Love Affair with Wine

Submitted by Mark Lewis

My love affair with wine began in Belfast, Northern Ireland when my new employer held a welcome dinner. I had just arrived a week earlier and hadn't even found a place to rent. I was living out of a dorm room at Queens University.

Little did I know that I would discover my passion for wine. Seriously, who would've thought that I would learn about wine in Ireland? I had anticipated switching from light beer to full beer, but wine?

The first day I arrived at work my boss told me they wanted to have a welcome dinner at a local restaurant and that I should bring my own alcohol. On my way to the restaurant the following night, I stopped at a local package store. You can't imagine how delighted I was to find that they carried Coors light (my favorite beer in college). They didn't have any singles so I bought a six-pack.

Armed with my six-pack of Coors light and a brown paper bag, I walked into the Giraffe - a restaurant that has since gone out of business. I was right on time but I found nine of my coworkers already seated at a table and when I got closer I was shocked to find 9 bottles of wine on the table.

I felt a little awkward and kept my six-pack under the table, slowly sneaking a bottle up to drink one at a time. When one of my coworkers gave a look of curiosity, I told him that I was surprised to find everyone drinking wine. He informed me that wine is for dinner and beer, or rather Guinness, is saved for dessert across the street.

The obvious solution to my problem was to drink my beer faster so that I could begin my foray into the world of wine. And that is exactly what I did! I learned a lot about wine from my Irish coworkers over the next six months.

Set aside your preconceived notions about something new or you might just miss out on finding one of your greatest passions in life.

Submitted by Mark Lewis on June 28^th, 2010