Introductions

Hello fellow wine lovers!

My name is Karling. I am an undergrad at Virginia Tech. I am taking a course called ‘Geography of Wine’, which is the reason for this blog. This blog will hopefully cover my experience in the course, and of course, with wine. Now a bit about my experience with wine.

I’ve recently turned 21, which makes my experience with alcohol on the small side. But, I do know that when I drink alcohol, I get the ‘Asian glow’ right away. So, you’ll often find that I tend to stay indoors when I decide to pop open a bottle of wine for the evening. But do not let that deter you in thinking that I don’t go out at all. I love going to wineries. There is so much to learn about the winery, the grapes, the flavors, etc. when you go to one. I have been to a handful of wineries, but I know that there are so many more waiting to be visit. Over the summer, I plan to visit more wineries at home since there are a plethora of them nearby.

I will say though, most of my experience with wine has been cooking with it. So, if you need a good wine for the sauce of your shrimp scampi dish, you can come talk to me. As for drinking wine, I’ve gained most of my understanding of it with my parents. During holidays, my parents often open a bottle of wine and let me have a glass now that I am of age. Though I have bought some wines that have been on sale or featured while I’ve been shopping in Kroger. Like many other students, my experiences with wine has been simply trying it out and seeing what I do and don’t like.

I have found that I tend to prefer very dry wines or very sweet wines. I know that my preferences are on complete opposite sides of the spectrum. But it makes my search for a good tasting wine a fun challenge. There is so much I've learned about the different wines that I have come across. I have been focusing on trying out red wines. I find reds to more pleasant in taste than whites. But I do like having a glass of Chardonnay here and there.

There is great depth in the knowledge of wine and I know that my knowledge is a drop compared to it. I can only hope that I will gain a better understanding of the terminology, what is good wine and what is bad wine, and wine in general. I want to be able to confidently look through a list of wines at a restaurant and know what I’d like. One thing I am looking forward to is learning all the random facts about wine. But most of all, I am looking forward to the experiences I am going to have.

Well that's all folks until next time!