I did not grow up in a household that drank fancy wine.  I grew up in a household that drank jug or boxed wine.  No exaggeration.  My mom used to drink Chablis from a box.  My first memory of wine is my mothers friend pulling into the driveway in her dark blue VW Rabbit with a jug of Ernest & Julio Gallo chardonnay.

Once I started going out to bars I drank beer or mixed drinks.  I did not start out drinking white zinfandel or Riesling .  Wine didn’t enter my life until I was 23, a Northerner brand new to a charming Southern town, and her first grown up restaurant job.  Meaning, it was a very expensive, white tablecloth, fancy schmancy joint.  I think the general manager hired me because he honestly felt bad for me.

I knew nothing about fine dining, did not know what half (ok, more than 1/2) the words on the menu were and the wine list terrified me.  I left my first shift, drove home to my first grown up apartment and burst into tears.  I was terrified to go back.  I did go back and while the whole staff was nice to me, one person saw my lack of knowledge and insecurities and decided to help.  For the purpose of this persons privacy, I will call him S.P.

By my second week, S.P. had taken me under his wing and was going to teach this little duck how to not make a fool of herself.  By week three I was drinking Pommery Brut Rose champagne.  I then graduated to Babcock chardonnay.  And then, finally my first red wine, Tommasi Amarone.  S.P. taught me to adore Pinot Noir.  How to respect winemakers and the people who sell wine.  I have never looked back.  I jumped in with both feet.  Because I had a teacher who would accept nothing less.  I am lucky enough to have found the person who really wanted to share his knowledge and was genuinely interested in my learning. Who wasn’t the intimidating wine snob we all hate.

Once I left that delightful Southern town, I started to learn more and more.  And then for a little while I refused to learn more because I figured out that wine is one of those subjects that you can never learn everything about.  I got scared and did not want to look like an idiot.  Wine professionals can be intimidating.  I got over that fear once I figured out that no one knows everything and sometimes we all look like idiots, especially if there is enough wine involved.  I just keep learning, keep taking tests, keep reading and tasting.

So, thanks, S.P.  You are an amazing teacher and a treasured friend.  I hope someday that a little duck will need me and I can help them the same way you helped me.

Cheers!

J Mac