My ValenWine

As we approach the holiday that celebrates love (but shouldn't every day be Valentine's Day, really?), I find myself reflecting on when I first fell head over heels for wine.

When I first started imbibing, it was with mixed drinks, possibly apple flavored martinis, and the like. Wine seemed incredibly intimidating and merely glancing at long wine lists, 80% of which I couldn't pronounce, made me feel self conscious. When I did try wine for the first time, I went with a red whose name was easy to say: "Cabernet". I don't think I even bothered with the "Sauvignon" part. I liked it and from then on that was my wine of choice - my wine comfort zone if you will. To this day it's still one of my favorites, perhaps for that reason. I HEART YOU, CABERNET!

Somewhere along the way, I started drinking the ghastly Yellowtail. Its sub $10 price point along with its overripe, baked, and overtly floral flavors pleased the palate and wallet of my 21 year old self. Then one day I had a treat-yo-self moment and splurged on a really nice bottle of Bordeaux. It was like a light was switched on: this is what wine is supposed to taste like! I had successfully picked out a great wine all by myself....it was inspiring. "If I can do that on my own, imagine what I can do with a little wine knowledge!" I thought to myself. I began reading about wine online, I purchased a couple of books, tasted other kinds of wines, and ditched the Yellowtail forever. And that's how my wine love story began.

It's no coincidence that I'm pondering my love for wine lately, because these days I'm without it....

I'm pregnant! Hubs and I are expecting baby #2 in early August, a little girl this time! We're so excited and can't wait to meet our little bean.

I had a handful of months to say goodbye to wine before we discovered we were expecting, so I had some really great bottles to remember fondly over the next 9 months. For now, I just longingly smell my husband's glass of wine and do an analytical sip and spit for the wines that I write about on my blog. 5ish months until I can enjoy a glass again - I'm taking suggestions for what my first post-baby wine should be!

What is your wine love story?