For last year’s Harvest issue, we asked the question: “What’s the first wine you remember trying?” The answers were revealing—but not always in the way we expected. Response was overwhelming, and we didn’t get a chance to run them all, so again, here are a few of our favorite responses.
Marty S. Paradise, Simon Levi Cellars
The first wine I remember trying would be a 1970s Korbel sparkling. I was around 14 years old (eighth grade) and asked a guy off the street buy it for me. I bought it to impress a girl from out of town. My memory is that we both loved it.
Marie Schutz, Barrel Stop Winery
The law firm where I was employed gave all its employees a case of 1984 Kendall-Jackson Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for Christmas. It was my first glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and I didn’t like the taste. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would drink Cabernet. However, by the time I made my way through the case, I’d acquired a taste for this varietal and loved it. I’ve been buying and collecting wines ever since.
Carol C. Reber, 585 Wine Partners
The first wine I remember trying was a 1978 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet. It was 1985, when I was in high school, and my dad wanted me to experience what a “really good wine tastes like.” Having more of a palate for wine coolers at the time, I can’t say I appreciated it nearly as much as I would today!
Mike Lamborn, Lamborn Family Vineyards
In the late 1960s, my wife and I drank and enjoyed Lancers from Portugal—the classic “crock” bottles of either white or rosé. My recollection is they tasted extremely similar. The alcohol was low, but at 22, it didn’t take much…. Lancers in 1968: the pinnacle of sophistication!
Kim Lapides, Lynmar Estate
I remember very clearly the first time I tried a glass of wine. It was the summer before my sophomore year in college; I was 19 years old and my boyfriend (now husband) was working at the UC Davis Winery Research department making wine for the first time. He so proudly brought home the first bottle of wine he made to have me try it. I didn’t like it at all!
I wish I could remember what kind of red wine it was, and I wish we’d made tasting notes to look back on, because I don’t know if it was the wine itself that was bad or if it was because I wasn’t used to drinking wine at all. Thankfully, I love the wine he makes now.
John Calmeyer, Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery
My father was born in Holland and, like many Europeans, he always made sure wine was on our dinner table. As is common in Europe, starting at about age 10, he began letting me join the grownups by serving me a little wine mixed with water on special occasions. Nothing fancy, but always a good, solid red. I remember liking it right away! I guess that had something to do with my eventual career in the wine business. Cheers, Dad!
Naomi Brilliant, Roshambo Winery
California Coolers in a two-liter size were definitely the first wine-like drink I ever enjoyed in quantity. In high school, we’d go inner tubing down the Sacramento River (in Chico, Calif.). The trip would take five hours, and we’d each sit in our tube and sip from our very own bottle in our laps. When I think back to that now, I cringe. The thought of even drinking a sweet wine cooler anymore is so gross!
Robert Arnold, Chandelle Winery
The absolute first wine I ever tried was Sherry that my great grandfather, William Douglas, would pour for me at Sunday night dinners at his house in Santa Monica. I was about 6, and this continued for about a year, until we moved to Europe. There, the wine theme continued. At that point, I moved on to Sancerre or a similar wine with dinners at restaurants all over Europe. They were happy to pour a bit for a young boy dining with his parents. I had a favorite brand I looked for at the time, but I can’t remember it now.
Tali Galassi, Van Der Heyden Vineyards
My first wine experiences were in the late 1960s, sitting in a circle with friends in the park passing a jug of Red Mountain wine. The trick was to hold the jug with your left hand, thumb hooked in the circular handle, jug slung over your left shoulder, and take a swig without spilling wine all over yourself.
As far as I can remember, the two varietals were red and white (probably Burgundy and Chablis). Our favorite was the Burgundy, I think because it sounded sexier. Flavors were reminiscent of cork, mold, mildew, earth and metal. Wine like this was only drinkable after several successful swigs—which was hard to get to, believe me!
Needless to say, 30 years of living in the Napa Valley—including five years working at Van Der Heyden Vineyards—has matured my drinking habits.
Thomas Gallagher, ISA, AM; Heritage Inventory and Appraisal Services
The first wines I distinctly remember having are a Retsina a Vernaccia di San Gimignano and a Lacryma Christi. I was 15 years old at the time, touring Greece and Italy with a special high school session called the Classics Tour. While the wines were certainly not the greatest, they did impress in me, along with the experience of travel, a sense of place and pace.
There was also one wine that truly blew my socks off and confirmed my decision to work in the alcoholic beverage industry. That wine was Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. I was 25 and on a date with my future wife in Reston, Va. Over the course of the meal, the wine just blossomed and, because of that dinner, my attachment to that wine is extraordinary.
Michele Schulz, Cliff Lede Vineyards
The first real wine I remember trying—and loving—was Black Sheep Zin. I was around 23 years old and had just met my husband-to-be in Visalia, Calif.
Erica Hiller Harrop, Global Package, LLC
The first wine I remember trying was in Spain, at the bodega in the village during my summers. I would go with my father to choose only the finest from the barrels they tapped. Choosing a tinto for quality was measured by the alcohol content, the higher the better (sound familiar?). However, I was allowed to question the grading system and taste from small tumblers before we filled our 3-liter bonbon. I was only 7 years old and already loved the sights and smells of it all.
Shelly Rafanelli, A. Rafanelli Winery
Growing up in a wine family, there was wine on the table every lunch and dinner. I was probably about 5 years old at my grandparents’ house, and my grandpa offered me a glass of his Gamay Beaujolais, a nice light red wine he usually drank with his lunch. Somewhat of a shock to my palate, it was dry and at room temperature, but I still drank it to feel like an adult.
Maureen Kelly, former Trentadue Winery tasting room manager
The first wine I ever tried was at a resort in Calistoga in the early 1980s—and it was a White Zinfandel. What a treat! I thought they’d made it just for me…not only was it good, but pretty, too. Although I thought their marketing was a little strange: Why were they calling a pink wine “white”? Of course, after enjoying that wine, it opened my curiosity to wine in general, and I “leaped” to Chardonnay—Glen Ellen’s two-for-$7 at Safeway. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Grant Raeside, Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance
It was a blend of a very, very sweet Riesling called Blue Nun. I was 20 years old (in 1977, when I was at the University of Georgia; 18 was the legal age in that state) and trying to impress a blind date. The nearest store to the dormitory had three wines. I picked Blue Nun because of the good looking packaging and because it was one shelf higher than the other two wines. I can’t remember what my impression was of the wine, but I do remember my date wasn’t impressed—with the wine or me!
Dennis De La Montanya, De La Montanya Winery & Vineyards
The first wine I remember trying was when I was about 8- or 10-years-old. My dad always had a gallon of Gallo Hearty Burgundy or Rosé nearby at dinnertime. He would let us kids try it with a little ice, but we still preferred chocolate milk! As an adult of legal age, the first wine I bought (that I can remember) was in the mid-1970s. It was a Wente Brothers Grey Riesling. That was my early 20s fine wine experience.
Tom Mackey, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards
Growing up, my parents always had wine for dinner. It was usually Almaden or Paul Masson red—Cabernet or Zinfandel. I think I was 17 when my father brought home a bottle of Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon for a special dinner. It must have been an early 1960s vintage. The difference was night and day! What a wine; it seemed to me like the others but so much more—aromas and flavors that lasted; dry but almost sweet to my uneducated pallet. I began my serious study of wine when I turned 20, and for the longest time used that wine as my reference.
Erik Miller, Kokomo Wines
It was a White Zinfandel, probably Franzia. I was 13 at a summer barbecue and thought it was fruity, like punch, and easy to drink.
Josh Bartels, Kokomo Wines
A Pinot Grigio, but I can’t remember the name. I was 6 or 7 at Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t like the taste and gave it right back to my mom.
Rebeca Lidz, Kokomo Wines
Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine. I was about 5 or 6; it must have been Passover or Hanukkah. It was gross…it’s still gross.
John Poulos, Artiste
My memory of my first wine is clouded with the several early forays into my parents’ glasses and their occasionally giving me some wine diluted with water. I was attracted to the wine by my curiosity and repulsed by its astringent sour nature. My palate had been conditioned by Kool-Aid and chocolate milk. This has been going on since I was too young to remember. I’m from a Greek-American family, so the philosophy that wine is a food—part of a well-rounded diet—along with a philosophy of moderation in all things, meant it was everywhere.
Charene Beltramo, Cline Cellars
It was either Black Tower from Germany or Mateus from Portugal, I can’t remember which. I was probably about 18 at the time (drinking age in Canada was 19, so I was a little under the legal limit). I did like those wines and drank them for quite some time before I broadened my horizons and tried other, drier European wines.
Becky Craig, Matanzas Creek Winery
The first wine I remember tasting is “Gluehwein,” which translates to “Glow Wine.” It was in Austria when I was about 11 years old, and my parents were sitting around at a ski resort drinking it with some new-found German friends. It’s red wine mixed with sugar and cloves, garnished with cinnamon sticks and served warm. I remember thinking it was awful, but the adults were definitely enjoying it!
Barton O’Brien, O’Brien Estate Winery
The first wine I remember trying was Gallo Hearty Burgundy when I was 15. I got my fellow employees at the late-night shift at Taco Bell to purchase a half gallon for me. I brought it home after work and sat in my bathroom drinking it. I was disappointed in not feeling anything at first, so I held my nose and drank most of the half gallon quickly. Then, of course, I proceeded to be quite sick for the next several hours. That’s when I decided the wine business was for me.
Jeri Hansen-Gill, NewLevel Group (formerly with Napa Valley Vintners)
The first wines I remember trying and appreciating were the fabulous rustic reds made by Raffanelli and Seghesio. While I’m fortunate to live in Napa Valley now, I was also lucky to be raised in the beautiful countryside of Healdsburg. When I was in high school, my mom would stop at the store after work most every Friday evening and bring a few bottles of these local reds home.
Friday nights were family nights, so dad and my little brother would grill steaks on the porch, mom would prepare side dishes and I would take care of the salad. We tuned the radio to the local oldies station, talked, laughed, sipped our wines and just enjoyed. The glow and warmth came from not only sharing these wines, but also from spending this fleeting time together—the four of us—before graduations and moving away and life just happening changed it all.
Jean Hoefliger, Alpha Omega Winery
The first wine I ever had was a Chasselas from Epesses in Switzerland. I remember quite well thinking it was quite fresh and had a little fizz. Since that day, I’ve been drinking wine on a very, very regular basis.
Hoot Smith, Kastania Vineyards
The first wine I remember trying was probably a Zinfandel, because it was at the old Valley of the Moon Winery in 1954. I was with my father, who would purchase his case of wine (four one-gallon jugs) from the owner and winemaker at that time. I was given a little taste from a small glass that in no way resembles the wine glasses that are used now. I was probably about 5 years old, and I think this was the start of a good thing!
Ada Potemra, ACI Cork USA
The first wine I remember is Christian Brothers Gamay Noir. I was a 21-year-old college student, and my boyfriend (who later became my husband) was visiting from Ohio, so we went wine tasting at what later became Greystone. It was free at that time and fit our college budgets. The wine tasted good (a surprise to me), and we even bought a bottle. We also bought two glasses for $1 each, one of which I still have. (I still have the empty bottle too.)
Tom Wark, Specialty Wine Retailers
I was 6 and very intrigued by the huge jug of Sebastiani Red on the top shelf of the cupboard. I reached, it came down, and the neck of the jug broke off, spilling the wine everywhere. Terrified that my mother, who was outside, would be angry, I tried to clean it up myself. In the process, I sampled what was left in the jug by pouring it into my personal “Dennis the Menace” cup.
I actually liked it. However, distracted by the nice tasting wine, I didn’t hear my mother come in. It turned out she was, in fact, angry. I tried to calm her by offering her my wine-filled glass and asking, “Want some?” She was not amused. However, it left a soft spot in my heart for Sebastiani, and I’ve been a fan of theirs ever since.
Violet Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate
My dad tells me that, when I was several months old, my parents visited Korbel. They gave me a little sip of their champagne and apparently I licked and smacked my lips all day long.
Cathy Corison, Corison Winery
It was Gallo Hearty Burgundy for Thanksgiving dinner when I was 14-years-old. As one of only two 14-year-olds, I had the privilege of drinking wine and feeling very grown up. I choked it down…
Thrace Bromberger, Gustavo Thrace Winery
The first “wine” I remember trying was Boone’s Farm Apple. I was 17 and thought it was just dandy.
Patrick Wallen, Artistic Wine Cellars
The first wine I ever had was in 1960, when I was a 12-year-old altar boy at Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, Calif. The padre had asked me to prepare his wine decanter for morning mass and, being the risk-taker that I was, I had a small glass of his Port jug wine, which left me a little “tipsy” as the mass started.
It tasted fantastic—not because it was a quality wine, but because I thought I was getting one over on the padre. I also figured it was blessed wine, and it might help me down the road. Anyway, he busted me cold after mass and asked me why I had done it. I told him why and begged him not to tell my parents. He said it would be our little secret, because good altar boys were hard to find, “especially one who had done a good job of learning the Latin.”
Larry N. Levine, Sonoma County Winegrape Commission
The first two wines I remember tasting were a 1968 Stony Hill Chardonnay and a 1968 BV George de la Tour Private Reserve. I was 24-years-old and went to a benefit tasting at the Hollyhock House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Barnsdall Park in Los Angeles. The wines were so amazing that I decided on the spot I had to learn all I could about wine. I eventually went into the wine business. This was a great beginning to my 25-year love affair with the fruit of the vine.
