| Almost everyone remembers their first drink of alcohol. | | | | opportunity for tasting. Wine, however, is meant to be |
| I remember mine like it was yesterday. Taking a sip of | | | | tasted; it's meant to be savored. Each sip of wine |
| my father's Bud Light when I was seven years old, I | | | | should provide a new experience for your taste buds, |
| realized it tasted nothing like the root beer I frequently | | | | making your beer bottles boil with increasing jealousy in |
| drank, mixing it with vanilla ice cream in large plastic | | | | the process. |
| cups. As I concentrated on not spitting the beer back in | | | | |
| the can, knowing very well this would send my | | | | Enjoy the Variety |
| germ-a-phobic father rocking in the corner, I swallowed | | | | |
| the beer with my nose plugged and vowed to never | | | | While there are several different types of beer, most |
| drink again. | | | | beer tastes relatively the same with some just not |
| | | | being quite as bad as others. Two different bottles of |
| This vow was broken in my late teenage years when | | | | wine, however, can taste dramatically unalike. Wine |
| beer bongs and keg stands were calling me, chanting | | | | drinkers are granted with the ability to pick from a |
| my name in unison and performing the "slow clap" | | | | variety of years, types, and flavors. They can choose |
| portrayed in inspirational moments in movies. But, the | | | | red wine or white wine, wine from places as far as |
| truth is, I didn't really like beer then and I don't really like it | | | | France or as close as Oregon. And, once engaged in |
| now. From the cheap stuff filling the kegs of frat | | | | a little wine tasting, wine drinkers can find a wine they |
| houses all over the world, to the more expensive | | | | really love. |
| wheat beers served with an orange, they've always | | | | |
| tasted the same to me. They've always tasted bad. | | | | Embrace the History and the Culture |
| | | | |
| That is why, after college, where beer was just short | | | | Wine, in addition to being full of taste, is packed with |
| of flowing from dorm room faucets, I decided to climb | | | | culture and history. From the exportation of wine in the |
| the corporate ladder of liquor consumption, with the | | | | 1st Century AD to the forbidding of the planting of |
| next rung up being wine. | | | | vineyards by the King of Spain, learning about wine |
| | | | allows you to learn about the history of our world. |
| Initially I made this choice because of the health | | | | Drinking different wines from different regions also |
| benefits of wine. Unlike beer, with each pint providing | | | | allows you to learn about the values of those particular |
| more belly fat in alcohol's version of 8-minute abs, wine | | | | regions. |
| possesses several things beneficial to a person's | | | | |
| health, with particular concern to the heart. But, health | | | | Behave Yourself |
| benefits aside, I took this plunge because wine is so | | | | |
| much more than alcohol. | | | | When drinking wine, you need to act like you're |
| | | | drinking wine. Now, I'm not saying you need to speak |
| However, taking the plunge from beer to wine wasn't | | | | with an English accent or hold your wine glass with |
| easy. While beer is junior varsity, wine is varsity. With | | | | your pinky sticking out at a 90 degree angle, but wine |
| wine, you're playing with the big boys and there are | | | | demands a certain sophistication that beer refutes: |
| several rules to keep in mind for a smooth transition. | | | | when drinking beer, the more barbaric the behavior the |
| | | | better. With wine, however, your behavior should |
| Don't Play Drinking Games | | | | contain a certain sense of sophistication, behavior that |
| | | | points to a bottle of Pinot Gris and says, "She's with |
| From Quarters to Century Club, beer was made for | | | | me." |
| drinking competitions, being the game piece passing Go | | | | |
| and collecting two hundred dollars. But, playing a | | | | When it comes down to it, beer and wine are on |
| drinking game with wine may result in praying to the | | | | different sides of the alcohol spectrum. Beer, in |
| porcelain God later in the evening. While beer is made | | | | hindsight, is kind of like the sippy-cup that prepares you |
| to be swallowed in large amounts, with the occasional | | | | for the real thing. Wine, however, offers so much |
| belch being the only thing needed to make someone | | | | more, and teaches you, above all, why alcohol really is |
| getting sick feel better, wine isn't. Wine, simply put, is | | | | a median of nearly every culture.Jennifer Jordan is the |
| not a toy. | | | | senior editor at With a vast knowledge of wine |
| | | | etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how |
| Wine should be sipped, not chugged | | | | to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back |
| | | | after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her |
| I have a theory that someone like me, someone who | | | | articles with the intention that readers will remember |
| hates beer, was the idea-person behind the concept | | | | wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should |
| of chugging: the faster the chugging, the less | | | | always be savored. |