Jameson Fink '93 talks wine and blogging

BWR: Can you remember the first wine you ever sipped, and your impressions of it?

Jameson: I wish I could! Does a California Cooler count? I can, however, share a couple early wine memories with you. One is from my days at Grinnell College, where at an off-campus house I drank a lot of Alsatian Gewurztraminer while eating spicy vegetarian cuisine. (Note: I also drank an ocean of Milwaukee's Best Light out of Hardee's cups.) I recall reading somewhere that wines with a little sweetness would balance out spicy cuisine, put that theory to the test, and found out that it was a success.

A second recollection is living in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago and drinking a lot of Turning Leaf and Meridian Chardonnay that I bought from my local convenience store. This was at a time I had my first corporate job, working at a consulting firm that companies would pay to handle their benefits administration. (AKA "outsourcing") Spending money on wine with regularity became more of a reality and this was a good launching pad. I'm confident that Ravenswood Zinfandel was part of my regular repertoire as well.