#10 Tourism
If you haven’t taken any time to visit vineyards, I suggest you look into it!
When planning a trip to a winery, make sure you aren’t just visiting tasting rooms or “cellar doors”. If you are going to take the time to visit a winery, you need to get in the actual wine-making facility and vineyards. You need to actually see the grapes, the vines, the barrels, the press, crusher/destemmer, and fermentation vats etc. Trust me once you do, everything about wine and the winemaking process will start to make more sense! I always had the hardest time understanding Italian wine and the wine culture there, until I actually travelled around Tuscany, tasted the wines on their doorstep, and spoke with the winemakers. Once I did, everything came together and I had a better understanding!
In that same vein, let’s also not forget that your cup runneth over with choices of wine regions to visit; France, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina; and the obvious California. Even lesser known regions such as New York, Canada, Washington State and Oregon shouldn’t be ignored and are some of the most exciting regions at the moment.
Check back tomorrow for my number #9 reason to love wine (if you don’t already).
