Why I'm Taking This Class

I was never a big wine drinker until I moved to Europe four years ago.  In Portugal, Spain, and Hungary, $20-30 bottle wines are delicious and complex, and in my view, can be on par with California wines priced at $100 or up.  While my parents never much drank wine or alcohol growing up, my Dutch fiance's parents paired wine with every dinner course.  I started to appreciate how much it can enhance a meal.  However, I found "becoming smart" about different varietals and brands of wine very challenging and relied mostly on critics ratings and other basic resources like Vivino.  It was only when I travelled to the wine region in South Africa: Franshoek and Stellenbosch, and visited wineries consistently for 2 weeks where I felt like I was finally starting to understand the dynamics of the wine industry and the different methods of production, and recognize the class characteristics of different wine varietals.  I look forward to deepening my knowledge of the three above points and really leaning in the global aspect.