Figuring out How to Wine

I can count my past experiences with wine on one hand and although they have been few, I can clearly remember each wine I've tasted. This is pretty much due to the fact that I didn't enjoy about half of them. From my limited experience with red wine, I've found out that I am not a big fan of them. White wines are a lot different though. From the few that I've had, I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Even though I know there are millions of wines around the world, I think that I've gotten a better enjoyment from white wine. It always seems to taste crisp and refreshing. It doesn't hurt that of the white wines I've tried, they were usually more sweet in comparison with the reds I've tried. From the red wine, I have been able to taste more of a smokey flavor (I can't think of a better word to describe the taste). They also have a bolder taste which sometimes makes me feel like I'm shocking my taste buds.

Each time I've tried wine, it has been at some sort of special occasion, except for my first time. The first time, my friends and I had a movie and wine night which is where I had a red wine that tasted very earthy and I just didn't like. The next time, I was at a dinner event where a port wine was served. That wine really packed a punch and was kind of painful for me to drink. Other times, I've had white wines at formal events held at Beliveau Winery here in Blacksburg. This was the first time I tried white wine and I enjoyed it so much more.

From this course, I'm hoping to add a little more sophistication to my 22-year-old self. I know wine is just like beer in the sense that you can make it millions of ways and have millions of tastes and flavors. I bring this up because I've come to be pretty fond of the different beers and their tastes and always want to taste more. So I'm hoping that I can develop the same curiosity and taste for wine because maybe before, I just wasn't doing it right. And I also think it looks pretty intelligent and classy when you can have an intellectual discussion on the taste of wine (I'm thinking about the one scene in "The Parent Trap" when Hallie's pretending to be Annie in England and shows off her taste for wine to her Mom and Grandpa).