All Request Day: wine

The first question (of many? I hope) is in:
"How did you get interested in wine, and how can you afford to be interested in wine?" asks Divinely Angsty blogger kristine.

That's a great question. I'll answer the second part first. I know I always wonder about financial hinderances when I read Biting Tongue, whose posts on wine make me envious and thirsty. The truth is, I can't afford to drink wine nearly as much as I'd like. I'm not yet two years out of college, and I'm not exactly rolling in the Benjamins at my current job. But anyone with a little extra cash can enjoy a bottle every now and then. It's a wonderful time to be a wine drinker, because we can get it from all over the world and there is always a bargain somewhere if you know where to look (Dr. Vino has great recommendations on value wines under $10).

It's a frustrating hobby for someone with a serious lack of cash, I'll give you that. I buy quality over quantity, and I watch for sales, and I go to wine tastings to indulge my hobby for free. Tastings are also a nice way to expand your horizons and try new things without putting any money down. For a potentially pricey hobby, this is a nice perk. Every so often J. lets me indulge in a special trip to a wine bar, or my parents take me out to a restaurant with a good wine list, or one of my friends marries a Japanese girl and gets a $1600 bottle of sake as a wedding gift from his father-in-law, or a case of California wines from his generous dad, and then I go nuts. It's still not like I'm pouring out bottles of Cristal, though. I just take whatever comes to me.

Going back to my interest in wine, that all started after I got back from Japan and began work as a liquor store clerk. My boss was passionate about wine and had weekly tastings. Every so often I got to take home a bottle that was used for samples; this was the best perk I have had at any job ever (it also explains how I developed an interest for wine on a student's budget). I quickly developed an interest in whites, gradually expanded into red territory, and I've been a well-rounded wine drinker ever since!