Up until about a year ago, I had absolutely no interest in drinking wine. The look on my face the first time I tried wine must have been priceless. It just tasted like…. well…. old, bitter grape juice. Doesn’t sound very appealing when you think about it. I can’t quite remember the label, but I do know that it was red, maybe a Cabernet Sauvignon. Probably not a good idea to start off with a red, especially a Cab, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It took me a little while to really get into wine. I loved champagne/sparkling wine though, which was really the closest I would get to wine. But eventually, the champagne kick wore off and that didn’t seem to be my first choice anymore. Now I love wine and would order a glass of Pinot or Grenache any day over a glass of champagne (or sparkling wine). However since I’m still fairly new at this, I usually stick to the California wines as they’re nice and juicy.

I wouldn’t say I know a whole lot about wine, but I read an interesting blog from someone who seems to know quite a bit about different varietals and regions. You’ve got some of your common regions like Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, France, Oregon, Washington, Australia, Italy, Spain, etc. Would you ever consider Mexico to be a good wine-growing region??? I would’ve never guessed, but apparently some of the best wines are grown just 70 miles south of the border. There are three regions where the largest wineries in Mexico can be found – San Antonio de las Minas, San Vicente Valley and the Santo Tomas Valley. Some of the common reds grown in the Baja region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet, Zinfandel, Grenache and Mission. Whites include Chenin Blanc, Palomino, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Saint Emilion and Malaga.

I have never tried many of those varietals, so I think I need to make a trip down south and do some wine tasting!!! Who’s with me?

Tags: Baja, California, Mexico, red wine, regions, varietals, white wine, wine, Wine Tasting