The Start of Our Journey
Welcome to the Explore California Wine blog. This is my first post and I am excited to share my knowledge and experience with everyone out there. To get you acquainted, let me tell you my story of how I got into wines and where I am now.
It all started around my college days. I liked to party, and drank to have a good time and socialize. I mostly drank beer, and didn’t know much about wine. I liked it, but I never got much fancier than a large bottle of Concha Y Toro shared amongst friends in my college dorm room.
At the time I was enjoying myself but really knew nothing about wine. As I continued to drink more wine over the years I developed a real liking for it, but It would be years before I really knew anything substantial about it. I could differentiate between a light bodied Pinot and a heavy Cab but that was about it.
I live a short drive from Sonoma County, so I started frequenting the wineries and vineyards in that area and eventually became quite familiar with the different styles of wine in Sonoma. I became a big fan of Dry Creek Zinfandels, and then was turned on to Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs. I started to develop a palette.
Through all this, however, I really was only familiar with the wines of Sonoma County (I actually hadn’t tried too many Napa Valley wines, and to this day I have only visited Napa Valley a handful of times — Sonoma’s better 😜).
My wine knowledge grew and expanded and I started learning about a few other California wines. Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir blew my mind, and is still currently one of my favorite expressions of Pinot.
My palette continued to develop, and I started to learn a lot about the history and culture around wine making in both Europe and America, but I had not familiarized myself with more than a handful of specific AVAs (Formal wine growing areas) in California. Everything else was foreign to me.
That’s when I decided to expand my knowledge by becoming a certified California Wine Appellation Specialist. This process would end up teaching me all about the different AVAs in California, from their history to which grapes grow well in which regions, to the most important wineries and vineyards of each region.
I really got a lot out of that experience. Aside from getting to taste wines from all over California, and learning about them, I was introduced to areas I had never heard of or was only tangentially familiar with. I found out that some wines are just as good or better than the better known wines in more high profile areas, and those wines, since they are lesser known, can be acquired for a lot less! Imagine finding a room in your favorite wine store that only the employees knew about that contained world class wines, all at a discount!
I now make it a point to search out wines from some of these lesser known areas to taste and add to my collection. Although, I really don’t need a reason to buy more wine. Our wine storage is always constantly full… But nevertheless, I am always looking for more!
In this series, I will be writing wine reviews, pairing notes, restaurant reviews, writing about the history of California as it relates to wine making and growing, and in general sharing my experiences with California wine with everyone. As you read this, I hope that I can contribute in some way to your growth and enjoyment of wine, and help you appreciate all that there is out there to taste!
For those who want more, I am currently developing a paid product that will go more in depth on all of this, plus it will save you money on future wine purchases. If you are interested in helping me build out this product, just answer a simple question on my site, and I will get you in for free when it becomes available!
