Adventures in Wine

I hopped off the ferry and strolled down the street. It seemed as if the only people on the island were the handful of us that has just arrived by boat. My husband and I found the first restaurant and asked for a table. The maitre d' looked around lazily and shrugged. "Sorry, we're full." The tables were empty. After some sweet talk in Italian, we found ourselves on the back porch chatting with the owner about California wines. It turns out we had walked into a 400-year-old vineyard, Venissa, with vines unique to that island. We ordered a case to ship home.

Many of my fondest memories read similarly to that lunch in Venice. Take a boat to Mazzorbo and see what I find. Follow a friend on his work trip to Sonoma and end the day sampling new vintages on a winemaker's patio in the middle of their daughter's birthday party (the theme was Candy Land). Taking my now in-laws on their first trip to Napa and suffering through the house hot sauce tasting. And all of these stories revolve around the ceremony of sharing wine with loved ones.

I am taking this class because I want to understand my experiences through the eyes of the wine industry. What makes the perfect blend? How do you factor in risks, such as drought, frost, or wildfires and earthquakes? And what does it really mean for a wine operation to be "sustainable" or "organic"? I look forward to learning the ropes, and to hearing about my classmates' wine adventures. Cheers!