The wine that started it all


I love wine and enjoy a glass almost every evening. Ok, sometimes more than a glass. I didn't always enjoy it. In fact my ex and I used to smugly comment on what an outstanding vintage of Coca-Cola we were having with dinner, as we couldn't understand the allure or appeal of wine. I grew up with absolutely no wine in the house, in fact no alcohol of any kind. On Christmas my dad was often gifted by business associates with some very expensive liquor, usually whiskey, which my mom delighted in pouring down the drain. I took this to mean that he didn't enjoy whiskey, either, and was shocked to learn years later that his frequent rounds of golf most times ended with a visit to the 19th hole. No liquor, no how was the mantra preached by my mom and that included wine. It wasn't until I was in my 50s that I came to appreciate wine.

It happened like this. My older brother loved wine. Whiskey, too, but mostly wine. He and my sister-in-law lived close to a cozy wine shop where they enjoyed many evenings sampling a wide variety of wines. When I was in the area, they invited me to tag along (which I mostly did for the laughter and good times, not really for the wine) and dinner on their deck always includes a bottle or two of wine. He had two wine racks in his home, one of which I was welcome to open any bottle from, the other of which I was never, ever to touch. Several years down the road, and thinking I might need my own rack of wine, I tried buying wine on my own. Being the frugal sort, I couldn't make myself spend much money on a bottle, which meant the wines I was tasting were pretty awful. At one point my daughter suggested I might want to try spending more than $6 on wine, which made no sense to me. I could get a whole liter of Coke for under $2! I remember going to a friend's house and bringing a bottle of wine with a pretty label, not really understanding why they weren't overcome with joy at receiving my bottom-shelf-at-the-supermarket offering. Then one day I decided to bite the bullet (or the cork as it were) and lift my gaze to the top shelf, where I beheld a bottle of Pinot Grigio that looked appealing. It was very pale, had a nice label and I thought, why not. I spent $16 on it and thought about how smug I would be when it tasted just as bad as my $6 bottles. Well, friends, it did not. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about my discovery of this fabulous wine. I was no doubt quite obnoxious about it because $16! As it turns out, I chose wisely as Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is the gateway wine for many, many people who are deciding if this whole wine thing is for them, and, to a person, all of my white wine drinking friends were also fans. 

I stuck to this wine for months until finally deciding to branch out to other whites and eventually to reds, although those were a harder sell for me. White wines like Chardonnay seemed to be so much more drinkable than many reds and it took quite a few bottles before I would identify the kinds of reds I liked. My brother helped me with that, steering me away from some of the heavier reds and towards more mellow tasting wine. He also showed me how to enjoy a good red wine. Unlike whites where you open it, pour it, drink it, reds require a more ritualistic approach. Ok, that sounds weird and incredibly snobbish. What I mean is that opening a red involves looking at the cork, swirling the wine around your glass to open it up, sipping it slowly, things I couldn't imagine doing when I first began my wine journey. 

I still enjoy Santa Margherita, but I rarely buy it. It has moved up the price ladder to the $25 range and that is a little out of my reach to drink it on anything other than special occasions. But that pretty white wine holds a special place in my heart. According to the winery website, since 1960 their wine has inspired an entire generation of Italian wines and wine drinkers. It certainly inspired me. Cheers!

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