Blends, Zinfandels, and Malbecs looking for a new great wine.  I turn my nose up at sweet wines. Riesling, Moscato, Gewürztraminer…you might as well drink crappy White Zin.  (In case you were wondering, that was the snobby part.) The other snobby part is how much joy I get out of making fun of my sister for her Polka Dot Riesling and Moscato. Or whatever other sweet stuff she happens to be drinking.  And I live for the times that she’s tries a dry red…cause she makes the best.face.ever. (Seriously, my shoulders are shaking as I type this because I’m laughing just thinking about that face!) I can’t even describe it. It’s like a scrunched-up twitchy face. Sigh. Classic.

One thing hasn’t really changed. I’m still fairly cheap. My limit now is around $12-$14 a bottle, but I still have some favorites in the $10 range that I keep going back to. There is an exception though, and it’s that glorious time of year known as The Penny Sale. (Can you hear the choir? See the angels? No? It’s just me? Huh.) You see, we have a liquor store here that twice a year has a sale where you buy one bottle of wine, get the second bottle for a penny. Yes, a penny. It’s basically a BOGO. Or maybe a BOGOP?  This is my opportunity to try out a $20 or even $30 bottle of wine, cause I can get two for the price of what I’d normally pay. (I’m still too cheap to go for the $50-$100 bottles, but there are people that buy them by the case! Insanity!) Needless to say, it’s fan-friggen-tastic.

But, I digress…Let’s get back to the task at hand, over the course of the next 30 days, I’ll try to put my snobbery aside and provide some information about all different kinds of wines, how to break out of your wine shell, as well as some crafty-crafts that are wine related.  Wish me luck! (Or should I be wishing you luck?)