My Intro to Wine
It’s 2007. I am sitting at a booth at the Bar & Grill my brother and I have owned for the past three years. Across from me is an alcohol sales representative. Having zero background in wine, I was inquiring about bringing wine in for our customers. I knew we would not sell much because this bar, along with the nightclub we owned downtown, were beer and spirits-focused establishments. My palate at the time consisted of vodka sodas with the occasional tequila shot.
The sales rep poured me a glass of single-serve screw-top Woodbridge Chardonnay. It was awful. The Merlot was next; it was more palatable, as was the Cabernet Sauvignon. “I’ll take all three,” I said. They were relatively cheap and had good profit margin potential with zero waste.
“What else is in that bag of yours? Any new spirits I need to try?”
“Actually,” the rep says, “I have a more expensive wine for you to try.” The rep takes out a full-size bottle of wine. I read Van Duzer Pinot Noir on the label. “You will like this much better,” he tells me. He proceeds to pour me a glass. It is lighter looking than the two Woodbridge red wines I just tasted. I put the wine to my lips and took a sip. “Wow, this is actually really good. It doesn’t even taste like wine.” This is how my wine journey began.
