Wine...

I don't know exactly when or how it
started...but somewhere along the
way I picked up quite the appreciation
for wine. Maybe I can trace it back to
my first real wine tasting experience
in Sonoma. My friend knew what she
was talking about and I didn't. I was
just going along for the ride and
checking out what it was all about.
Fast-forward to about four years
later...I've now been to at least 10
different wine regions in the world
and plan to hit up a lot more!
Living in the Bay Area, we are more than exposed to our share of
wineries. To me, not much can be better than driving about an hour away
to Sonoma or Napa and tasting some wine. My personal preference is
going to the smaller wineries vs. the larger, commercial ones. For this
reason, I tend to find Sonoma a bit more enjoyable. It's almost impossible
to say which winery is my favorite. I think
Lake Sonoma has great
zinfandels. I think that
Rombauer in Napa has the best Chardonnay.

Depending where I'm traveling to, I love tasting wines made from the
regions in which I'm travelling.

In Italy:
  • Vernaccia in San Gimignano
  • Brunello in Montalcino
  • Chianti Classico Reserva in different towns in the Chianti region
  • Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in Montepulciano
  • The white wine and dessert wine (Sciacchetra) in the Cinque Terre

In France:
  • Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Burgundy region (Chardonnay is
    considered a 'white burgundy' and pinot noir is considered a 'red
    burgundy')
  • Hermitage (delicious!) and Crozes-Hermitage in Tain L'Hermitage
    (in the Rhone Valley)
  • Chateauneuf-du-Pape in Provence (one of my favorites!)
  • Bugey wines

In Croatia:
  • Plavac Mali (similar to a Zinfandel)
  • Posip (similar to a Sauvignon Blanc)
  • Prosek (dessert wine)

In Hungary:
  • 'Bull's Blood' from Eger
  • Tokaj

I'm really excited to try wines next year in places such as South Africa,
New Zealand, Chile and Argentina, to name a few!