TDWine

Another Wine Blog?

Heck, why not? Friends will know that over the past few months I’ve been slowly turning up the volume on my wine hobby. Most recently I bit the bullet and signed up for the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course and Examination. To my own surprise, I met the standard and passed the examination. I had a blast for two days leaning a ton about wine including coaching on sensory evaluation from several Master Sommeliers. I had wanted to take this course for several years to see if all that I had read and learned about wine could be put to the test. I had such a blast I’m now studying for the Level II Certified Sommelier exam.

For a little personal wine history, going back about ten years ago I was traveling for a project for my company that took me out to Cisco Systems in San Jose. At the end of our trip we had an extra ‘Travel Day’ so my colleagues and I headed up to Napa Valley. Thank goodness we had a designated driver ’cause we hit 17 wineries in one day (seriously). I’ve been hooked ever since. I had drank wine leading up to that trip but mostly didn’t have a clue with regards to quality or complexity. After that trip I got hooked on big, fruit-forward, high-alcohol Cabernet Sauvignon blends. I’m over those now but still enjoy them from time to time. I’ve learned a lot since then.

Over the past three or four years I’ve made an attempt to taste and pair wines from around the globe. The more I ‘travel’ to different countries through wine the more I learn and the more I enjoy all types of wines. The wine world is huge! I’ll tell you though, learning from a group of Master Sommeliers will humble you real quick. What I learned the most is how much I didn’t know. I also learned how down to earth these folks were. They stressed on more than one occasion that their goal was to NOT to create wine snobs. If you’ve ever met Guy Stout, MS, you’ll know what I mean when I say down to earth.

So in sync with my Twitter and Facebook accounts (http://twitter.com/tdwine and http://facebook.com/tdwine), I’ve started a wine blog under…you guessed it, TDWine (http://tdwine.com). I plan to catalogue my wine journey to share my enthusiasm, tastings, pairings, and recommendations as I learn all I can about wine. My ultimate goal is to make wine more approachable for friends and colleagues and be down to earth in the process. Heck, ‘down to earth’ is an important descriptor of many great wines!

Let me know what your tasting and let me know if I can recommend a wine for you.