| Almost everyone remembers their first drink of | | | | concept of chugging: the faster the chugging, the |
| alcohol. I remember mine like it was yesterday. | | | | less opportunity for tasting. Wine, however, is |
| Taking a sip of my father's Bud Light when I was | | | | meant to be tasted; it's meant to be savored. |
| seven years old, I realized it tasted nothing like | | | | Each sip of wine should provide a new experience |
| the root beer I frequently drank, mixing it with | | | | for your taste buds, making your beer bottles boil |
| vanilla ice cream in large plastic cups. As I | | | | with increasing jealousy in the process. |
| concentrated on not spitting the beer back in the | | | | |
| can, knowing very well this would send my | | | | Enjoy the Variety |
| germ-a-phobic father rocking in the corner, I | | | | |
| swallowed the beer with my nose plugged and | | | | While there are several different types of beer, |
| vowed to never drink again. | | | | most beer tastes relatively the same with some |
| | | | just not being quite as bad as others. Two |
| This vow was broken in my late teenage years | | | | different bottles of wine, however, can taste |
| when beer bongs and keg stands were calling me, | | | | dramatically unalike. Wine drinkers are granted |
| chanting my name in unison and performing the | | | | with the ability to pick from a variety of years, |
| "slow clap" portrayed in inspirational moments in | | | | types, and flavors. They can choose red wine or |
| movies. But, the truth is, I didn't really like beer | | | | white wine, wine from places as far as France or |
| then and I don't really like it now. From the cheap | | | | as close as Oregon. And, once engaged in a little |
| stuff filling the kegs of frat houses all over the | | | | wine tasting, wine drinkers can find a wine they |
| world, to the more expensive wheat beers | | | | really love. |
| served with an orange, they've always tasted the | | | | |
| same to me. They've always tasted bad. | | | | Embrace the History and the Culture |
| | | | |
| That is why, after college, where beer was just | | | | Wine, in addition to being full of taste, is packed |
| short of flowing from dorm room faucets, I | | | | with culture and history. From the exportation of |
| decided to climb the corporate ladder of liquor | | | | wine in the 1st Century AD to the forbidding of |
| consumption, with the next rung up being wine. | | | | the planting of vineyards by the King of Spain, |
| | | | learning about wine allows you to learn about the |
| Initially I made this choice because of the health | | | | history of our world. Drinking different wines from |
| benefits of wine. Unlike beer, with each pint | | | | different regions also allows you to learn about |
| providing more belly fat in alcohol's version of | | | | the values of those particular regions. |
| 8-minute abs, wine possesses several things | | | | |
| beneficial to a person's health, with particular | | | | Behave Yourself |
| concern to the heart. But, health benefits aside, I | | | | |
| took this plunge because wine is so much more | | | | When drinking wine, you need to act like you're |
| than alcohol. | | | | drinking wine. Now, I'm not saying you need to |
| | | | speak with an English accent or hold your wine |
| However, taking the plunge from beer to wine | | | | glass with your pinky sticking out at a 90 degree |
| wasn't easy. While beer is junior varsity, wine is | | | | angle, but wine demands a certain sophistication |
| varsity. With wine, you're playing with the big | | | | that beer refutes: when drinking beer, the more |
| boys and there are several rules to keep in mind | | | | barbaric the behavior the better. With wine, |
| for a smooth transition. | | | | however, your behavior should contain a certain |
| | | | sense of sophistication, behavior that points to a |
| Don't Play Drinking Games | | | | bottle of Pinot Gris and says, "She's with me." |
| | | | |
| From Quarters to Century Club, beer was made | | | | When it comes down to it, beer and wine are on |
| for drinking competitions, being the game piece | | | | different sides of the alcohol spectrum. Beer, in |
| passing Go and collecting two hundred dollars. But, | | | | hindsight, is kind of like the sippy-cup that |
| playing a drinking game with wine may result in | | | | prepares you for the real thing. Wine, however, |
| praying to the porcelain God later in the evening. | | | | offers so much more, and teaches you, above all, |
| While beer is made to be swallowed in large | | | | why alcohol really is a median of nearly every |
| amounts, with the occasional belch being the only | | | | culture.Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at With |
| thing needed to make someone getting sick feel | | | | a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes |
| better, wine isn't. Wine, simply put, is not a toy. | | | | articles on everything from how to hold a glass of |
| | | | wine to how to hold your hair back after too |
| Wine should be sipped, not chugged | | | | many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles |
| | | | with the intention that readers will remember wine |
| I have a theory that someone like me, someone | | | | is fun and each glass of anything fun should |
| who hates beer, was the idea-person behind the | | | | always be savored. |