Image:How I got into: WineI used to be a Beer-drinker. Never Seldom in large quantities, but preferring quality, enjoying the incredibly big selection of Belgian Beers. I was a member of 'The Objective Beertasters' for many years.
My favorite beer: Gulden Draak (Golden Dragon), 10.5 % alc..

Then something changed !
A customer of mine, apparently pleased with my work, gave me a present in 1998: a basket, containing 17 bottles of French wine !
Part of the list:

  • 1992        Chateau Dassault
  • 1994        Chateau Pape Clement, Le Clementin
  • 1993        Chateau Latour, Les Forts de Latour
  • 1995        Domaine du Clos Frantin (Albert Bichot), Vosne-Romanée
  • 1995        Domaine L'Héritier-Guyot, Clos blanc de Vougeot, Vougeot 1er Cru
  • 1993        Chateau Montus
As they seem to be good ones, I started buying books about wines, to learn more. I enrolled for a couple of evening courses, and learned even more. I became sort of obsessed: visited a lot of wine tastings, bought many wines, and set up my own wine-cellar.
Image:How I got into: Wine
I enrolled in a year-long course (one evening a week), and joined one (Te Judice), and co-founded another (het 9de Vat) wine-club.
We've visited multiple wine-regions: Alsace-Burgundy-Bordeaux-Champagne (France), Piemonte-Tuscany (Italy), Hunter Valley-Coonawarra-Barossa (Australia), Stellenbosch-Franschhoek-Paarl (South-Africa) ....
I even helped friends of mine during harvest at their at Château Goubau.

I discovered that drinking wine is personally rewarding and satisfying. But it becomes pleasure, when shared (with my wife, family and/or friends)!
The variety in grapes, countries, regions, climates, harvest-years, (technical) treatments, is so enormous, that enjoying wine is always a new experience.
How about you? How do you dig wine ?

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