I wanna be a wine snob..

Wine is about as as old as human existence. It seems hard wired into us as a part of our lives.

It’s something we drink to celebrate, contemplate and to relax. Of course there is gin, run, beer & vodka but there is nothing quite like wine.

When someone tells me that they don’t like wine I always feel a little bad for them. It feels almost criminal to not like wine or the act of drinking it.

My friend Ashok kissing his favorite bottle of red.

It also seems that wine and traveling go hand & hand. Although each region of the world seems to have their own wine, it is a ubiquitous staple that can be found just about everywhere around the globe. Looking back on our travels in Europe we drank a LOT of wine. Wine on the farm in Italy. Wine in the gardens of France. Wine with relatives in Rome. With on trains from London to Paris. Wine on Trains from Paris to Venice. Wine on every train in Italy. Wine in the perfect Paris cafes. Wine with relatives in Lacedonia. Wine in our tent in Paris. Wine on the hillsides of Cinque Terre. Wine, Wine – Everywhere!

When it comes to wine my only problem is that I am not a snob about it. I know that sounds weird but in a way it’s like stating I don’t have anything close to a refined wine palette. Which by the way, is true. I once took a wine class with a bunch of friends and failed miserably at identifying wines and scents. I think I must have a really dulled down sense of smell (India here I come!) but thankfully it doesn’t seem to belittle my affection for the vino.

I sometimes find myself out with friends who prefer to drink only good wine or get a ‘headache’ when they drink cheap wine. Not me. I drink it all.

In fact the cheaper it is the more I enjoy it in sort of a hobo, train hopping kind of way. When I was a single girl hitting up the streets of San Diego I almost joined Match.com. It seems everyone talks about their love for wine on Match.com (like I said it’s pretty much hard-wired into us and obviously tells a potential mate that we are a normal, fun loving person with friends.). Go ahead try to find a profile on Match that doesn’t talk about wine. The only thing is they all state how much they love ‘good’ wine – the fancy, expensive, I’m so awesome I wear silk & high heels every day type of wine. I had planned to stand out on Match by stating that I was a cheap date with a pension for Two Buck Chuck and cheese & crackers. Thank god I met Randy instead. I’m pretty sure my profile would’ve led to me dating a homeless man with a cute dog.

My friend Lauren enjoying white wine under the California sun.

It’s not that I don’t like good wine – I do. I have, maybe 3 times, in my life had really good, expensive wine and it was pretty amazing each time. I wonder – if I drink it more often will I start to dislike the cheap wine? Maybe, I don’t know. What I do know is that if it’s made of grapes and sells from $2 – $2,000,000,000,000 I will probably like it.

There are a couple regions in the world I would like to take my unrefined palette of a mouth to sample more of the local wines.

France – Chateau La Lagune

Located in the Bordeaux section of France, vines were first planted here in the 16th century. They specialize in a type of wine called the Haut Medoc. A typical Haut Medoc combination includes over 50% Cabernet Sauvignon combined with Merlot, Petit Verdot and a wee bit of Malbec –  one of my favorites. The Chateau La Lagune 3eme Cru Classe Ludon Haut Medoc from 1998 runs about £52. Wine that only costs about £3 in France is really good and probably equivalent to a $10 wine in the States. I know a lot of people won’t find this wine expensive but in my book, this wine must be top notch. It should help cure my taste for cheap wines. I think.

New Zealand – Villa Maria Estate

I’ve always heard that New Zealand makes some pretty good wine and Villa Maria Wines must know a thing or two about it because they are noted as one of the leading boutique wineries in New Zealand. On top of it they’ve won about a gazillion awards for their winemaking and they are “cork free”. Truthfully I’m not to sure how I feel about that part. Part of drinking wine (in my eyes anyway) is attempting to get the cork out of the bottle while only losing small bits of cork floaters to the great grape abyss. Come on you didn’t really think that drinking wine with bits of cork in it would bother me did you?

South Africa -Boekenhoutskloof Estate

I’m not gonna lie I picked this place solely based on the fact that it would take me at least 2 bottles of wine to pronounce it correctly. In fact if you can properly say the entire name of this wine then I owe you a beer…ooops I mean a bottle of of Boone’s:

Boekenhoutskloof Estate The Wolftrap Red (Syrah Cinsault Mourvedre Viognier) Franschhoek, South Africa

Wow. In any case the farm was established in 1776 and has been producing wine all the while so they must be doing something right. It’s rumored they add chocolate to some of their wines and even have a bottle aptly named “The Chocolate Block”. The awesome name, potential chocoholic/wine combination and the fact that the tastings are free means when I make it to South Africa I’m headed over to sample the Boekenhoutskloof wines!

So I have to know – Am I alone out there is the wild world of cheap & fabulous wine? Do you have a preference? Does wine run through your veins? What about a recommendation? If you have anything you’d like to share about wine, travel or wine & travel I’d love to hear it below.

Esther, Yours Truly & Anna enjoying grapes on the farm in Tuscany.

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers & Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!