As an active employee in the wine industry, I am attempting to combine my passions for writing and wine. The below is a submission for Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

How my Passion for Wine Began 

At 21 years old I dove into the wine industry, head first, excited, and ignorant. My parents had been taking me to wineries since I was 3 years old - as good parents do - but not once did I ever understand their enjoyment and desire for wine. The reds always smelled like bitter grape juice, and at the age of 21 I still felt the same. But, at that same age, when I began my vinous experience in a prestigious Washington state winery, I slowly unraveled the mystery of why fermented grape juice has gained such an elegant stereotype. Day-by-day I practiced tasting. At first I was confused by needing to train my taste buds. The idea of practicing wine tasting seemed obscure and out of the ordinary. I stereotyped wine as being meant for enjoying casually or pretending to be opulent. Not once did I ever assume tasting was a learned skill. But, I soon understood that I was incredibly wrong. I began by tasting the numerous reds that decorated the bar, brushing my teeth with each. For weeks I sipped wine, forcing my taste buds to match the tasting notes. Months passed, and eventually the bitter grape juice taste morphed into a vibrancy I had never encountered. It was as if I had never truly tasted wine before. I was now consumed by the magic of winemaking and everything else involved in the craft. As I rushed home after work to tell my parents, I realized that wine had become a new passion of mine.